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Maryville College named ‘Partner in Prevention’ by Darkness to Light organization

Photo of Maryville College faculty members
From left: Dr. Crystal Colter; Dr. Kathie Shiba, chair of the Division of Behavioral Sciences; and Dr. Ariane Schratter. All three are professors of psychology at Maryville College.

The Maryville College Division of the Behavioral Sciences has achieved Partner in Prevention status, a designation awarded by the nonprofit Darkness to Light to organizations that take extra steps to protect the children they serve.

One in 10 children will be sexually abused before the age of 18, according to national statistics. Maryville College’s Behavioral Science Division — Psychology, Neuroscience, and American Sign Language and Deaf Studies — earned the Partner in Prevention designation by providing Stewards of Children® training to more than 90% of its management, staff, and volunteers.

This evidence-informed program is scientifically proven to help participants prevent and respond to child sexual abuse, according to the organizations. Partner in Prevention was created as a national standard to help parents and caregivers recognize organizations that take child protection seriously by implementing policy and training staff to prevent child sexual abuse. Partner in Prevention training works to give participants a better understanding of child sexual abuse, ways to identify unsafe situations and practices, and tips to react responsibly in the best interest of the children they serve.

Darkness to Light is an international organization that leads the movement to end child sexual abuse by educating and empowering adults in education, youth service organizations and communities to protect children. Darkness to Light has affiliates in all 50 states and 17 international locations. The organization’s recognition of the College’s efforts reflect a lengthy record of prevention work, primarily with the New Hope Children’s Advocacy Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting victims of child sexual and physical abuse.

“New hope and MC have been partnering for years — well over 15 — on various community outreach projects,” said Dr. Ariane Schratter, professor of psychology at Maryville College. “We’re collaborating this semester for the promotion of Child Abuse Awareness campaigns throughout April, and to qualify as Stewards of Prevention, the students in our Developmental Psychology major complete the training within their developmental courses.

“To earn the distinction, the majority of our Behavioral Science faculty were trained,” she added. “Aligned with a focus on child trauma and resilience in our Developmental Psychology major, we’re grateful to partner with New Hope and all others committed to widespread efforts to protect the children in our community.”

To learn more about child sexual abuse prevention training or to enroll an organization in Darkness to Light’s “Partner in Prevention” program, please visit www.D2L.org/education/partner-in-prevention.

For further information, contact Ariane Schratter 865-981-8272 or ariane.schratter@maryvillecollege.edu.

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”