Playgrounds Consultants

R. Leslie Nichols, is an expert in developing Child and Teen Protection Programs for youth-serving organizations and out-of-school time programs. Mr. Nichols is a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) with the American Society for Industrial Security and has a Master of Science in Security Administration. He holds certificates in Enterprise Risk Management and Emergency Response Planning and has been educated in terrorism and homeland security issues at the graduate level.

For 22 years, he served as the lead youth safety and facility expert for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, an organization serving 4 million youth at over 4,000 sites in 50 states, domestic and overseas military bases, university campuses, tribal lands, camps, housing projects, parks and recreation facilities, community centers, churches and schools.

Consulting - Mr. Nichols provides consulting services in the areas of Safety, Security, and Risk Reduction in the care of school age children and teens. He is also available to consult on facility-specific safety and security concerns and employee training. His expertise includes strategies to prevent harm from sexual abuse, bullying, acts of violence, abduction, drowning, vehicles, technology and other injuries.

Mr. Nichols has written and lectured widely on developing effective policies, screening, training, supervision, governance, internal reporting facility design, hazard/risk/threat mitigation and emergency response planning. He has conducted thousands of safety consultations for organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Africa and Asia.

View Les Nichols' Expert Witness Profile.

Coalition for Children is a not-for-profit (501(c)(3)) organization established in 1982 to protect children and to help children protect themselves. Founder, Sherryll Kraizer, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized expert and author in several areas of Youth-at-Risk and Child Well-Being, including sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse, bullying and interpersonal violence, and child safety. 

Background Experience - Dr. Kraizer was on the ground floor of the child abuse prevention field in the early ‘80s, working with the C. Henry Kempe National Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect and founding the Coalition for Children. She has written articles, books and curricula that address recognition, prevention and reporting of child abuse (including sexual, physical, emotional and neglect). She also has expertise in the areas of Title IX bullying, school safety, special education, and duty to supervise in a wide variety of settings. 

Working with schools, religious organizations, community groups, and treatment facilities for over thirty years, Dr. Kraizer has a deep and historically accurate understanding of the standard of care, policies and procedures, training, and supervision consistent with protecting children as they have evolved over time from the 1960's forward. She is qualified to assess standard of care, policies, procedures, best practices and supervision of staff in order to maximize your facilities ability to protect children from harm. 

Consulting Services:

• Child Abuse (sexual, physical, emotional and neglect) – programmatic content, policies, procedures, training, mandatory reporting, prevention best practices including background checks, staff and child supervision, continuous evaluation and coaching
• Bullying / Interpersonal Violence – programmatic content, policies, procedures, training, prevention best practices including staff and child training, supervision, continuous evaluation and coaching, response to reports of bullying
• Technology - in the constantly changing landscape of technology, communication, and free access to unlimited and uncensored information, there are strategies that work
• Employment – hiring policies and practices, background checks, training, supervision, evaluation and improvement plans, retention, and termination
• Supervision / Child and Adult – policies, procedures, staffing ratios, staff training and professional development, staff supervision, intervention, and correction, retention
• Playground / Site Safety – supervision, policies, procedures, equipment, maintenance, role of active supervision in child safety
• Special Education – Individualized education plans, service delivery, policies, procedures

International Opportunities - International Opportunities - All of the programs authored by Dr. Kraizer are now available without charge to organizations in developing countries. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Please contact her to talk about the needs in your country and how they can help jumpstart your efforts. The programs include:

• The Safe Child Program
• The Reach, Challenge and Recovery Life Skills Programs
• The Take A Stand Prevention of Bullying Program

View Dr. Kraizer's Expert Witness Profile.