Archdiocese moves to teach workers how to report child abuse

Protecting children from abuse and neglect would seem the first duty of any civil society.

But only in 1912 did the United States adopt its first child-protection laws, and not until 1967 were such laws on the books in every state.

Today, those early efforts sound almost quaint.

In 1967, for example, Pennsylvania required only doctors to notify authorities if they suspected a minor in their care was being abused or neglected.

In 1970, however, the legislature added teachers and nurses to its list of "mandated reporters." Four years later, it adopted the Child Protective Services Law, which expanded the definition of child abuse, greatly enlarged the list of those who must report it, and required the state and every county to create agencies tasked with responding to abuse reports.

In 2009, about 75 percent of the 18,000 child-abuse cases recorded statewide came from mandated reporters.

But Pennsylvania's current definition of child abuse is so detailed and its list of mandated reporters so extensive (firefighters, morticians, and animal-control officers are just a few) that many who should be reporting are displaying a "troubling lack of understanding" of their responsibilities, a survey found.

While state law does not oblige mandated reporters to take training, one of the region's largest caretakers of children - the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - has launched a comprehensive program for all its employees and any other adults who work with its youths.

Responding to February's grand jury report that it was harboring priests accused of sexually abusing minors, the archdiocese has contracted with the nonprofit Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA) in Bucks County to teach 24,000 archdiocesan employees and church volunteers about Pennsylvania's child-protection laws.

The training program began late last month and will continue through early November.

"In Pennsylvania, any professional who works with children is a mandated reporter," Mandy Mundy, NOVA's training director, said at a session last week at Stella Maris Parish in South Philadelphia.

Among the audience of 175 were priests, nuns, teachers, parish employees, and sports team volunteers.

"It's not your job to be sure," said Mundy. "It's your job to have a suspicion." And whether to report a suspicion "is not a choice," she added.