Del. Kathleen Dumais: "I think it is better to try and work on prevention issues than necessarily criminalize things," #sexabuse #failuretoreport #mcps #Vigna #CloverlyElementarySchool .@KathleenDumais1

This WBAL news story is from 2012 and explains why the Maryland legislature does not enact legislation that holds adults accountable when they fail to protect children.  Here in Maryland, keeping children safe is simply not our priority.  Remember it is just Maryland and Wyoming that have failed to enact legislation that would hold adults criminally responsible for their failure to report child sex abuse. 

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —

Some Maryland state lawmakers hope to impose criminal sanctions on people who do not report report suspected child abuse or neglect.

Current state law requires reporting, but the state does does not have the power to prosecute when someone doesn't follow the law. Prompted by events that unfolded at Penn State University involving Jerry Sandusky last year, lawmakers in Maryland are taking action to protect children, but members of the General Assembly are divided...

..."We should make it a civil offense where you could be forced to pay a fine and not actually face jail time. Let's see if that works before we create another crime," said Montgomery County Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-District 20.

"I think it is better to try and work on prevention issues than necessarily criminalize things," said Montgomery County Delegate Kathleen Dumais, D-District 15.

Competing legislation pending in the General Assembly does include criminal penalties.

Deborah Baldwin said she supports criminal penalties. Baldwin said her daughter's cheerleading coach declined to do anything when the girl revealed she was assaulted by a referee.

"We are required by law to send our children to school, and we expect them to be safe," she said. "There should be a law that requires teachers to protect children from these situations."

The General Assembly has declined to pass similar legislation introduced four times in the past eight years...

http://www.wbaltv.com/article/bill-seeks-to-criminalize-failure-to-report-child-abuse/7072485

One step forward

but two steps back.  That's the problem with the legislation proposed by three of the MoCo delegation -  State Senators Jamie Raskin, Jennie Forehand, and Nancy King.  See the bill here.


This isn't a new problem, but one that has been around for a number of years.  So - again, here is my question - why is our legislature wasting their time on something that creates more problems?  Our Maryland legislators are in session only three months of the year - during the rest of the year they research and draft proposals without the clock ticking towards the end of the legislative session.


Yet - this bill, drafted by a senator who is also a law professor at American University, has too many problems.  Is this an inartfully crafted piece of legal writing?  Or is this a loophole that Senator Raskin really doesn't want to solve?


And - why are his co-sponsors so silent? 


Here is a piece from WTOP:

Bill seeks to close sexual-abuse loophole

Monday - 2/17/2014, 5:22am  ET

WASHINGTON - In 2012, Montgomery County police arrested a 47-year-old teacher on charges he engaged in sex with students - but he wasn't prosecuted.  Under Maryland law, because the students were 16 and older, the teacher was a part-time employee and the sex acts didn't occur at the place he coached or taught, no crime had been committed. Child advocates call it "the Saturday- afternoon loophole."  Maryland legislators moved to close that loophole. So Maryland Senator Jamie Raskin crafted a bill to go after teachers and coaches in a variety of settings: Part-time teachers or coaches at public or private schools and gyms would be subject to criminal law if they engaged in sex with a 16- or 17-year-old. (Sex with minors under 16 is a crime in Maryland; this bill covers teens above the age of consent who are under the direction of a teacher or coach.)
But Senate Bill 460 has a loophole of its own: If a teacher or coach is no more than 7 years older than the student they coach or teach, they would not be subject to the law. So a 24-year- old teacher or coach could legally engage in a sexual relationship with a 16- or 17-year-old. While most schools and organizations would find that a fireable offense, it would not be a crime.


Read more at http://www.wtop.com/46/3564472/Bill-seeks-to-close-sexual-abuse-loophole and then ask your Maryland legislators how they intend to solve the problem of sex abuse in Maryland schools.

No Ethics needed at Board of Ed

This session in Annapolis Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-District 20), Chair of the Special Committee on Ethics Reform, introduced SB920, the Ethics Disclosure Act of 2012. According to reporter Justin Snow of Marylandreporter.com,

The bill comes weeks after Sen. Ulysses Currie, D-Prince George’s, was censured by his colleagues for ethics violations and as new concerns are raised over Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola’s failure to disclose income he earned as a lobbyist.

Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery, who is chair of the Special Committee on Ethics Reform created in January and is the sponsor of the bill, said Maryland is a leader in ethics reform but lags when it comes to Internet disclosure.

“All of the financial and ethics disclosure materials that we have are public information, but that’s really more theoretical than real,” said Raskin.

Currently, anyone seeking such documents has to travel to an Annapolis office during business hours to view those documents.

And:

Michael Lord, executive director of State Ethics Commission, testified that by mandating electronic disclosures the bill would accomplish what the commission has been attempting to do since 2005.

Here's a copy of this bill. Take a look -- and see who isn't covered under this ethics online bill: "providing that municipal corporations and boards of education are not required to post financial disclosure information on the Internet or to require that financial disclosure statements be filed electronically;" Because why should a public, taxpayer-funded agency that spends over $2Billion each year be subject to an ethics law?


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