Safe Communities is part of the Plain Communities Task Force (PCTF) of Lancaster County, PA organized in March 2020.
Members of the Task Force include Alice Yoder, Executive Director, Community Health, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health; Mandy Billman, LSW, Director, Sexual Assault Prevention and Counseling Center, YWCA Lancaster; Brittany Leffler, Counselor and Educator, YWCA Lancaster; Ann Martin, Esq., Gibbel Kraybill & Hess, LLP; Scott MacDerment, retired Parole Officer, Sex Offender Unit, Lancaster County Adult Probation/Parole Services; Linda Crockett, Director, Safe Communities; and several individuals from the Lancaster community that have walked beside Amish friends and neighbors for many years to provide prevention education, support, or counseling.
GOALS
We work with Amish & Old Order Mennonite communities to provide education and support on issues involving child sexual abuse such as:
- Conversations, materials and education for parents and others to teach their children how to stay safe from sexual abuse
- Information for adults on what to do if they suspect abuse has happened
- Help finding counseling and other supportive resources for healing. This includes support services for adults who experienced abuse as children, as well as child-victims
- Education on sexual offending against children and treatment for offenders
- Information on legal requirements for teachers in schools related to background checks and state-approved training for mandatory reporters.
- Please click here for an official document from the Deputy Secretary of the Pennsylvania Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) dated June 2021 to the PCTF on the requirements for teachers in private, religious, non-licensed schools. There are no exemptions granted by the State of PA for Amish or Plain schools and teachers.
NEW MATERIALS for 2022!
The following six handouts were developed by the PCTF for use in Amish/Plain communities.
- Safe Touch Flyer - 2 Sided Click Here to Download
- Red Flags of Abuse and Supporting Children Click Here to Download
- Teaching Children about Unsafe Touch Click Here to Download
- Grooming Behaviors and Child Safety Click Here to Download
- The Impact of Child Abuse on Adults Click Here to Download
- Mandated Reporters: Keeping Children Safe Click Here to Download
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WORK OF THE PLAIN COMMUNITIES TASK FORCE AT THESE EVENTS:
- Panel: Child Abuse Prevention Seminar April 29 & 30, 2022 East Earl, PA
- Panel: The Amish and Their Neighbors: A Multidisciplinary Conference June 2-4, 2022 Young Center, Elizabethtown College
ABOUT
Press Release: Click Here
