Attention Readers: Kid CAT Childhood development curriculum and facilitator manual is now available.

If you are interested in creating a Kid CAT branch/youth offender support group at your institution, please have your sponsor/volunteer or community partnership manager contact Kid CAT chief sponsor Ronda Wisher at (415) 454-1460 or email her at ronda.wisher@cdcr.ca.gov for a copy of our curriculum and facilitators manual.

“…childhood adversity and stress can chemically change the way our brain works,” said Dr. Robert Anda, a medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and developer of the Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACE survey to The New York Times in “Linking Childhood Trauma to Prison’s Revolving Door” nytimes.com/national

The curriculum’s objective is to help participants address the root causes of criminal thinking, childhood trauma and violent behavior. It accomplishes this by helping participants explore three phases of their lives:

Past (childhood to pre-conviction)

Present (current incarceration)

Future (post-release).

The 26-week curriculum is broken into eight modules:

Masculinity

Self-identity

Identifying emotions

Consequences

Communication

Environmental influences

Compassion

Empathy and forgiveness

A typical session consists of written assignments, self-exploration, lectures and group discussion.