Penn State scandal prompts California bill

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

A San Diego lawmaker announced legislation today that would require all university athletic directors and coaches to report suspected child abuse to law enforcement, a proposal prompted by the child molestation scandal at Penn State University.

Sen. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, said coaches at higher education institutions, private and public, should have the same legal responsibility to report abuse as a host of other officials who deal with children, including public employees, doctors and therapists.

His legislation also would increase penalties for those who fail to report child abuse - including making it a felony to "willfully fail" to report abuse and neglect or impede someone else from reporting it if the abuse results in death or great bodily injury.

The proposed law also states a "mandated reporter" would face up to 12 months in jail and a $5,000 fine for failing to report an incident of known or reasonably suspected child abuse, they could face up to 12 months in county jail, and a $5,000 fine.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/23/BAC71M3D1R.DTL

[mainer]

1. Medical personnel are already required to do it.

And I assume teachers are, too.

[slackmaster]

3. I am surprised that coaches aren't already "mandatory reporters" as are teachers

It sounds like a good bill to me.

[Xithras]

7. California's higher ed mandatory reporting rules have holes.

Because we don't typically deal with minors, and rarely come into contact with them during the course of our work, the laws aren't as comprehensive for those of us who work in higher ed. With K-12 schools, everyone from the principal to the janitor is a mandatory reporter. The laws covering California teachers generally cover higher-ed instructors like myself, so I'm a mandatory reporter, but things get murky when you start talking about non-certificated staff, positions funded by endowments and not taxpayers, and other non-teaching, non-administrative positions.

If a college coach is also a teacher, then the coach is already a mandatory reporter. If a coach is hired only to coach, and the position is paid for exclusively through endowment funds or other sports-related revenue (meaning that the person isn't a state-funded employee), then the laws don't cover them.

IMO, they could get rid of this easily, by making EVERYONE a mandatory reporter. If you become aware that child abuse is occurring, and you fail to report it, you should face criminal charges. By not involving the police, you are allowing the abuser to continue, and are supporting their ability to continue their abuse.

[slackmaster]

8. Yes, everyone should be a mandatory reporter

:kick:

[Seedersandleechers]

4. Although, McCreary's father is a pediatrician

and he certainly didn't go to the police.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. What a crazy world we live in.

We have to make a law to ensure that people do the right thing.

[tblue37]

6. Actually, that is the primary purpose of all lawmaking: to identify

what a society considers "the right thing" to do when that might come up against an individual's or a group's (usually self-serving) inclination to do something else, and to establish penalties for failing to do "the right thing."

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. The thing is, those that know the loopholes, use them excessively.

[d_r]

5. In Tenn. every person who witnesses child abuse

is legally required to report to either the police, family court, or protective services. I honestly don't know why that can't be the law everywhere.

eta I thought it was witness, but the requirement is suspects child abuse

eata that is the law in 18 states and Puerto Rico. Every state should make it a law, imo.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. too bad such laws are required to get people to do the right thing