Workshop on Child Safety at Embattled Sandwich Camp
By George Brennan
FORESTDALE — The consultant hired by Camp Good News officials to help overcome a tarnished image and reopen the 77-year-old camp has personal experience with a sex abuse scandal. Rick Braschler, director of CircuiTree Solutions, was hired to review the Camp Good News policies and procedures and recommend ways to improve safety for children. Next month, he will also offer a workshop to teach camp leaders and others in the community willing to pay $100 how to protect children from predators. But the training goes beyond criminal background checks and establishing protocols to report abuse. "We need insight into how does a person with bad intent infiltrate an organization and then gain trust so they can follow through on their bad intent," Braschler said. In 2009, Kanakuk Kamps, a Christian-based camp in Missouri where Braschler was the risk management director, was rocked by scandal, according to published reports. Peter Newman, the assistant camp director at Kanakuk, pleaded guilty in 2010 to three counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and two counts of enticement of a child. He admitted to engaging in various sex acts with male campers while he was a counselor and was sentenced to two life sentences, plus 30 years in prison. The camp is now facing multiple lawsuits from Newman's victims, according to published reports. Enrollment has suffered and the reputation of the 86-year-old camp took a significant hit, Braschler said. The trust of parents was shaken and staff members felt they had been betrayed by someone with whom they had put their faith, he said. "It hurt everybody, and everybody suffers," Braschler said. "The kids suffer, the parents suffer, and the community suffers. We all get hit in certain ways." Jonathan Fitch, an attorney for Camp Good News, said Jane Brooks, Camp Good News director, was aware of the Kanakuk incidents when Braschler was hired. "Who better to understand the issues than someone experiencing them firsthand?" he said. A year ago, Camp Good News was forced to close for the summer for the first time in its 75-plus years amid sex abuse allegations. The scandal was ignited by a revelation in February 2011 from U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., that he had been abused as a boy at a religious camp on Cape Cod. Though Brown never named the facility, Camp Good News leaders confirmed he went there and apologized publicly to him. Two months later, detectives were actively investigating an allegation that a counselor who once abused a camper was still working at Camp Good News when Charles "Chuck" Devita committed suicide on the camp property. In the days that followed, more alleged victims came forward and now total 16, according to two Boston attorneys representing them. Only two of those 16 have filed lawsuits to date, but more are expected and a separate criminal investigation continues. The pending legal cases are why Brooks is not commenting publicly, Fitch said. The alleged violations happened many years ago, and there is no evidence to suggest that the camp's already solid policies and procedures are not working, he said. "She's trying to make things better and make sure we have access to the latest information," Fitch said. On March 12, Camp Good News took its first major step toward reopening when the Sandwich Board of Health approved its license application pending site inspections by the health, building and fire departments. "My client is very pleased with the thorough and professional review of their license application by the town and its agent," Fitch said about camp officials. "They are heartened by the favorable vote given that night. The goal is to create the safest, fun-est (sic) environment for campers, which is no different than the goals were previously." Braschler is leading the April 12 workshop at Camp Good News, not just for camp leaders, but for day care providers, youth sports officials and anyone else who leads an organization that works with children, he said. Braschler is a licensed insurance broker and holds certifications or has been trained in risk management, OSHA, ServeSafe and other insurance-related areas, according to a biography he emailed to the Times. The workshop includes a 92-page resource manual and 122 steps to prevent child abuse that include training, monitoring, reporting and crisis response, according to Braschler's website. And though his experience in consulting in this field dates back 20 years, he said it's constantly evolving and the Kanakuk experience has changed the way he presents the information. "The first two hours of the seminar are designed to move us from ignorance to awareness," he said. The workshop is aimed at teaching how to understand who abusers are and the grooming process they use, he said. Those group leaders will then train their staffs, parents and campers on what to watch for to keep children safe. The training is meant to provide ammunition to combat against those predators but is by no means an ironclad guarantee, he said. "All procedures in the world can't prevent a person with bad intent to get near kids." Contact: gbrennan@capecodonline.com
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.