Mass. House committee calls for private athletic program legislation
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The Massachusetts State House.
The U.S.A. Gymnastics sexual abuse scandal prompted a Beacon Hill committee to launch an inquiry and now the House Committee on Post Audit and Oversight is calling for changes in state laws to address a "glaring oversight."
At a time when more young athletes are gravitating toward private athletic programs, coaches and staff affiliated with those programs are not required under state law to act as mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect, according to the committee.
"These athletes are at a higher risk of experiencing concealed abuse because private athletic officials are not held to the same standard of accountability as their counterparts employed by public and private schools," committee chairman Rep. David Linsky of Natick said in a statement.
The committee also learned from child welfare officials that Massachusetts still has not implemented a training system that would enable mandated reporters licensed by the state to complete statutorily-required training on recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect. A 2010 state law required certain mandated reporters to complete such training.
The committee on May 18 recommended passing legislation to include private athletic programs under the 1973 mandated reporter law and implementing a standardized online mandated reporter training using a curriculum approved by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
"It is the Committee's collective hope that this report serves as a catalyst for robust discussion among our colleagues, and that our policy recommendations are considered in any new mandated reporting legislation enacted by the Massachusetts Legislature," Linsky wrote in the 17-page report.
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