If one child is abused, it affects the whole community.

Victims of child abuse are at greater risk for substance abuse, suicide, teenage pregnancies, eating disorders and other societal problems, studies show.

Preventing acts of child abuse and eventually eradicating it takes a strong community effort, which was the greatest lesson Mistie Moyer took away from Thursday's Stewards of Children training, a course about preventing, recognizing and dealing with child sexual abuse.

"It's a movement, and I am glad I can be a part of it," Moyer said.

Moyer is one of more than 100 people in the state who has become certified since February in Stewards of Children.

She participated in the program as part of her life skills training for Climb Wyoming, a program that helps low-income single moms.

"It made me more aware of children's feelings," said the 19-year-old mother of a toddler. She said it taught her to "think more outside the box" about what might be going on in a child's life.

Amanda Moeller is the only trained Stewards of Children teacher in the state. As the director of the Children's Advocacy Project, which works with the severely abused program, she saw a gap in services.

The center mainly reacts to child abuse by collecting evidence and counseling, and she said she wanted to work more on prevention.

"Our goal is to 'snuff it out,'" Moeller said. "It would be great if we could work ourselves out of the business."

The most important goal of the three-hour training is to get adults talking about a "taboo" that many think will not happen to them. Moeller told the group of about eight young mothers and showed a DVD with real people and their real stories of sexual abuse.

They were abused by priests, teachers and family members.

Moeller said more than 90 percent of victims know their abuser. It's important for adults to reduce one-on-one encounters between adults and children and ask questions.

"All these stories you have heard, we've seen in Natrona County," Moeller said about the examples given on the DVD. "It's not like Wyoming is in a bubble."

Crystal Morse, mental health provider for Climb Wyoming, asked Moeller to present to her clients because the training helps empower people to take care of their children, which is one of Climb Wyoming's key goals.

"We want the women to always feel empowered, to speak out, to ask questions, to not just accept the status quo," Morse said.

Moeller has held training sessions for employees at the Boys & Girls Club of Central Wyoming, the Transformation Center for homeless women and Mercer House. The Department of Family Services has made the training mandatory for all foster parents.

"This is not just for professionals who work with kids," said Moeller, who hopes to offer monthly sessions for the public.

Morse said she hopes to make Stewards of Children part of Climb Wyoming's curriculum.

One of the moms at Climb Wyoming asked about her cousin who she thinks might be a target for sexual abuse.

Moeller encouraged the woman to talk to someone about it. Wyoming law requires every citizen to report reasonable suspicions of child sexual abuse.

Some people like to say child sexual abuse is a problem for the family to take care, Moeller said

"My response to that is, 'No, no, no,'" Morse said. "It is my responsibility to take care of every child in this community."

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.

Tips to use

The Stewards of Children program has changed the way Amanda Moeller parents her two young children to protect them from child abuse.

Here are some of her tips:

- Teach children about their bodies, including anatomically correct names for private parts and about what abuse is.

- Model caring for your own body and teach children how to care for theirs.

- Tell children it is against the rules for adults to act sexually with them and give examples. Tell them it is OK to say 'No' to an adult in those circumstances. An educated child will be less of a target for an abuser.

- Teach children not to give out their e-mail addresses, home addresses or phone numbers while using the Internet

- Talk about child sexual abuse early. For example, a 4-year-old can understand when you say, "Don't let anyone touch you where your bathing suit covers."

- Ask questions of adults you leave your children with.

- Ask your child specific questions when they return from an outing with another adult, such as "How was your day?" and "What did you do?"

- Listen to and believe your child.

Schedule a session

To schedule a training session for your organization or to find out when the next public session is, contact Children's Advocacy Project director Amanda Moeller at (307) 232-0160.

The training costs $15 a person to cover materials.

The Stewards of Children program has changed the way Amanda Moeller parents her two young children to protect them from child abuse.

Here are some of her tips:

- Teach children about their bodies, including anatomically correct names for private parts and about what abuse is.

- Model caring for your own body and teach children how to care for theirs.

- Tell children it is against the rules for adults to act sexually with them and give examples. Tell them it is OK to say 'No' to an adult in those circumstances. An educated child will be less of a target for an abuser.

- Teach children not to give out their e-mail addresses, home addresses or phone numbers while using the Internet

- Talk about child sexual abuse early. For example, a 4-year-old can understand when you say, "Don't let anyone touch you where your bathing suit covers."

- Ask questions of adults you leave your children with.

- Ask your child specific questions when they return from an outing with another adult, such as "How was your day?" and "What did you do?"

- Listen to and believe your child.]]->

To schedule a training session for your organization or to find out when the next public session is, contact Children's Advocacy Project director Amanda Moeller at (307) 232-0160.

The training costs $15 a person to cover materials.]]->