Pam Bondi, Florida’s Attorney General, received the first Champion for Child Safety Award from the Monique Burr Foundation for Children at the Florida School Counselor Association Conference in Orlando on October 24, 2014.
Lynn Layton, Executive Director of the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, presented the award on behalf of the Foundation. “Pam Bondi has been a true advocate for the Monique Burr Foundation Child Safety Matters™ program,” she said. “This program is a research based bullying, cyberbullying and child abuse prevention program for elementary students and the adults in their lives. Since its inception, the program has reached more than 630,000 elementary students (K-5) in Florida.”
“I was thrilled to receive this recognition from the Monique Burr Foundation,” said Bondi. “The Foundation’s board, staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to spread their proven MBF Child Safety Matters program throughout Florida to prevent child abuse. Their passion for the safety of children has meant that many children have not been bullied or abused. They should feel proud that their work has made such a real difference.”
Dr. Carolyn Berger, chair of the board of directors for the Florida School Counselor Association echoed Bondi’s words and added, “The members of our association have embraced the curriculum provided by the MBF Child Safety Matters program. We have seen first-hand that this program works and prevents child abuse. Florida’s children benefit from the program and become more effective learners.” Dr. Berger is also an assistant professor in the Center for Psychological Studies at Nova Southeastern University.
“State leaders like Pam Bondi and Dr. Berger are impressed with the research-based approach taken for this program,” continued Layton. “We are proud the program can be implemented at no cost for the schools and for $2 per child. We test our program to determine its success. This program, founded in Duval County in 2010, is being expanded throughout the State of Florida and is being implemented in 54 out of 67 counties in Florida. Prevention education works and is a more effective option than reactive intervention. For the 2014-2015 school year, we have already received many orders for students in Florida and have added additional topic reinforcement lesson plans.”
