If any good could come out of the Penn State scandal,

[pnwmom]

it would be if all the states with loose mandatory reporting laws tightened them up to require witnesses to go directly to the police and/or CPS, rather than simply report up the chain of command.

Pennsylvania's mandatory reporter law proved to be grossly inadequate, since both the witness and Paterno followed the letter of the law.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/penn-stat...


When Joe Paterno, the ousted Penn State football coach, was confronted with a possible case of child rape, he notified his bosses rather than call the police or the child-abuse hotline. That was all Pennsylvania law required him to do, yet in most other states the failure to call could be a crime.

In more than 40 states, the prevailing policy is that such reports must be made to police or child-protection authorities swiftly and directly, with no option for delegating the task to others and then not following through.

Already, the Penn State scandal has sparked calls for Pennsylvania to toughen its law. State Rep. Kevin Boyle says he will introduce a bill that would require mandated reporters — including school and hospital employees — to notify police themselves rather than pass their information on to superiors at work.

“It is clear that a loophole exists in our law,” Boyle said. “My legislation would close that loophole by requiring those who are aware of the abuse to report it to law enforcement authorities, rather than simply following an in-house chain of command.”

A review by The Associated Press of the abuse-reporting laws of all 50 states showed that Pennsylvania is one of only about a half-dozen states where the protocol for staff members of schools, hospitals and other institutions is to notify the person in charge in the event of suspected child abuse. That superior is then legally obliged to report to the authorities.

SNIP

[bullwinkle428]

1. A well-meaning idea, but I don't think it would have made a difference

in this case. Paterno did the mental gymnastics of how things would play out if he contacted the police vs. not contacting them, and rolled the dice thinking the shit wouldn't hit the fan until after he was dead.

Sounds pretty harsh, but that's my own gut feeling.

[pnwmom]

9. Paterno wasn't legally bound to go to the police, either.

If he had been, I think he might have. Instead, he fulfilled his legal responsibility by taking it to his superiors.

[CreekDog]

2. that's a huge problem, because without the witness, how do you build a credible case?

in a case where someone has reported witnessing a crime?

[RagAss]

3. What laws can override the ego of a cult leader???

[mzmolly]

4. It's sad we even need such laws. Reporting should be a no brainer.

UGH.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. yep. we have enough laws.

[JohnnyLib2]

8. But such laws apply to the ER folks or kindergarten aide who spots

a problem as well as to this godawful case. This one is horrifying because it was so blatant and ongoing; most are not.

[mzmolly]

10. I would venture to guess

there are many cases that go unreported for years, sadly.

[pnwmom]

11. According to that article, only 60% get reported to anyone,

including just a supervisor.

[mzmolly]

12. Pathetic.

I don't get it. :(

[JohnnyLib2]

5. Hope that is changed ASAP.

There are thousands more cases beyond Penn. Tightening the regs leads to training and more people knowing just what to do, more people feeling the legal responsibility to do so, more support for those who do......

It really is important to think more broadly; the past can't be changed.

Rec.

[valerief]

6. 24/7 surveillance of the shower rooms by the FBI with rotating agents.

And make it illegal to bring children in there.

Is that fair to the players? No. But college football could also be banned.