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	Don't Hide Abuse Issues Daily Progress December 30, 2007 http://www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CDP%2FMGArticle%2FCDP_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173354015183&path=!news!opinion The following is intended to produce caution, not panic: Nationally, some school systems have engaged in the same kind of cover-up as did the Catholic Church when it discovered pedophile priests. Some school systems have quietly removed teachers or other staff members suspected of abuse. Instead of alerting parents or publicly pursuing criminal charges, these schools opted to protect their reputations rather than to protect children. Their dangerous self-absorption potentially left child abusers free to pursue new victims. There is no indication as yet that the wrongdoing is as widespread as the sex-abuse scandal in the Catholic Church that occurred over many decades. But an investigation last fall by the Associated Press that some educators accused of sexual misconduct were allowed to leave their jobs without sanction - in some cases, even with letters of recommendation. Such cold self-interest is horrifying. Like the church, the school should be trustworthy. To these institutions parents send their precious children, with every expectation that they will be well taken care of. Instead, they are betrayed. In the period 2001-2005, the AP found 2,570 educators "whose teaching credentials were revoked, denied, surrendered or sanctioned … following allegations of sexual misconduct." It also found those frightening cases where educators under suspicion were able to make secret deals with their employers and just walk away. Those school systems that honestly seek to protect children can no longer rely completely on letters of recommendation or routine background checks on staff applicants. They must take extra steps to ensure that new employees are safe for children. In addition to background checks, other safeguards include: - Extensive training for employees on permissible and impermissible behavior. - Training to help employees spot suspicious behavior - and encouragement to report it to school authorities. - A system-wide culture that takes suspicions of sexual misconduct seriously and responds in an appropriate manner, with equity, honesty and alacrity. Most especially, school systems should respond without covering up possible wrongdoing. That maxim should be obvious. Appalling, it was not obvious to some - or, if obvious, was not obeyed.
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