GARDEN CITY, NY - Every day, 35 cases of child abuse and neglect are reported on Long Island. The best way to reduce the damage done by child abuse and neglect is to prevent such behaviors from starting or continuing, and the Garden City School is doing its part by working with Child Abuse Prevention Services (CAPS), Long Island's leading organization dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect.

In October, a professionally-trained CAPS volunteer met with students in their classroom to present a workshop on child abuse and neglect. The program, which includes definitions of the various forms of abuse and neglect, is designed to teach students how to protect themselves, how to recognize signs that others are being abused and what they can do when they see those signs.

"Clearly, Garden City School recognizes it is in everyone's best interest to keep every child safe from harm," said Alane Fagin, Executive Director of CAPS. "Child abuse and neglect can happen in any community, so helping students learn to how to recognize and prevent child abuse and neglect is something every school should do."

Thanks, in part, to a legislative grant from Senator Kemp Hannon, the financial support of Garden City Community Fund and concerned members of the community, CAPS provides student-targeted programs to public and private schools free-of-charge. To date, over 600,000 Long Island students have participated.

CAPS relies on its dedicated corps of volunteers to present its programs, but Ms. Fagin says the growing demand (CAPS was asked to present in more than 1500 classrooms in just the last academic semester) means a greater need for more volunteers to join the organization in working together to keep every child safe from harm.