And we can’t wait to tell you about them! Starting with…

OUR FIRST GRANT! We are excited to report that the generous members of Foundation Beyond Belief have donated a combined total of $10,265 to the CFFP. We were one of five beneficiary organization chosen for the “Challenge the Gap” category, which includes groups that work with faith communities. All funds will go directly to developing and implementing our educational programs. We are so grateful for this gift!

GET READY FOR CFFP CONFERENCE 2014! This year’s conference will again present some of the country’s most informed and prestigious speakers who can help us better understand how to protect children from maltreatment in faith communities. Our two keynote speakers are Boz Tchividjian, JD, and Lisa Fontes, PhD. Boz is the founder of the investigative organization, Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE). He is also the grandson of Dr. Billy Graham and a professor at Liberty University School of Law. Lisa has dedicated two decades to making the mental health, social service, and criminal justice systems more responsive to culturally diverse communities and is the author of Child Abuse and Culture: Working with Diverse Families.

CHILD-FRIENDLY FAITH COMMUNITIES DESIGNATION PROGRAM TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! The CFFP is developing a unique program that will allow religious organizations to be designated as Child-Friendly Faith Communities. This designation will provide training that goes beyond what most other curricula offer. After completing the program, Child-Friendly Faith Communities will be better informed about child maltreatment and be able to present themselves to the wider community as role models in child protection.

WANT TO HELP? If you would like to take part in helping us develop and implement our programs, please get in touch by sending us an email or calling (512) 825-2835. We look forward to hearing from you and keeping you updated as the year progresses.

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Take care,

The Child-Friendly Faith Project

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Janet Heimlich is an award-winning journalist and the author of "Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment," the first book to fully examine the issue of child abuse and neglect enabled by religious belief. In 2012, Janet founded the Child-Friendly Faith Project whose mission is to share knowledge and build community around the issue of religious child maltreatment (RCM) and advocate for and empower those whose lives are impacted by RCM. She also sits on the board of directors of Foundation Beyond Belief and co-hosts the podcast, "Parenting Beyond Belief." Prior to becoming a child advocate, Janet was a freelance reporter for National Public Radio, work for which she won numerous journalism awards; she has also written nonfiction articles for such publications as Texas Monthly and the Texas Observer.