Atlanta Boy Scouts hosting annual seminar with one goal: keeping kids safe
Until all young Georgians are safe from abuse, more work is needed, including collaboration among community groups.
That’s why on Thursday, the Atlanta Boy Scouts will host their annual Youth Protection Seminar, when various local, state and national leaders and experts will gather for a day of learning.
The Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America will host the one-day event at its Cobb County headquarters, located at 1800 Circle 75 Parkway. Anyone who works with children is invited to attend the seminar, which costs $35 and runs from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The cost includes lunch.
“We want to prevent child sexual abuse,” Josh Kirkham, director of safe scouting, properties and facilities, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We want to create a community where the idea or thought of child sexual abuse is not even part of the culture any longer.”
The theme of this year’s seminar is “Let’s get fearless and overcome — no more victims.”
Numerous speakers will lead sessions throughout the seminar, including Tiffany Sawyer, director of prevention and education at the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy, and Jenny Chapin, a local attorney who serves at the Youth Protection Champion for the Atlanta Boy Scouts.
The GBI and Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice are among the agencies that will have representatives in attendance, along with leaders of various community groups and abuse survivors.
Members of law enforcement or those in social services are eligible to receive training hours for attending. Others, including health care professionals, attorneys, educators and parents, are also encouraged to attend.
For more information and to register, visit AtlantaBSA.org/YPSeminar.
