THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, September 17, 1994           TAG: 9409170318
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                     LENGTH: Short :   45 lines

PUPPET SHOW TO TEACH THRONGS OF STUDENTS TO RECOGNIZE CHILD ABUSE

More than 120,000 Hampton Roads students will see a nationally acclaimed puppet show this year that could change their lives.

Last year, 100 young Virginia Beach and Norfolk students reported potential child abuse to authorities after seeing the marionette show, ``Knock, Knock .

Police said half the cases needed immediate attention.

In Virginia Beach last year, eight adults were charged with sexual abuse because of the program, said Capt. Herman Campbell.

``I have been in police work all my adult life,'' Campbell said, ``and I've seen that this program is going to impact more people than I personally have in my entire career.''

This year, students in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Newport News and Williamsburg are scheduled to see the presentation, said Reginia Marscheider, owner of Spectrum Puppet Productions and director of the Children's Performance Workshop, Inc.

The program, pioneered by the Optimist Club of Bayside, is being conducted throughout the state, Campbell said.

Although the children only see the puppet show, the program has three parts designed to train teachers, police and students how to recognize and report abuse.

Educators watch the video, ``Go Ahead and Tell,'' before the students see the main show. The video has been added as a police-training tool in Virginia Beach.

Then, the ``Knock, Knock . . . Who's There?'' marionette show teaches children to recognize and report abuse.

After the show, social workers or police detectives are available to talk to children. This third part of the program is called ``The Safety Net.''

``I think we have an obligation to let those souls know that somebody does care, and somebody is doing something about it,'' Campbell said.

``This has changed so many kids' lives. We want to continue that.''

KEYWORDS: CHILD ABUSE by CNB