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Hello, and welcome back
to the 2024 Safe and Secure training.
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I'm Somer Novak, a.k.a. the PARA,
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and here with me again this year
is Dr. Chitwood and Dr. Lafferty
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to share a quick word
before we begin this training.
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Well, thank you, Somer.
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We're embarking on yet
another year of our continuous efforts
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in creating a safe and secure environment
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for our children and the children
we serve all over the world.
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And we remain firm in our commitment
to raising the bar
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in the area of abuse prevention
and response.
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We understand
the value of the children under our care,
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and we commit to doing all we can
to protect them.
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This is a team effort,
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and we know that to ensure the safety
and care for our children,
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we must all do our part.
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We're thankful for you
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and thankful that you are
taking this training and applying it
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in your place of work and ministry.
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Amen.
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Like Paul mentioned, we're all thankful
that over the past few years,
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you have truly taken the information
in this training,
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along with our guidelines
for child safety,
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and worked extremely hard
in putting them into practice.
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We do this training to
protect our children and those we serve.
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Through this training process,
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the likelihood of harm
to our children has been decreased,
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and the opportunity
for children
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to enjoy a childhood
free from abuse has increased.
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I'm thankful for the support
of our leadership here, overseas as well,
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as we all work
as one team
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to see our children and those children
that we serve protected from abuse.
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As you go through this course, please
take the time to truly think through
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how these policies and prevention
methods affect you in your work.
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Ask yourself,
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is there anything I could be doing to help
raise the bar in our prevention efforts?
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Or is there anything
that I, as an individual,
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or we as a team need to change to better
protect our children?
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As always, please feel free to reach out
to me with any questions or concerns.
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Thank you for your participation
and partnership
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in creating a safe and secure environment
for our children.
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When you're ready, let's begin.