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Hello, and welcome back
to the 2024 Safe and Secure training.

I'm Somer Novak, a.k.a. the PARA,

and here with me again this year
is Dr. Chitwood and Dr. Lafferty

to share a quick word
before we begin this training.

Well, thank you, Somer.

We're embarking on yet
another year of our continuous efforts

in creating a safe and secure environment

for our children and the children
we serve all over the world.

And we remain firm in our commitment
to raising the bar

in the area of abuse prevention
and response.

We understand
the value of the children under our care,

and we commit to doing all we can
to protect them.

This is a team effort,

and we know that to ensure the safety
and care for our children,

we must all do our part.

We're thankful for you

and thankful that you are
taking this training and applying it

in your place of work and ministry.

Amen.

Like Paul mentioned, we're all thankful
that over the past few years,

you have truly taken the information
in this training,

along with our guidelines
for child safety,

and worked extremely hard
in putting them into practice.

We do this training to
protect our children and those we serve.

Through this training process,

the likelihood of harm
to our children has been decreased,

and the opportunity
for children

to enjoy a childhood
free from abuse has increased.

I'm thankful for the support
of our leadership here, overseas as well,

as we all work
as one team

to see our children and those children
that we serve protected from abuse.

As you go through this course, please
take the time to truly think through

how these policies and prevention
methods affect you in your work.

Ask yourself,

is there anything I could be doing to help
raise the bar in our prevention efforts?

Or is there anything
that I, as an individual,

or we as a team need to change to better
protect our children?

As always, please feel free to reach out
to me with any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your participation
and partnership

in creating a safe and secure environment
for our children.

When you're ready, let's begin.