Who are mandated reporters?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Why doesn’t the Boy Scouts think that applies to them?
[Boy</a> Scouts helped child molesters cover their tracks, files show - latimes.com](<a href=“http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-boy-scouts-files-20120916,0,6937684.story]Boy”>Boy Scouts helped alleged molesters cover tracks, files show)</p>

2

<p>Well, they probably weren’t gay, so didn’t pose a problem, right? I’d put a winky-face, but this is far too serious a matter to be light-hearted. So very sad …</p>

3

<p>I think the specifics of who is mandated and who is not varies by state but most states require anyone who works with children or families to report.</p>

<p>It is clear from the article that many Boy Scout chapters allegedly broke the law. Failure to report abuse or suspected abuse is one thing but to deliberately cover up reported crimes is something beyond that.</p>

<p>Despicable.</p>

4

<p>And family friends gave me grief because I wouldn’t allow my son to join the Boy Scouts . . . sheesh!</p>

<p>And I’m not sure that mandated reporting laws apply to volunteers.</p>

5

<p>Mandated reporting actually does apply to volunteers in some states, although IMO anyone who works with children in a professional capacity, ( in which I include people who are trained even though not paid to work with children), have a moral responsibility to report.</p>

6

<p>Unfortunately I am a registered Boy Scout, because my congregaton’s youth group doubles as a Venture Crew. I have to be a registered Scout leader in order to work with them as pastor.</p>

<p>Boy Scout leaders and volunteers ARE mandated reporters. I don’t know what year that went into law.</p>

7

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It depends on the state.</p>

<p>This makes me sad–I hope the Boy Scouts have some response that makes it less bad than this article suggests. I just have to say that there are thousands upon thousands of Boy Scout volunteer leaders who know nothing about this, because they aren’t part of the machinery of the Scout bureaucracy. They are just dads and other men who are working directly with kids. I was one of them–and we were careful in my son’s troop to follow the youth protection guidelines–like having background checks of adult leaders, never having a boy alone with an adult, always having at least two adults at events, etc. If the leadership was covering up abuse, they betrayed all those leaders who were trying to do it right.</p>

8

<p>The law varies from state to state. There are some proposals–I don’t know if any have been enacted yet–that any adult would be a mandated reporter. </p>

<p>But as far as the scouts are concerned, there is a written organizational policy that any abuse be reported to governmental authorities:</p>

<p>"Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse</p>

<p>“All persons involved in Scouting shall report to local authorities any good faith suspicion or belief that any child is or has been physically or sexually abused, physically or emotionally neglected, exposed to any form of violence or threat, exposed to any form of sexual exploitation including the possession, manufacture, or distribution of child pornography, online solicitation, enticement, or showing of obscene material. No person may abdicate this reporting responsibility to any other person.”</p>

<p>[Youth</a> Protection & Adult Leadership](<a href=“Guide to Safe Scouting | Boy Scouts of America”>Guide to Safe Scouting | Boy Scouts of America)</p>

<p>So any cover up would be a violation of internal policy.</p>

9

<p>Makes me glad my boys did Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts overseas. A much different “attitude” over there - everyone was included the boys’ safety/health was always a primary concern.</p>

10

<p>What really surprises me is how many mandated reporters are not aware of their responsibilities regarding children.
In our school district, employees including teachers & principals report internally rather than making a report to police or dshs themselves. ( still policy apparently)
The situation then often does not get investigated outside the district. ( which means the students involved can keep it off their record)</p>

<p>Even in the case of rape of a mentally challenged student on campus, ( which was reported to the principal) or warnings about threatened murder of a student ( phone messages were left at the school, one by a district administrator), district policy was to keep it in house.
[Local</a> News | Slain teen’s mom settles suit; schools to alter threat policy | Seattle Times Newspaper](<a href=“http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2002220555_jasmer26m.html]Local”>http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2002220555_jasmer26m.html)
[School</a> District In No Hurry to Report Sexual Assault Allegation](<a href=“http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/school_district_in_no_hurry_to_report_se]School”>School District In No Hurry to Report Sexual Assault Allegation | Slog | The Stranger | Seattle's Only Newspaper)</p>

<p>I know our district has lots of site based training hours, don’t they ever cover this?</p>

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<p><a href=“http://rainn.org/public-policy/legal-resources/california/mandatory-reporting-children[/url]”>http://rainn.org/public-policy/legal-resources/california/mandatory-reporting-children&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

11

<p>In CA it doesn’t look like boy scout leaders are mandated reporters. From what I know, mandated reporters can be held liable for not making a police report ( telling your boss doesnt work). I wonder if Joepa was a mandated reporter?</p>

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