Texas Bar Foundation Funds Expansion of The Women’s Center Child Abuse Prevention Program

The Texas Bar Foundation has awarded a $20,000 grant to The
Women’s Center of Tarrant County to support staff for the Play it Safe!® child abuse prevention program. Play
it Safe® is an evidence-based program that teaches children and adolescents how to recognize, respond to
and report abuse to a trusted adult. It is taught one classroom at a time in grades pre-K through 12, using
fourteen age-appropriate curriculums written and produced by The Women’s Center.
“We are extremely grateful to the Texas Bar Foundation for their commitment to providing victims of sexual
and relationship violence with critical opportunities for violence prevention and empowerment, justice, and
healing for survivors,” says Laura Hilgart, President/CEO of The Women’s Center. “The Women’s Center is
dependent on such gifts so we can provide this program free of charge in Tarrant County.”
Since its inception in 1983, Play it Safe!® has taught more than 2.8 million children in Tarrant County about
personal safety. The program and curriculum have evolved to meet the needs of today’s youth. Each grade
level includes a thoughtfully scripted presentation accompanied by a short movie that reinforces the message.
In younger elementary students, “Joe & Suzy” dolls are used to illustrate ‘private parts’ and demonstrate safe
touch, unsafe touch and confusing touch.
Today, the program has expanded from one school to being presented in over 17 school districts this year and
being mandated in eight school districts. Over the past 40 years, more than 3,500 children have disclosed
abuse to Play it Safe!® trainers, so that the abuse can stop, perpetrators can be brought to justice and children
can heal from the devastating effects of violence.
The Women’s Center, located in Fort Worth, Texas, operates one of the premier rape crisis and victim
services programs in the Southwest, providing a comprehensive continuum of care to victims of sexual
assault, child sexual abuse, and other violent crimes in Tarrant County.
Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $28 million in grants to lawrelated programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation’s
largest charitably-funded bar foundation.

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