WASHINGTON INTRODUCES CHILD ABUSE LEGISLATION

          HARRISBURG, July 1 – Senator LeAnna M. Washington (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) today introduced Senate Bill 1282, the Child Abuse Identification Training Program.

          The measure (Senate Bill 1282) will mandate periodic child abuse training for all school employees.

          Washington was alerted to the need for this legislation by school employees, many of whom said they had not received training on child abuse since their hire date.

          “I think child abuse training for all school employees should be offered periodically,” Washington said.  “If a school employee believes a child has been abused, I want them to have some basic understanding of what they should do.  I don’t want our children falling through the cracks.”

          Washington added that several school employees informed her that they were uncertain as to what constitutes child abuse and what they should do if they believe it has occurred. 

          Employees also indicated that they were unclear about which staff are mandated reporters.

          “This legislation will provide the appropriate training for all school employees and provide them with valuable information and hopefully save lives,” Washington said.

         The legislation calls for new school employees to receive training within one year of the date of employment.  Other employees would have training updates every two years for a minimum of four hours.

          There were a total of 104,263 substantiated reports of child abuse statewide as of December 31, 2005. ChildLine has received approximately 1.8 million calls since 1976.

          According to the 2005 Annual Child Abuse report issued by the PA Department of Public Welfare, more than 5,000 reports of suspected child abuse were generated from mandated reporters in schools.  This number represents the largest number of suspected child abuse reports. Of that number, more than 500 were substantiated and over 1,000 children were moved.

          The highest number of child abuse fatalities, 2,536, was reported in the 5-14 age group. 

          Washington added that there should be no misinformation among school employee about what they should do if they believe a child has been abused.