Linehan Highlights Child Protection Legislation

SOUTHINGTON, CT — State Rep. Liz Linehan (D-Cheshire/Southington/Wallingford), and State Sen. Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor), who co-chair of the legislative Children's Committee, staged a news conference Monday to highlight several legislative proposals aimed at "preventing and ending child sexual abuse."

They were joined by Marissa Michaels, a Connecticut "survivor" of teacher sexual misconduct; Sarah Eagan, the state child advocate; Michael Williams, deputy commissioner of the Department of Children and Families; Beth Hamilton, the executive director of Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence; John Cattelan, the executive director of the CT Alliance of YMCAs; Deb Kelleher, executive director of the Annie C. Courtney Foundation; Keith Garbart, vice president of the CT Camping Association and Dr. Sabrina Trocchi, president and CEO of the Wheeler Clinic.

"Ending child sexual abuse has always been a top priority of mine, and by extension, of the Children’s Committee,” Linehan said. "These bills individually, but especially in totality, will go further to prevent child sexual abuse than ever before, because they focus on three important points – they protect kids while in their ‘safe spaces’ like school, sports, and camps; they educate and empower kids and parents; and they collect data which will be used to shape prevention policy for years to come."

Said Anwar, "As a parent and a legislator serving as co-chair of the Children's Committee, I want people to know that even one child being a victim is too many. Rest assured that we will systematically legislate that no one will hurt our children or rob a child of their childhood. Today, the proposed bills will provide us with more ammunition to protect our children."

Linehan and Anwar highlighted the following pieces of legislation:

• HB 6113- AAC The Provision of Information Concerning Child Sex Abuse. This bill requires disclosure of grooming and sex abuse charges on childhood sports, camps, youth group registrations. The Child Molestation Research and Prevention Institute reports that 95% of sexual abuse is preventable through education. Therefore, it is vital that we disclose this information to ensure parents are educated about who is training their child.
• HB 6399 - AAC Center for Disease Control’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey. This bill adds a question to the annual middle school and high school CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveyto ascertain the prevalence of adult sexual misconduct towards children. Despite teacher and coach sexual misconduct cases gaining national attention, there are few ways the state can identify the depth of the issue in Connecticut. HB 6399 would target this issue by adding questions to the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey to ask kids if they've encountered adult sexual misconduct. This information will be used to create programs and policies to end child sex abuse.
• HB 6417 — AAC Background Check for Certain Employees of Youth Camps. This billrequires OEC licensed youth camps to utilize standard background checks, both in CT and nationwide, for employees over 18.
• HB 6511 — AAR Background Checks for Youth Sports Coaches, Trainers, and Instructors. This bill requires youth sports coaches, instructors, and athletic trainers who are 18 or older to submit to a comprehensive background check. The state requires background checks for teachers, but not for camp counselors or coaches. HB 6417 and HB 6511 will require background checks for all adults working in camps and sports, who spend hours with children outside of parental view.