PENNSYLVANIA
ABC News
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. November 27, 2012 (AP)
Pennsylvania should enact sweeping changes to state child abuse laws, a legislative commission concluded Tuesday after a year of study prompted by Jerry Sandusky’s arrest on child molestation charges.
The Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection’s recommendations include rewriting state law, redefining what constitutes child abuse and expanding the list of people who are required to report suspected abuse.
“We propose a transformation in the way information concerning child abuse is handled and maintained, the way in which crimes against children are investigated in parts of the state, and the way in which those with a responsibility for the well-being of children are trained,” said David Heckler, the Bucks County district attorney who chaired the panel.
The recommendations are nonbinding and will probably require a set of as-yet-unwritten bills for the Legislature to consider when it convenes for a new two-year session in January.
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