THE CHILD ASSAULT PREVENTION PROJECT (C.A.P.P.)
WHAT IS C.A.P.P.?
The Child Assault Prevention Project is a comprehensive primary prevention program working toward the reduction and eventual elimination of child assault crimes. The C.A.P.P. curriculum has been independently evaluated in nationally published studies and is recognized as one of the most effective school-based child abuse prevention programs available. It is used in 32 states and 14 different countries.
HOW DID C.A.P.P. DEVELOP?
The Child Assault Prevention curriculum was developed by the National Assault Prevention Center in Columbus, Ohio. It was adopted in 1984 for local use in response to a community need identified through the Pebble Project. In central Texas, C.A.P.P. is utilized in the Austin, Del Valle, Hays County, Manor, Pflugerville, Eanes, Bastrop, Bryan, and Waco Independent School Districts.
In Travis County, C.A.P.P. is offered through the Pebble Project, a program of Communities In Schools - Central Texas, Inc. It is funded by the City of Austin/Travis County, United Way, and donations from private foundations and individuals.
WHAT DOES C.A.P.P. DO?
� Teaches children through role-plays and guided discussions how to identify possibly dangerous situations
� Offers strategies for responding assertively to potential threats of harm
� Encourages children to seek help from adults they trust
� Provides a private opportunity to ask questions or disclose abuse or neglect with trained staff
C.A.P.P. is a personal safety curriculum based on the belief that all 
children have the right to be "Safe, Strong, and Free." Children participate in role plays and discussion that empower them to recognize abusive or dangerous situations, resist abuse, and tell a trusted adult if they have been abused.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CLASSROOM?
Each class receives a one-hour workshop by Pebble Project staff and trained volunteers.
To lead off, we introduce ourselves, and explain that we are here to help kids think about personal safety. We make name tags for the children, and then move desks so we can arrange their chairs in a half circle. This makes it possible for role-plays to be done.
The heart of the workshop consists of three role-play situations in which staff portray children whose rights have been violated. In the first play, a bully steals lunch money from a child. In the second scenario, a stranger tricks and kidnaps a child. The final situation 
involves an uncle soliciting a "romantic" kiss from an unwilling niece. Each role-play is followed by group discussion about what happened, and what feelings and rights were involved. We invite the children to brainstorm how to deal with the situations assertively. Each role-play is redone with the child staying safe, strong and free. Children from the class volunteer to participate in the successful versions of the bully and stranger role plays.
Throughout the program, children are presented with options available to them in dangerous or difficult situations. They learn about their right to say "no" and to tell a trusted adult in order to get help. To illustrate this concept, we invite the children's teacher to join us in a brief role-play. This brief play gives the students an opportunity to see what it would look like to talk to an adult they know about a serious problem.
Any children who have questions, stories, or ideas that we didn't have time to hear during the program (we can't call on everybody or we'd run out of time!) are given the opportunity to come out into the hall and speak with Pebble staff one-on-one.
HOW DOES C.A.P.P. BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY?
C.A.P.P. is available to all elementary schools in Travis County, because child abuse and neglect cut across all economic and ethnic groups. In 1999, C.A.P.P. was presented to 5,081 elementary school children in 35 different schools in Austin, Del Valle, Eanes, Pflugerville, and Manor Independent School Districts. One hundred and seventy-five children were referred to their school counselor and/or CIS staff. Thirty-four children were referred to Austin Police Department or Department of Protective and Regulatory Services. In many instances, a report involved more than one child in a family.
� Prevention programs raise the awareness level of the community about child abuse. This increases reporting and focuses more attention on finding community solutions.
� "An ounce of prevention�." It is less expensive to teach children, parents and teachers the skills to prevent abuse than it is to pay for law enforcement, prosecution and therapy that result from abuse.
� Studies have shown that most rapists and child abusers were themselves the victims of abuse. By reducing the number of children who are abused, we reduce the number of potential offenders.
HOW IS C.A.P.P. EVALUATED?
Three different surveys evaluate the effectiveness of C.A.P.P.: a teacher survey with closed and open-ended questions, a very brief student survey asking what was learned, and a student pre-and post-test. Ninety-nine percent of the teachers Strongly Agree or Agree that presenters are organized, informed, and articulate and that the presentation increases children's ability to protect themselves. Eighty percent of the teachers surveyed in 1999 volunteered on an open-ended question that the program was "Outstanding," "Great," or "Excellent." The remainder volunteered that the program was "Very good." Many have written that it is the best program to come into their schools. There were no negative responses.
Ninety-four percent of the students surveyed agreed that they had learned something from the C.A.P.P. presentation. Most of them listed something that they had learned. The pre-and post tests show a statistically significant increase (p=.000) from pre-test to post-test on all four variables of the survey: conceptual knowledge, resistance to abuse, recognition of potentially dangerous situations, and willingness to tell a trusted adult if abuse occurs (n=302).
Anecdotal information from teachers and counselors indicate that many children wait a few days or weeks after the presentation to disclose abuse or neglect. We have received many reports about children using what they learned in classroom presentations to protect themselves. For example, a third grader used what he learned from a presentation in his classroom to save himself from being abducted in an Austin H.E.B. parking lot.
HOW COULD WE SCHEDULE C.A.P.P. AT OUR SCHOOL?
Contact Christie Ciotola, Pebble Project Prevention Education Specialist, at (512) 462-1771 or . Scheduling begins in August; by October, we are generally booked through both semesters of the school year.
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