Town Committee Is Working with State on Child Sex Abuse Reporting

By Bera Dunau
Foxboro Reporter
March 2, 2017

http://www.thesunchronicle.com/foxboro_reporter/news/local_news/town-committee-is-working-with-state-on-child-sex-abuse/article_de7ef1e4-0033-11e7-b163-9b75450da087.html

The Foxboro Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Committee is hitting the books

At its February meeting, the committee discussed the input it received on Jan. 23 from Massachusetts State Rep. Theodore Speliotis, D-Danvers on its effort to expand the definition of a mandatory reporter for child abuse and neglect in Foxboro. Speliotis is the House Third Reading Committee Chairman, and he expressed a preference for expanding the definition statewide, as opposed to just in Foxboro.

“He alluded that they (the legislature) don’t like to do that, because it confuses people,” said Foxboro Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Committee Chair Bob Correia.

Two bills have been submitted in the legislature, one which would expand the definition statewide and another that is a home rule petition that would just do so in Foxboro.

Speliotis asked the committee to research what guidelines other states use for determining mandated reporters.

“He said, ‘Yeah we could do the work too,’ but I kind of got the hint, that we’d be better off we got the work done,” said Correia.

“He wants to push this,” said Rev. Bill Dudley, a member of the child sexual abuse awareness committee. “He said the legislature really listens if they get input that the laws in Massachusetts have fallen behind other states.”

At the meeting, a number of the laws in other states had already been examined, with the law in Louisiana looking to be almost exactly what the committee is looking to implement in Massachusetts. Committee member Jeff Downs was selected to look into the laws in other states and gather the data.

More training scheduled

A key part of the committee’s mission involves training people to recognize the signs of child sexual abuse, and four trainings will be held over the next two months.

On March 24, a training will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Mill Street Recreation Center, and another training will be held there the next day from 9 to 11 a.m. On April 1, a training will be held at Union Church South Foxboro from 9 to 11 a.m. The March trainings will be focused on those involved in sports while the April 1 training will focus on churches, but anyone is welcome to attend. The trainings are the Darkness to Light program, and those who complete it get a certificate of completion.

The April 5 training, meanwhile, will be from 5 to 6 p.m. and will serve as an overview of the full program. It will be held at the Foxboro Senior Center, and is targeted at seniors who might be serving as parents to their grandchildren, although all are welcome to attend.