The Adult Responsibility Project equips adults with the knowledge and skills to protect children and promote safety.
The training includes eleven key topics focused on adult responsibility in preventing child sexual abuse.
This program is evidence-based and was recently evaluated by researchers from Florida International University and Johns Hopkins University’s Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse.
The Adult Responsibility Project is currently being used in 39 states and Washington, D.C. (See map of program locations.
The Adult Responsibility Project is recognized as a promising strategy for international communities to decrease child sexual abuse by The Eradicating Child Sexual Abuse Project.
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Our Trainings
Nurturing Healthy Sexual Development
Gain the knowledge and skills to communicate openly with children, recognize both typical and concerning sexual behaviors, answer tough questions with confidence, and provide positive, age-appropriate messages. Nurturing healthy sexual development is a key strategy in preventing child sexual abuse and reducing the risk of children developing sexually harmful behaviors.
What You’ll Learn:
Participants will:
Summarize healthy sexual development across various developmental stages
Share ways to support and nurture healthy sexual development in children
Who Should Attend:
This training is ideal for infant through after-school teachers, educators, social workers, mentors, coaches, youth-serving professionals, volunteers, parents, caregivers, grandparents, and substitute or kinship caregivers.
Credits Available:
This training counts toward Afterschool and Advanced Specialized Care credit in BFIS.
Continuing Education Credits (CEs) are available for Vermont professionals in select fields.
Gain information and skills to develop and maintain open communication with children, identify and respond to normal as well as concerning sexual behaviors in children, answer children's questions, and give children positive messages. Nurturing healthy sexual development plays an important role in protecting children from sexual abuse and/or developing sexually abusive behaviors. Participants will: a) summarize healthy sexual development in children at various developmental stages; b) give examples of how to nurture healthy sexual development in children. This training is useful for infant through after-school teachers, educators, social workers, volunteers for children, mentors, coaches, professionals in many fields, parents, caregivers, grandparents, and substitute and kinship caregivers.
This training counts for afterschool and advanced specialized care in BFIS.
Vermont professionals in particular professions can earn 2 CE credits by attending.
Overcoming Barriers to Protecting Children
While individuals and communities deeply value child safety, they often face real challenges when it comes to prevention—especially when navigating personal relationships with individuals exhibiting concerning behaviors.
In this training, participants explore what adults can do to help communities overcome these barriers and create safer environments for children, all through a safety-supported lens.
What You’ll Learn:
Identify common barriers to preventing child sexual abuse
Explore strategies to overcome these barriers in real-life situations
Understand how to build safer communities using a prevention-focused approach
Who Should Attend:
This training is ideal for infant through after-school teachers, educators, social workers, youth-serving professionals, mentors, coaches, volunteers, parents, caregivers, grandparents, foster parents, and substitute or kinship caregivers.
Credits Available:
This training counts toward Afterschool and Advanced Specialized Care credit in BFIS.
Continuing Education Credits (CEs) are available for Vermont professionals in select fields.
Technicool: Keeping Kids Safe on the Internet
From online grooming and sexting to exposure to child sexual abuse material (formerly known as "child pornography"), today's digital world presents real risks for children and teens. Caregivers and educators need the right tools and strategies to help keep kids safe online.
In this training, adults will:
Learn about the most common digital risks children face
Explore practical strategies to protect children and youth in online environments
Gain tools for responding to concerning digital behaviors in children
Who Should Attend:
This training is ideal for infant through after-school teachers, educators, social workers, youth-serving professionals, mentors, coaches, volunteers, parents, caregivers, grandparents, and substitute or kinship caregivers.
Credits Available:
This training counts toward Afterschool and Advanced Specialized Care credit in BFIS.
Continuing Education Credits (CEs) are available for Vermont professionals in select fields.
A Note About Language:
The term child pornography is outdated and misleading. The more accurate term is child sexual abuse material (CSAM), which reflects the reality that any sexual acts involving children—or their documentation—are forms of sexual violence.
Everything Everyone Needs to Know
This interactive training provides essential knowledge and tools that every adult needs to help protect children from sexual abuse. Whether you're a parent, caregiver, teacher, or youth-serving professional, this training offers practical steps to create safer environments for children.
What You’ll Learn:
Interactive tools to help keep children safe from sexual abuse
What grooming is and how to recognize and respond to it
How to talk to children of different ages about healthy and appropriate behaviors
How to respond to suspected incidents of child sexual abuse, including mandated reporting requirements in your state
By learning how abuse happens and how to talk about it, participants will build confidence in recognizing, preventing, and responding to concerning situations.
Who Should Attend:
This training is designed for adults caring for children from infancy through age 14. It's ideal for educators, after-school professionals, social workers, mentors, coaches, parents, caregivers, grandparents, and substitute or kinship caregivers.
Credits Available:
This training counts toward Afterschool and Advanced Specialized Care credit in BFIS.
Continuing Education Credits (CEs) are available for Vermont professionals in select fields.
Brain Development & Learning Consent
Children who learn empathy and consent early in life are more likely to grow into adults who build safe, respectful relationships. This training explores how brain development, empathy, and primary prevention strategies intersect to help prevent child sexual abuse.
What You’ll Learn:
What empathy-based consent is, and how it supports healthy development
The connection between childhood empathy and adult behavior
Key brain science findings that highlight the optimal window for developing empathy
Practical, age-appropriate strategies to teach consent beginning in early childhood
By teaching children to honor others’ boundaries and feelings, adults help build strong protective factors against abuse and harmful behavior.
Who Should Attend:
This training is especially valuable for professionals working with at-risk youth, including residential care staff, therapeutic substitute and kinship caregivers, counselors, social workers, educators, early childhood professionals, after-school staff, and mentors. It’s also beneficial for parents and grandparents.
Credits Available:
This training counts toward Afterschool and Advanced Specialized Care credit in BFIS.
Continuing Education Credits (CEs) are available for Vermont professionals in select fields.
CARING Adults (Child Anti-Trafficking Resources, Instruction, and Norms Growth)
Child trafficking is a growing concern—and while awareness is increasing, many adults still have questions about how to prevent it. This training provides practical knowledge and tools to help protect children from labor trafficking, sex trafficking, and coerced drug activity.
What You’ll Learn:
The different forms of child trafficking, including labor, sex, and drug-related exploitation
How to recognize signs that a child may be at risk or involved
Risk and protective factors associated with trafficking
How to build safe, supportive environments to prevent trafficking and keep youth safe
All children deserve protection from exploitation. As caring adults, we play a critical role in helping prevent trafficking and creating safer communities for all children and youth.
Who Should Attend:
Ideal for educators, special education teachers, paraprofessionals, social workers, healthcare professionals, home health providers, residential care staff, mentors, coaches, volunteers, parents, caregivers, grandparents, and substitute or kinship caregivers.
Credits Available:
This training counts toward Afterschool and Advanced Specialized Care credit in BFIS.
Continuing Education Credits (CEs) are available for Vermont professionals in select fields.
Keeping Adolescent Youth Safe on the Internet
Today’s adolescents are growing up in a world deeply connected to technology. Tweens and teens often navigate online relationships and digital choices independently—making it essential for the adults in their lives to be informed and prepared.
This training provides a deeper understanding of the digital risks youth face, including online grooming, in-person grooming facilitated by digital communication, sexting, and exposure to pornography. It also addresses the legal consequences of both consensual and non-consensual sexting among minors.
What You’ll Learn:
Strategies to help keep youth safe in digital environments
How to respond to concerning digital behaviors in adolescents
How to support youth facing online exploitation or unwanted behaviors
Resources for removing harmful content from the internet
Who Should Attend:
This training is designed for educators, afterschool professionals, and caregivers of adolescents and teens.
Credits Available:
This training counts toward Afterschool and Advanced Specialized Care credit in BFIS.
Vermont professionals in select fields can earn 2 Continuing Education (CE) credits.
Understand, Recognize, and Respond to Grooming Behaviors
As caring adults, we all have a role in creating supportive, safe environments where youth can thrive. This training focuses on how to recognize when an adult’s relationship with a child is becoming increasingly inappropriate—and may escalate toward sexual abuse.
Understanding, identifying, and confidently responding to grooming behaviors is a proactive and powerful step in preventing child sexual abuse.
What You’ll Learn:
How to distinguish healthy interactions from boundary violations and pre-offending behaviors
Skills to respond to concerning behaviors at home, in the community, or in your organization
How to develop or strengthen proactive organizational policies around adult-child boundaries
What to look for in an organization’s parent handbook or volunteer guide to ensure child safety
Who Should Attend:
This training is ideal for educators, special education teachers, paraprofessionals, social workers, healthcare professionals, home health providers, residential care staff, mentors, coaches, volunteers, parents, caregivers, grandparents, and substitute or kinship caregivers.
Credits Available:
This training counts toward Afterschool and Advanced Specialized Care credit in BFIS.
Understanding and Responding to the Sexual Behaviors of Adolescents
Adults play a crucial role in supporting healthy sexual development during adolescence. This training equips participants with the knowledge and skills to recognize, understand, and respond to a range of adolescent sexual behaviors—from expected to problematic or abusive.
In this training, you will:
Learn to distinguish between expected, problematic, and abusive sexual behaviors in adolescents
Understand risk and protective factors related to harmful sexual behaviors
Develop proactive strategies to respond effectively and prevent escalation of harmful behaviors
You will gain the tools needed to keep youth safe and foster healthy development for all adolescents.
Who Should Attend:
This training is designed for professionals working with at-risk youth, including residential care staff, therapeutic substitute and kinship caregivers, counselors, social workers, educators, early childhood educators, after-school staff, and mentors. Parents and grandparents will also find the information valuable.
Content Development Acknowledgement:
Some material was developed by the Kempe Center for the Prevention & Treatment of Child Abuse & Neglect, with special thanks to Gail Ryan, MA, Director of the Kempe Perpetration Prevention Program and Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, supported by the Kempe Foundation.
Credits Available:
This training qualifies for Afterschool and Advanced Specialized Care credit in BFIS.
Continuing Education Credits (CEs) are available for Vermont professionals in select fields.
Understanding and Responding to the Sexual Behaviors of Children
Adults play a vital role in promoting healthy sexual development in prepubescent children. This training helps professionals and caregivers recognize and respond to a range of childhood sexual behaviors, from expected to problematic, with the goal of prevention and support.
What You’ll Learn:
How to distinguish between expected, problematic, and abusive sexual behaviors in children
Strategies to support healthy development and prevent harmful behaviors
How to intervene effectively to stop the reinforcement of repeated problematic behavior
Ways to keep all children safe—while guiding those who may be showing concerning behaviors
You’ll leave this training with practical skills to create safer environments for children and promote developmentally healthy behaviors.
Who Should Attend:
This training is ideal for professionals working with at-risk children, including residential care staff, therapeutic substitute and kinship caregivers, counselors, social workers, educators, early childhood professionals, after-school staff, and mentors. The content is also valuable for parents and grandparents.
Content Development Acknowledgement:
Some content was developed by the Kempe Center for the Prevention & Treatment of Child Abuse & Neglect. Special thanks to Gail Ryan, MA, Director of the Kempe Perpetration Prevention Program and Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, with support from the Kempe Foundation.
Credits Available:
This training counts toward Afterschool and Advanced Specialized Care credit in BFIS.
Continuing Education Credits (CEs) are available for Vermont professionals in select fields.
Other Trainings…
Nurturing, Valuing, & Protecting LGBTQIA+ Youth
Support and empower LGBTQIA+ youth by learning inclusive strategies to create nurturing, affirming, and safe environments.
Nurturing & Safe Environments for Children with Disabilities
Discover best practices to foster safe, supportive, and respectful spaces for children with disabilities and their families.
Questions or Refunds?
If you have questions, concerns, or need to request a refund for this training, please contact Marcie Hambrick at mhambrick@pcavt.org.