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	Church Officials Say Sexual Abuse down Dramatically in Archdiocese of Los Angeles North County Times December 16, 2007 http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/12/17/news/state/19_45_0212_16_07.txt LOS ANGELES - Reports of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles are down dramatically due to increased church prevention efforts, church officials claimed today. "As the causes and warning signs of abusive behavior became better understood by society and the church, the Archdiocese implemented preventive training programs for priests, teachers, other lay employees, volunteers and children," wrote Sister Sheila NcNiff, the archdiocese's Victims Assistance Ministry coordinator, in an opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Times. According to McNiff, a chart of reported incidents of abuse show the incidents are clustered from the late 1950s to the early 1980s but drop off steeply by the mid-1980s. The Archdiocese first implemented policies and procedures for preventing abuse in 1987. "For instance, while there were 49 offenders who abused victims in 1981, that number dropped to 11 in 1991, and there were none in 2001," McNiff said. Earlier this year, the archdiocese agreed to pay $660 million to 500 victims of sexual abuse dating back to the 1940s in the largest group settlements of its kind. The archdiocese also settled 46 cases last year for $60 million.
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