s_s_2024_welcome (1080p)

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're 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 opportunity for 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.