Applicant Toolkit
Erin’s Law is named after childhood sex abuse survivor, Erin Merryn. After Erin introduced child sexual abuse prevention legislation in her home state of Illinois, the bill was named “Erin’s Law” after her by legislators and it has caught on nationwide. Illinois is the first state by law to mandate child sexual abuse prevention. Vermont state board of education required this in schools since 2009.
At least 35 states and the territory of Guam have enacted legislation requiring states to either study or develop age-appropriate child sexual abuse identification and prevention curricula for Pre-K through fifth, eighth or 12th grades to help children, teachers and parents recognize and identify child sexual abuse. To learn more about the law and Erin’s story click here.
Check out state-by-state legislation here.
Tools to Implement Erin’s Law with Teens
Love Notes 3.0 is successfully being implemented in Spartanburg County, South Carolina by the Mary Black Foundation to meet the requirements of Erin’s Law. Read their case study.
Below is a video developed by the Mary Black Foundation to education young people about sexual abuse prevention, consent, and other risky sexual behaviors.