ROAR Early Care and Education Program

It’s estimated that 1 in 7 children will experience sexual abuse before their 18th birthday, and 90% of children are abused by someone they know, love and trust. Early childhood educators can help prevent child sexual abuse by teaching body safety through ROAR, offered by the child protection team at the Stephanie V. Blank Center for Safe and Healthy Children at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

In this article:

Rex the lion with "Rex finds his ROAR"

ROAR is a child-based education program that teaches children ages 4 to 8 how to protect themselves from abuse.

This interactive, easy-to-implement lesson is offered at no cost and is designed to be taught in a classroom or group setting. ROAR centers around a lion named Rex and his animal friends who take children on a journey to find Rex’s ROAR, a simple and memorable acronym that teaches children that their bodies are their own and empowers children to stand up against abuse. Take-home materials reinforce learning and continue the Rules of ROARing conversation at home.

Who should participate in the ROAR Program?

Any early childcare centers and elementary schools in the metro Atlanta area are invited to participate in the ROAR Program. Participating early childcare centers and schools will receive:

  • Training and educator resources for the comprehensive program or the student-only training.
  • Take-home materials for families.

Comprehensive program training schedule

  • Week 1: 1-hour staff/educator education
  • Week 2: Introduce ROAR to families and invite them to caregiver education session
  • Week 3: 1-hour caregiver education session
  • Week 4: 30-minute lesson in classroom or group setting
  • Week 8: 30-minute, follow-up visit with classroom activities
  • Week 12: Reevaluate pre-K students to determine retention

Student-only training schedule

  • Week 1: 30-minute classroom lesson
  • Week 4: 30-minute, follow-up visit with classroom activities
  • Week 8: 5- to 10-minute evaluation

How to get the ROAR Program at your early care center or school

To request the ROAR program at your center or school, fill out the request form.

Make Request

For more information, email CPCTraining@choa.org.

The Blank Center works with ECEs and schools on the shared goal of educating young children using the ROAR education program, a child abuse prevention program developed by The CARE Center in Oklahoma and presented by Children’s. It’s our mission at the Stephanie V. Blank Center for Safe and Healthy Children to:

  • Educate our communities.
  • Prevent child abuse from happening.
  • Equip families with the tools and support to protect their children.

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