The Safe Center LI, Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of Child Abuse Prevention Services (CAPS).
CAPS’ education programs will be integrated into The Safe Center’s Education Department under a new name: CAPS at The Safe Center.
This acquisition of CAPS programs enables The Safe Center to expand its education programs throughout Long Island and leverage CAPS’ 38 years of experience providing training on bullying and child abuse prevention, with programs including Steer Clear of Bullies and CyberSMARTZ.
“We are excited about incorporating CAPS into our Education Department and expanding our ability to keep children safe,” Cynthia Scott, executive director of The Safe Center, said. “CAPS’ programs are a tremendous fit for our educational services and CAPS’ relationships with elementary schools across Long Island will enable us to reach a new population and broaden our prevention efforts. This is especially important now, when child abuse is significantly underreported as a result of COVID-19’s impact on schools and summer programs.”
She added, “Additionally, children who are suffering from online bullying may feel there is nowhere to turn. CAPS at The Safe Center’s programming will help to shed some light and provide a source of support to those children and communities in need.”
By introducing CAPS at The Safe Center, students and faculty will have increased access to additional educational workshops and programming developed with existing CAPS and The Safe Center resources.
Additionally, CAPS has more than 130 experienced program volunteers who will be invited to join CAPS at The Safe Center. Most of these highly trained volunteers have many years of experience delivering CAPS’ programs to Long Island elementary, middle and high school students. These volunteers will be incorporated into the already robust volunteer educator program at The Safe Center.
“We are thrilled that CAPS’ mission to keep kids safe from harm will continue to thrive,” said CAPS Board President Joanne Campbell Schiefer. “There is great synergy between CAPS and The Safe Center, and our renowned education programs focused on bullying, abuse and neglect will fit perfectly within their array of programs and services.”
The Safe Center is located at 15 Grumman Rd. in Bethpage. For more information, visit The Safe Center LI at www.tscli.org or call 516-465-4700.
—Submitted by the Safe Center LI