Make your community a safe place for children
Teaching Safe Sitter® increases the number of adolescents who are trained to provide safe and nurturing child care. Babysitters are responsible for the lives of the children they are watching. It is vitally important that all babysitters know how to keep children safe and how to respond if a child chokes.

Adolescents love it
They are proud to be Safe Sitter® graduates. A completion card is given to students who pass the written and hands-on exam. Graduates receive four free newsletters and can participate in the Safe Sitter® of the Year recognition program.

Adult Instructors love it
It's fun to teach and it really does make a difference. Instructors become passionate about the need for Safe Sitter®.

Turn-key operation
We have everything you need to run a Safe Sitter® program. We even train your instructors. Our one-day Instructor Workshops are held all over the country, and we offer video training. Your instructors will be inspired and ready to teach!

One fee provides lifetime support
Once you become a Safe Sitter® site, there is no expiration date for our service. You can call our toll-free number or send an email at any time. Our experienced customer support staff is ready to help.

Medically accurate
Patricia A. Keener, M.D. is the Founder and Medical Director of Safe Sitter®. She assures that all information is medically accurate. Updates are provided regularly.

Flexible program options
Modules can be configured in many different ways. A 6 1/2-hour essential curriculum is designed for busy schedules. There is also a 12 1/2-hour expanded curriculum designed for comprehensive coverage that includes infant and child CPR.

Scholarships
Safe Sitter® is committed to being available and affordable. We offer scholarships for low-income youth.

Strategic partnership opportunities
Hospitals, corporations, community organizations, schools, churches, parks, and others can collaborate to provide Safe Sitter® for your community.

Babysitting exclusive
Safe Sitter® is the only national, not-for-profit organization devoted exclusively to preparing young adolescents for the profound responsibilities of nurturing and protecting children. Since 1980, we have trained over 500,000 Safe Sitters in all 50 states and England.

Safe Sitter® is a medically accurate babysitting preparation program designed for 11 to 13 year olds. The competency-based, interactive curriculum was written by a pediatrician and teaches safe and nurturing child care techniques.

Safe Sitter® is committed to our vision: Better Sitters Today. Better Parents Tomorrow®.

Safe Sitter, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 1980 and currently has almost 900 active teaching sites and 5000 active Instructors.

Safe Sitter® is a medically accurate, competency-based, highly structured babysitting preparation course designed for 11- to 13-year-olds. The curriculum, written by a pediatrician, is presented in modules which may be combined and taught as one of two course options:

• Safe Sitter® Basic is a 6 ½-hour essential curriculum designed for busy schedules. It includes Babysitting as a Business, Success on the Job, Child Care Essentials, Safety for the Sitter, Injury Management, Preventing Problem Behavior, Care of Choking Infant, and Care of Choking Child. It introduces Preventing Injuries and Behavior Management.
• Safe Sitter® is a 12 ½-hour expanded curriculum designed for comprehensive coverage. It includes all topics covered in Safe Sitter® Basic plus infant and child CPR, a toddler or preschool guest, more in-class practice time, and expanded information on Preventing Injuries and Behavior Management.

Teaching methodology includes hands-on manikin practice, small group interactive learning, role-playing, games, and interaction with a toddler or preschool guest (Safe Sitter® only). All teaching sites utilize only trained Instructors - with a low ratio of students to Instructors - thus ensuring high quality and compliance with teaching methodologies. Each participant must pass a written and practical exam proving mastery of key concepts.

The Safe Sitter® program includes instruction in babysitting skills and techniques:

• Care of Choking Infant/Child - Students learn what to do if an infant or child chokes. Each student is individually tested in these procedures, using CPR manikins.
• Infant and Child CPR - Students in the 12 ½-hour course learn CPR techniques.
• Injury Prevention and Injury Management - Students learn a system to enable them to evaluate the severity of a problem and to determine how to get help. Administering basic first aid for minor problems is also included in this section. Students learn how, why, and where injuries can occur for prevention.
• Safety for the Sitter - All aspects of staying safe are discussed for babysitters and the children in their care. Students learn how to react to a variety of threatening situations from power failures to prowlers. For personal safety, they are taught strategies to use if they need to be picked up immediately from a babysitting job.
• Child Care Essentials - Students learn the basics of child development from infants to school age children. Practice is included for such skills as feeding and diapering. Nurturing child care techniques are emphasized.
• Behavior Management - Students learn how to prevent problem behavior in addition to a system which classifies problem behavior by the risk of harm. They also learn how and when to call for help when managing problem behavior situations.
• Babysitting as a Business - The responsibilities of running a business - from setting fees to ethical considerations are discussed. Students learn how to screen jobs for safety, how to judge their own babysitting abilities, what information to leave with their own parents, and what information to get from their employers.

Course Content - PDF

Benefits for Students

• Students are empowered - they learn rescue skills, basic first aid, nurturing and safe child care, and personal safety.
• Students gain confidence because the class is nurturing and learner-centered.
• Students learn important life skills such as introductory employment skills and safe habits.
• Students have fun!

Benefits for Your Organization and Community

• You will increase the number of young adolescents providing safe child care.
• You will increase the personal safety of teen sitters.
• Skills learned in class will help prepare graduates to be better parents in the future.
• You can take advantage of Safe Sitter's name recognition and national media attention.
• Safe Sitter® can serve as a marketing tool for young adolescents and their parents.

Benefits for Instructors

• It's fun to teach - Safe Sitter® is interactive with games, role-plays, etc. The ratio of 6-8 students to one Instructor allows you to get to know the students.
• It's easy to teach - Safe Sitter® is a structured course with a comprehensive and easy-to-understand Instructor Manual.
• It's rewarding - Instructors become role models to students. The well-designed program and rapport with students leads to feelings of accomplishment.
• Instructors are trained by Safe Sitter® National Trainers who've had years of experience of teaching student classes
• The founder of Safe Sitter® serves as the Medical Director and assures that the course is medically accurate.

Safe Sitter® is often taught at community-minded hospitals. Other teaching sites include youth-serving organizations, such as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, YMCA, schools, service clubs, churches/synagogues, fire departments, health departments, camps, parks and recreation departments, libraries, etc.

After completing a simple application process, sponsoring organizations get their Instructors trained by one of three training options. Two or more people are preferred to assure a strong program for your organization.

A one-time fee of $375 gives you permission to teach Safe Sitter® and provides lifetime support. You are encouraged to use our toll-free number or email to contact our experienced support staff at any time. There is no annual fee. (Limited scholarship money is available for organizations with high ideals and small budgets.) Instructor Training is $50 per person for one to four Instructors, with the fifth person free.

Each Instructor receives a comprehensive coil-bound Instructor Manual and CD-ROM. In addition to the "what and how" of teaching Safe Sitter®, the Instructor Manual includes information on recruiting students, organizing the classes, ordering supplies, etc. Our website has tips and information for Instructors, parents and students.

Safe Sitter® is designed to be a service to your community, not a profit-making venture. However, it can be budget neutral with fees paid by the students covering your costs. Remember that your fees should be appropriate for the families that you plan to serve.

Where to Look for Additional Funds for Your Safe Sitter® Program

• The best place to look may be within your own organization. Hospitals often have foundations that give grants for programs such as Safe Sitter®. Schools may have parent groups that raise money to pay for special programs like Safe Sitter®. Youth organizations and churches may solicit funds from individuals, businesses, civic organizations or foundations.
• Sponsorships may be a good option. Service clubs such as Kiwanis or Optimist may be interested in sponsoring your Safe Sitter® program. Local businesses may want to sponsor your program. The sponsor could pay the cost of running the Safe Sitter® program in exchange for recognition in your promotional materials. Note: The sponsoring organization's logo may be added to Safe Sitter® materials as long as the Safe Sitter® logo is not changed in any way.
• If you have any concerns about the fit of a potential sponsor with a youth-serving program, we suggest you follow your instincts. If you want our input, please call us.
• Applying for foundation funds can be a time-consuming process. Only a small percentage of foundation proposals are actually funded. If you decide to pursue foundation grants, consider first any foundation that has already given grants to your organization and is familiar with the quality of your work.
• Be sure to coordinate any funding request with the person who oversees your organization's fundraising. That person may have other suggestions and could be very helpful to your efforts.

Advantages for Your Organization

Safe Sitter® normally does not generate revenue, but it can provide many valuable advantages for yourorganization.

• Increase your public goodwill by offering a high-quality community service.
• Make linkages with local businesses, especially if you teach their employees' children.
• Hospitals can include Safe Sitter® in the health promotion services they sell to businesses.
• Hospitals can increase their visibility to employees prior to open enrollment for insurance benefits.
• Not-for-profit hospitals can include net costs in their quantifiable community benefit calculation for accountability of tax exempt status.
• Youth organizations can use Safe Sitter® to recruit early adolescents to participate in their full array of programs and services.

Request for Funding

Fill-in-the Blank Request for Funding for Start-Up Costs

(Date)

(Funder's Name)

(Funder's Address)

(Funder's City, State, Zip)

Dear (Ms. Funder):

Safe Sitter® is a highly-structured, competency-based curriculum designed to train adolescents to be safe, nurturing babysitters. The nonprofit program was founded in 1980 by Indianapolis pediatrician, Dr. Patricia A. Keener. It offers medically accurate instruction packaged with innovative teaching techniques and student materials. There are over 500,000 Safe Sitter® graduates from coast to coast and in England.

In (your city), as in most communities, inadequate emphasis is placed on the magnitude of the responsibility a young adolescent accepts when babysitting. Most young adolescents lack knowledge of first aid, rescue skills, behavior management techniques, and how to handle medical or household emergencies. Successful completion of an educational program addressing these competencies should be a community standard for child care providers of all ages.

We request your support in bringing Safe Sitter® to (your city). A gift of ($ amount) would pay all the start-up costs and allow (your organization) to become a Safe Sitter® teaching site. Most of the ongoing operational costs in the future would be covered by student fees.

Each year Safe Sitter® National Headquarters receives reports of Safe Sitter® graduates who have used the skills they learned in Safe Sitter® to save lives. There are many layers of benefits from Safe Sitter®. Young children in (your city) will be safer because their babysitters will be trained. Adolescents will feel valued because they will have the skills to run their own babysitting service. Parents of babysitters will know their adolescents have learned how to keep themselves safe while babysitting and when home alone.

Please consider this request to help bring all these benefits to (your city). If you need further information, please call me at (your telephone number).

Sincerely,
(Your name)

Safe Sitter® is committed to being available and affordable.

All students receive a Safe Sitter® Student Manual. Teaching sites order these from Safe Sitter® at a cost of $15 per Manual, which also includes a completion card.

Other student materials available for purchase include a Safe Sitter® kit (Student Manual with a messenger bag and other supplies), T-shirts, pens, key chains, etc. These supplies are optional - the Student Manual is the only required item. (Safe Sitter® Products)

Teaching sites establish and collect their own student fees. Teaching sites determine their class fee based on supplies ordered, Instructor costs, and income level of the community served. Because Safe Sitter® is viewed as a community service, sites are encouraged to keep student fees as low as possible. Scholarships are available for students based on financial need.

Equipment needed to teach Safe Sitter® includes a CPR infant manikin and child manikin, sample toys, bottles, diapers, dolls, and telephones. Templates for registration forms etc. are provided by Safe Sitter®.

The ideal candidate is someone who really enjoys working with young adolescents.

Instructors must be at least 18 years old with at least a high school diploma or GED.

Instructors must have at least two years of Safe Sitter® related paid or volunteer experience - training or work in nursing, medicine, respiratory therapy, emergency services, health education, early childhood education, youth work, or child care experience (including parenting).

It is best if all Instructors are current in CPR. There are specific CPR credentials required to teach or test choking rescue or CPR. ( Instructor Qualifications PDF)

All Instructors must participate in Instructor training to to ensure high quality and compliance with teaching methodologies. We offer Instructor Workshops (scheduled or on-demand) taught by National Trainers who have been personally trained by the Safe Sitter® Founder and Medical Director, Patricia A. Keener, M.D. We also offer on-site video training.

It's best to have a group of 3-4 Instructors trained. The student classes will be more fun and your program can continue even if there is Instructor turnover.

We offer three options for training Instructors.

• Live workshops are scheduled throughout the country. The last workshop for 2010 is August 11th in Princeton, New Jersey. The 2011 workshop schedule will be available in late fall.
• DVD training can be done at your facility at your convenience.
• On-Site workshops are available for training groups of Instructors at your facility.

Safe Sitter® is taught by almost 900 organizations in all 50 states and England. (Safe Sitter® Locations)

If you would like to talk to someone who has organized and taught classes please call (800) 255-4089 ext.19, or email for a list of references.

Yes, there is a brief description and a trifold brochure. You can download both to give to others in your organization to help them understand the value of starting a Safe Sitter® program.

Call (800) 255-4089 ext. 19, or email us. We'll be happy to help you begin the process of becoming a Registered Safe Sitter® Teaching Site.