Senate Considers Legislation To Prevent Child Abuse

By Adrianna McGinley

Child protection professionals recommended that members of the Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families consider bipartisan legislation that would give adults the education necessary to appropriately report suspected child abuse.

In the midst of the Penn State and Syracuse sex abuse scandals, Congress is reviewing laws regarding the responsibility adults have to report child abuse.

“There’s nothing more troubling than a child who’s been physically, sexually, or emotionally abused. Then abused again because of the failure of adults that they turn to who either don’t listen, or who do listen, but in order to protect the brand of an institution or the reputation of a team, don’t report it,” said subcommittee Chairwoman Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.).

Sheldon Kennedy, former NHL player, co-founder of Respect Group Inc. and former victim of child abuse, told the panel that mandatory, comprehensive, ongoing training and education for adults working directly with children is the key to preventing and reporting child abuse.

“My abuser was International Hockey Man of the Year in Canada, that gave him almost God-like status, sound familiar?” Kennedy said, alluding to the recent scandals at Penn State and Syracuse. “The man who preyed on me took advantage of his position as a coach to look for children who were especially vulnerable.”

“In every case of child abuse, certainly in my own,” Kennedy added, “there are people who had a gut feeling that something was wrong but didn’t do anything about it… [Pedophiles] are counting on public’s ignorance or worse yet, their indifference.”

Kennedy said in his experience working with victims of child abuse, a child tells seven people of their abuse before they are taken seriously. A number he says is “completely unacceptable.”

“Educating the good people, the 99 percent of our population is our best defense to prevent abuse,” Kennedy said.

Frank Cervone, Executive Director of the Support Center for Child Advocates, agreed that comprehensive training is essential in preventing child abuse since many of those working directly with youth are completely unaware of their state’s reporting laws. The “speak up” legislation Congress is considering, he said, would require states to mandate the reporting of known or suspected incidents of abuse.

Cervone recommended building child abuse awareness training into licensure and certificate programs of all adults who will be in contact with youth in order to make clear the responsibility of adults to “see something, say something.”

“We say things like ‘it’s not my job, someone else will respond,’ or we think ‘if I step in here, it’ll be worse for the child,’ to which I say ‘how can it get worse?” Cervone said. “We fool ourselves if we think that stopping the crime is not the best solution.”

“Our nation needs to reach a consensus that we will never ever ever turn a blind eye to a crime against an innocent child. We have to defend our kids, otherwise we are failing as human beings and we are failing as legislators,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said. 

The federal crackdown on polygamist crime

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on increasing coordination between state and federal governments concerning crimes associated polygamy. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said some crimes committed by fundamentalist polygamist groups are almost unspeakable. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) said the crimes include statutory rape, domestic abuse, and child abuse.

Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said these polygamist groups use a religious cloak to conceal their criminal behavior, their crimes going largely unchecked by government agencies. He called the communities participants in a form of organized crime. He said he introduced a polygamy task force bill to help stop "these lawless organizations."

Brett Tolman, a United States Attorney for the District of Utah, said that aggressive efforts in his state pushed the groups across state lines and even into Canada and Mexico. He called the groups self-contained, extremely insular, and uncooperative. Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas, said better federal assistance and coordination could help track down and locate criminals, as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), the group committing the crimes, is highly mobile. Terry Goddard, Attorney General of Arizona, said the FLDS has thrived in their isolation, so overall cooperation between state, federal, and even international authorities is necessary to "prosecute to the end."

Youngest children at greatest risk of child abuse

The Senate Health. Education, Labor, and Pensions Children and Families Subcommittee held a hearing on the reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Chairman of the Subcommittee, said that the Act provides grants to programs to prevent and treat child abuse, among many other things. He said that rates of physical abuse of children in the past few years have gone down, while rates of neglect have remained high. He added that half of child abuses cases involve domestic violence and that the very youngest children are the most abused and neglected.

Cheryl Boyce, chief of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Child Abuse and Neglect Program, emphasized the prevalence of neglect in child abuse cases. She said that child abuse leads to serious problems later in life, including depression and alcohol abuse.

A parent from Columbus, Ohio, Tanya Long, provided testimony of someone who has used a CAPTA-funded program to prevent child abuse. She used Parents Anonymous, an abuse prevention organization, to lift herself out of drug addiction and learn to provide a safe and healthy home for her children. Dodd said that he expects strong bipartisan support for the renewal of the Act.