Jenifer Valenti, left, director of the Office for Protection and Care of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kan., and Melanie Savner, an administrative assistant in the office, plant blue pinwheels April 3, 2023, to commemorate National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which is observed each April. OSV NEWS PHOTO/JAY SOLDNER, THE LEAVEN
Why Safe Environment training matters
How a volunteer who spoke up prevented a child from further harm
BY JANICE HENDRICKS, OFFICE OF SAFE ENVIRONMENT
Editor’s note: Trigger warning – please be aware that the following story shares details of child abuse.
A recent conversation with a parent in our own diocese shows just how important the Diocese of Owensboro’s Safe Environment program truly is. She said something she learned in her training prompted her to make the difficult decision to contact authorities – and that decision wound up helping a child who was being abused.
Consider this real scenario. This person’s child had returned home from a playdate and casually asked their mother some questions. Questions which the Safe Environment training video stated were red flag statements, such as: “Mom, why would someone put a baby doll down their pants?” and one or two others.
At first, the mother brushed it off as childish silliness. But later, the question resurfaced in her mind when she remembered the Safe Environment video she had watched in order to serve as a parish volunteer. Something about the comments didn’t sit right. She felt she needed to mention it to the parents of her child’s friend.
It was a tragic revelation for the family when it was ultimately discovered that this child was in fact being abused. But because this mother had listened to her intuition, and because the training had equipped her to recognize concerning behavior, she spoke up.
Her courage prevented further harm.
Safe Environment training is not enjoyable. It is uncomfortable and even disturbing at times, and it is something that nobody wants to do. It shows how predators slowly and deliberately work their way into a child’s life. Because sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish between the genuinely caring adults who provide outstanding mentorship to children and someone whose behavior is problematic.
But stories like the one shared above demonstrate exactly why we must be well-versed at recognizing the signs, setting boundaries, and monitoring who has access to our children: in our homes, our parishes, and our communities.
The Safe Environment training program cannot cover every possible scenario, but it does give us valuable insight into how abuse often begins and how we can intervene early. The training, which the diocese requires every volunteer and employee to take seriously, asks about 75 minutes of their time every five years when their certifications must be renewed.
And the program has made a difference for the children it is designed to protect.
Janice Hendricks is the coordinator for the Office of Safe Environment in the Diocese of Owensboro. Learn more at owensborodiocese.org/safe.
To report suspected abuse, call the Kentucky Child Protection Hot Line at 877-597- 2331 or contact your local Commonwealth Attorney. To report abuse to the diocese, current or past, by anyone acting in the name of the Church, call Scott Ingram, Pastoral Assistance Coordinator (English), at (270) 852- 8380, or Miguel Quintanilla, Pastoral Assistance Coordinator (Spanish), at (270) 880-8360.
Do you need help?
- KASAP (Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs) 24-hour Rape Crisis Line: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
- New Beginnings Sexual Assault Support – (270) 926-7273, https://nbowensboro.org
- Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call/text 988
Originally printed in the April 2026 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
