The J’s Safe Sitter Program Earns Gold Level Designation

The J’s Safe Sitter Program was recently recognized as a 2023 Gold Level Safe Sitter® Provider, which is designated for programs who teach over 125 students annually. In 2023, The J taught 280 students through Safe Sitter® and an additional 130 through Safe@Home Safe Sitter®, almost triple the number of students who participated in 2022.

The Safe Sitter® began in 1980 as a way to prepare young teens to care for younger children by providing life skills, safety skills and child care training in order to build safer communities. The program provides medically accurate and developmentally appropriate curriculum that is interactive and engaging for all participants.

The J was also recognized as the largest Safe Sitter® provider in Kansas for 2023. The volume of students was a record high for The J’s program.

“We love working with Safe Sitter® to provide exceptional educational caretaking opportunities for young teens in our area,” said Anna Ferguson, Clubhouse Manager and Safe Sitter® program manager at The J. “We know by offering this program, we are making a difference in the lives of countless families in our community.”

Safe Sitter® courses are designed for young teens aged 11-14, while Safe@Home by Safe Sitter® courses are for ages 8-11. Safe@Home by Safe Sitter® is designed to prepare students to be safe and to care for themselves when parents are away for short periods of time.

In 2023, through Ferguson’s leadership, The J began offering 1-2 private classes per month to youth sports teams, scout troops and groups of friends, which helped spur the record growth of the program. Additionally, Ferguson noticed that she’s begun to engage with students who’ve had friends or family members take the class previously.

“Word of mouth has been a powerful driver for the success of our program, and it also tells us that participants and their families are seeing tremendous value in the Safe Sitter® courses we offer,” Ferguson said.

For more information regarding the Safe Sitter® programs, visit thejkc.org/safesitter, or contact Ferguson at [email protected] or 913-327-4642.