The Plan

The Kanakuk Child Protection Philosophy

The Kanakuk Child Protection Plan establishes direct and indirect defense measures to combat the very nature of abusers, and the tactics used to infiltrate youth organizations and victimize children. Ultimately, the CPP is designed to:

The Threat

In order to focus prevention efforts and resources, it is essential to clearly identify the perpetrator in terms of profile, characteristics, types and methods.

Molesters are a male acquaintance 90% of the time, begin molesting by age 14 on average, and have an average of 117 youngsters before criminal prosecution (DOJ)
1%-2% of the male population will be convicted of a sexual crime (Ca. Office of AG, 2009)
5%-10% of adult males have molested children (Lewis, 1986 & DOJ, 1997)
10.4% of adult males express a sexual interest in prepubescent children (Ahlers, 2011)

19% of adults state they would engage in sexual contact with a minor if they were certain they would not be caught (Wurtele & Klebe, 1995)
A book entitled "How to practice child love" has been published and teaches abusers the art of grooming and molesting
93% of sex offenders describe themselves as religious (Abel)
The FBI states that "Without specialized training or experience and an objective perspective, he cannot easily be distinguished from others." (Lanning, 2011)

"Therefore, youth serving organizations should develop abuse strategies based on the conclusion that child abusers are prevalent in our society, are virtually unscreenable and undetectable, are unlikely to be convicted or neutralized, and whose methods are more sophisticated than traditional prevention systems."

There are two general types of acquaintance abusers that pose the largest threat to youth serving organizations:

1. Groomers- The acquaintance grooming molester works to separate the victim from peers, typically by engendering in the child a sense that they are special to the child and giving a kind of love to the child that the child needs. According to Dr. Michael Welner, this process can take time, and is defined within six stages that can lead up to sexual molestation. (See illustration) (Source: NAASCA)

2. Opportunists – The acquaintance opportunistic molester (also called Situational Abuser) works to create scenarios whereby they can become isolated with a child, such as a bathroom or classroom, then create unique ways to expedite barrier reduction measures leading to sexual molestation. (Source: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse: Evidence, Policy and Practice,b y Stephen Smallbone, William L. Marshall, Richard Wortley)

The Kanakuk Three Stages of Prevention

Primary Abuse Prevention (Thought Resolution): Stage one abuse prevention (see yellow shaded area) strives to provide an opt-out opportunity with remedial solutions to those in our society struggling with an inappropriate and illegal sexual attraction to children. This is true abuse prevention in that it solves the threat of abuse at the root level rather than reporting level.
Secondary Abuse Prevention (Method Resolution): Stage two abuse prevention (see purple shaded area) combines the framework of stringent behavioral policies with effective bystander monitoring protocols to detect suspicious or inappropriate behavior or a breach in policies, then resolve prior to an occurrence of abuse. This is a deflectionary prevention outcome in that the threat may not be neutralized but rather deflected away from the youth serving organization still pursuing access elsewhere. Thus, the need for all youth serving organizations to collectively execute stringent plans.
Abuse Prevention/Reduction (Action Resolution): Stage three abuse prevention (see red shaded area) is regarded more as "reduction" than "prevention" in that it responds quickly to report to authorities in the event that inappropriate or suspicious behavior has occurred. While it serves to reduce or prevent more future or serious abuse scenarios internally, it may not neutralize the threat in the greater community due to a 3-5% conviction rate at the prosecution level.

The Kanakuk Abuser Behavior Map

The Kanakuk Abuser Behavior Map below illustrates the path and process that an abuser must navigate in order to move from proper codes of conduct to illegal sexual acts. Note that the grooming process mentioned above is initiated within the realm of proper conduct and legal behavior during the first four stages.

True Prevention Corridor: The True Prevention Corridor (TPC) denotes the span of time between peer/peer or adult/child appropriate interaction leading to illegal behavior. (See purple shaded area below). The TPC may span minutes, hours, days, weeks or even months, and is subject to the type of molester (see above), the method of grooming and boundary reduction, the vulnerability of victims, and the effectiveness of parental or organizational child protective measures.
Green Region: The green region represents legal and acceptable behavior as defined by cultural expectations and/or program guidelines that comply with state laws and promote healthy outcomes.
Yellow Region: The yellow region represents legal behavior, but may include suspicious, non-compliant, or inappropriate undertones or behavior patterns that are not illegal nor reportable according to state laws.
Red Region: The red region represents illegal behavior as defined by state statute and is reportable and punishable by law.
Prevention Threshold: The Prevention Threshold represents the boundary where adult-driven methods to prevent have failed, and potential victims must be equipped to recognize, resist and report inappropriate behavior.
Abuse Reduction Corridor: The Abuse Reduction Corridor represents tactics to reduce the severity or frequency of abuse after an abuser has attempted to engage children inappropriately.
Abusers may exhibit noticeable behavior actions on the green/yellow boundary in order to gain needed trust from bystanders and gatekeepers, and to exploit opportunities. The green/yellow regions represent the landscape whereby the first four stages of victim grooming are accomplished.
- Abusers may exhibit subtle, but perhaps noticeable, behavior actions on the yellow/red boundary to exploit weak protective measures, as well as groom potential victims in progression to stage 5 of the grooming cycle.
- In order to prevent child abuse scenarios, youth serving organizations, children and parents must collectively engage in effective strategies within the True Prevention Corridor.

The Kanakuk Child Protection Strategy

The Kanakuk CPP strategy consists of four Protection Zones mapping the landscape of which an abuser must navigate in order to gain access to and abuse minors. These protection zones include:

Outer Perimeter Zone© – The onboarding (hiring) process for determining eligible youth workers/volunteers
Inner Perimeter Zone© – The training process for qualified youth workers/volunteers
Sand Box Zone© – The time frame denoting active youth programming in progress
Alamo Zone© – The time frame requiring youth/children to recognize, resist and report

Within each zone, six Abuse Management Fields create the framework with which to execute over 340 identifiable and measurable Protection Elements. These Management Fields include:

Operational Support
Facilities/Grounds
Staffing
Training/Orientation
Monitor/Report
Crisis Response.

Screen Out – The remedy whereby a person is denied access to minors due to a negative background screen, reference, work verification, or red flag indicators.
Opt Out – The remedy whereby a potential abuser opts out of working or volunteering at a youth organization, or from engaging minors inappropriately.
Monitor Out – The remedy whereby a potential abuser is removed from access to minors resulting form suspicious behavior and/or inability to comply with organizational expectations or policies.
Report Out – The remedy whereby an alleged abuser is reported by a third party or victim and is removed form access to minors and placed under legal investigation.

The Kanakuk Abuser Threat Indicator

The Kanakuk Abuser Threat Indicator identifies positions or roles within a youth serving organization that may pose a greater threat to minors based on their degree of access and control. The greater the access or control of a position or role, the higher the Threat Level Score (TLS). The TLS score is derived from a series of eight questions based on degrees of access or control. Finally, based on the Threat Level Score, the youth organization can then focus resources on these higher threats as it relates to hiring, training and monitoring.

The Tactics

The Outer-Perimeter Zone (OPZ) utilizes tactics designed to qualify persons as eligible to work with children based on the following processes:

Application and Screening protocols including criminal and sex offender verification
Work and volunteer history screening and verification
Interview Analysis and Reference check verification
Advanced screening skills and Red-flag indicator assessments
Child Protection Commitment Statement agreeing to 8 commitments to protect kids
Child Sexual Abuse Awareness training to create baseline understanding of abuse statistics, recognizing an abuser, victim characteristics, and how to report abuse
Determination of Threat Level Score (TLS)

The remedy in the OPZ is twofold and is designed to execute prior to staff arriving at camp:

The Inner Perimeter Zone (IPZ) utilizes tactics in the training and orientation of staff, volunteers, parents and vendors to include:

Touch/Talk/Territory (3 T’s) training to define the acceptable pattern of behavior with peer to peer and adult to child interaction in a camp setting
3-6-0 Supervision (3 W’s) training to establish a sustainable method of monitoring human interaction to detect suspicious or inappropriate behavior prior to an occurrence of bullying or abuse: (3 Rules, 6 Boundaries, 0 Tolerance)
Eye-Shot Theory training to remove obstacles which impede line of site supervision
Ethics & Compliance training to encourage staff and volunteers to behave ethically and respond to suspicious behavior
One on One policies to establish appropriate use of the facilities, and during activity or program transitions
Consequence training to define actionable steps in response to inappropriate behavior
Reportable event training to define who, what, where, when and how to report inappropriate or suspicious behavior, or non-compliance to code of conduct
CleanSweep Protocol training and inspections in the detection and elimination of concealed recording devices of inappropriate material
Year-Round Contact training to set expectations for off-season contact to equip parents as primary gate keepers
Recognize-Resist-Report (3 R’s) training to equip all adults with the tools to Recognize, Resist and Report inappropriate, suspicious or grooming behavior whether peer to peer or adult to child interaction
Independent Service Provider (ISP’s) protocols to qualify service providers or contractors to be on property conducting work during operational hours when children are present
Independent Delivery Provider (IDP’s) protocols to qualify delivery drivers to be on property delivering goods and supplies during operational hours when children are present

The remedy in the IPZ is twofold and is designed to execute prior to campers arriving at camp:

The Sand Box Zone (SBZ) utilizes tactics in the maintenance of camp facilities, and in the monitoring of human interaction during active programming:

EyeShot Theory training and inspection for the protection of visibility where private areas are mandatory (cabins, bathrooms), and the promotion of visibility where privacy is unnecessary (sheds, offices, meeting rooms, etc).
Night Supervision surveillance to monitor unauthorized use of facilities to disrupt the “Isolation” component of peer to peer or adult to child abuse scenarios
Random Protector surveillance to monitor “Dead Zone” areas of camp facilities during active programming to disrupt the “Isolation” component of peer to peer or adult to child abuse scenarios
3-6-0 Supervision (3 W’s) training to establish a sustainable method of monitoring human interaction to detect suspicious or inappropriate behavior prior to an occurrence of bullying or abuse.
Non-Affiliated Personnel policies and procedures to regulate the access of visitors, vendors and contractors including the utilization of the Independent Service Provider (ISP) protocols.
Non-Affiliated Personnel policies and procedures to regulate the access of visitors, vendors and contractors including the utilization of the Independent Service Provider (ISP) protocols.

The remedy in the SBZ is twofold and is designed to execute during active camp programming:

The Alamo Zone (AZ) utilizes tactics to equip minors in the detection and reporting of suspicious or inappropriate behavior, and to equip youth leaders with crisis response protocols

Youth 3-6-0 Safe & Secure training to equip all minors with age-appropriate knowledge to recognize appropriate boundaries, resist inappropriate behavior, and report uncomfortable or bullying scenarios. (3 Rules, 6 Boundaries, Zero Tolerance).
Year-Round Contact training to set expectations for off-season contact to equip parents as primary gate keepers
Abuse Response Protocol training to equip leaders with policies and procedures to effectively respond to inappropriate scenarios

The remedy in the AZ is twofold and is designed to execute during active and post-camp programming:

Legal Disclaimer

The Kanakuk Child Protection Plan is provided for information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Information provided by this website or in Child Protection Seminars should be used as a starting point in your own child protection efforts to safeguard minors. If legal advice is required, please seek a competent legal representative that knows the laws of your state.