Over $390,000 is being invested in the Canadian Centre for Child Protection this year including $20,000 for a pilot project that provides educational materials and training to schools, families and the community in the St. James School Division on how to protect children from sexual exploitation and abduction.

This investment builds on service agreements of over $370,000 per year provided to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection including funding toward the operation of www.cybertip.ca.

The new funding will be used to provide free access to the Commit to Kids education program for administration at the division’s 26 schools. This program provides strategies, policies and a step-by-step plan for reducing the risk of child sexual abuse.

In addition, teachers will have access to the Kids in the Know program, which helps educators teach children and youth effective personal safety strategies that build resiliency and reduce their likelihood of victimization online or in their day-to-day life.

Families of the students will receive educational resources including activity books and comic books for children as well as resources for parents. Community organizations will receive posters, cards and other materials to raise public awareness of the issues related to the victimization of children.

The $20,000 pilot project is part of nearly $100,000 worth of investments this year comprised of forfeited funds from federally prosecuted Criminal Code offences. The province recently announced $500,000 will also be made available from this fund for innovative crime reduction initiatives this year.

In addition, more than $1.4 million will be distributed this year through the Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund to agencies across Manitoba.

For more information about criminal property forfeiture, visit:

www.gov.mb.ca/justice/safe/cpf/index.html.