Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden and leaders from four of Delaware’s largest institutions of higher education came together on February 16th to announce a significant expansion of statewide program to train adults to recognize and respond to the signs of child sexual abuse. The presidents of the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical Community College, and the Vice President for Academic Affairs of Wilmington University announced that they will bring the Stewards of Children training to their campuses to educate faculty, staff, and students.
“This is an important opportunity for the higher education community to be proactive in our defense of children,” said University of Delaware President Patrick T. Harker. “In the first phase of this program, we will train nearly 1,100 individuals…”
“Delaware State University has on its faculty one of our State’s first trainers to be certified for the Stewards of Children program, and she has already partnered with community stakeholders in Kent County to facilitate training with all of those groups,” said President Harry L. Williams.
Dr. Orlando J. George, Jr., President of Delaware Tech, said, “It is critical that Delaware Tech employees and our future graduates have access to every tool and educational resource possible…The Stewards of Children program will enable us to build on what we already do to protect children on campus and raise the bar when it comes to increasing awareness of child abuse.”
Dr. Jim Wilson of Wilmington University said, “The Stewards of Children program is another tool in our toolbox to educate the Wilmington University community to recognize and report suspected child abuse.”
Since the D2L program launched in Delaware, more than 2,000 Delawareans have been trained through the collaborative efforts of Prevent Child Abuse Delaware, YMCA of Delaware, and Attorney General Biden’s office.
