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Major youth groups make headway against sex abuse
Associated Press ^ | 1/21//12 | DAVID CRARY

Posted on 01/21/2012 2:32:13 PM PST by SmithL

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Boy Scouts have labored for decades to curtail sexual abuse of scouts by adult volunteers. But when their name was evoked in a lawsuit linked to the Penn State abuse scandal, the reference was not to problems - it was acknowledgment that the Scouts' current prevention policies are considered state of the art.

While the local youth charity in the Penn State case has been accused of lax policies, experts in abuse prevention say most of the national organizations serving young people - such as the Boy Scouts of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the YMCA, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America - have performed commendably in drafting and enforcing tough anti-abuse policies even as they're sometimes faced with wily and manipulative molesters.

"I'd give them all an A-plus," said Portland State University psychologist Keith Kaufman, who has studied and treated child sex abuse victims.

If there's a systemic problem, Kaufman and other experts say, it's lack of data - from the organizations themselves and from law enforcement agencies - that could illustrate progress by youth groups. The Scouts, for example, said, "We simply do not track or have data that would help quantify trends."

Nonetheless, several independent child-protection experts told The Associated Press that the Scouts - though buffeted in the past by many abuse-related lawsuits - are now considered a leader in combatting sexual abuse.

"The Boy Scouts have the most advanced policies and training," said Victor Vieth, a former prosecutor who heads the National Child Protection Training Center in Minnesota. "With even slight violations, there's no debate. Someone who transgresses one of these rules is moved out - you don't need to give them a second chance."

(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: bsa; childabuse; scouting; youthprotection

1 posted on 01/21/2012 2:32:22 PM PST by SmithL
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To: SandRat

Yeah, I’m current with my Youth Protection training.


2 posted on 01/21/2012 2:34:02 PM PST by SmithL (If you reward certain behavior, don't be surprised if you see more of that behavior)
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To: SmithL

Great post - surprised the AP would do a good story about abuse and the Scouts. Rush said it when the Penn State story broke, “this is about a gay man not anything else.” Too bad the major media can’t use the words that fit the men who abuse choir BOYS and SCOUTS...gay.


3 posted on 01/21/2012 2:41:29 PM PST by q_an_a (the more laws the less justice)
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To: RonF; AppauledAtAppeasementConservat; Looking for Diogenes; wisconsinconservative; AFPhys; ...

Scout Ping!

Finally we get recognized for doing Protection Youth Right.


4 posted on 01/21/2012 2:53:13 PM PST by SandRat (Duty - Honor - Country! What else needs said?)
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To: SmithL

Do you think that this might, just might wake a few folks up to the fact that we know how to do things right? Perhaps even cause a few minds to be changed about us?
maybe even slow the attack on Scouting?


5 posted on 01/21/2012 2:59:03 PM PST by SandRat (Duty - Honor - Country! What else needs said?)
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To: SandRat

Unfortunately, this won’t make any difference at all.


6 posted on 01/21/2012 3:03:31 PM PST by SmithL (If you reward certain behavior, don't be surprised if you see more of that behavior)
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To: SmithL
Schoener said, the Scouts' prevention program is "considered somewhat the gold standard" - though he suggested that the training material could more clearly show how the Scouts learned from past problems. "They need to shout loud and clear, this has happened in the Boy Scouts - here are examples," Schoener said. Johnson indicated he agreed, saying, "There are some Scout-specific situations that should be addressed in the training going forward."

I'd say the pamphlet is clear enough. From what I remember, it DOES describe what happens in specific situations. We parents must sign-off that we read it to our sons, and one of mine was age 11 or 12 at the time. The pamphlet was detailed enough. In fact, I picked and chose what to read because my son at that age was clearly disturbed by what he was hearing. I remember the expression on his face and what he said: "This is disturbing." We don't need to frighten them anymore than that.

7 posted on 01/21/2012 3:09:49 PM PST by Tired of Taxes (Every day is a blessing.)
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To: SmithL

This is a perfect statement from the AP article -”...the Scouts’ prevention program is “considered somewhat the gold standard.”


8 posted on 01/21/2012 3:10:01 PM PST by SandRat (Duty - Honor - Country! What else needs said?)
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To: SmithL

Perhaps you’re right, but I hope not.


9 posted on 01/21/2012 3:12:13 PM PST by SandRat (Duty - Honor - Country! What else needs said?)
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To: q_an_a

Too bad the major media can’t use the words that fit the men who abuse choir BOYS and SCOUTS...gay.

&&&
Well, except that the word is actually “homosexual”. The word “gay” means “happy”, which, I suppose, is the reason the homosexual activists want us to use it instead of the appropriate term.


10 posted on 01/21/2012 3:29:47 PM PST by Bigg Red (Pray for our republic.)
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To: Bigg Red

The correct word is “sodomite”, not “homosexual” or “gay”.


11 posted on 01/21/2012 5:26:49 PM PST by achilles2000 ("I'll agree to save the whales as long as we can deport the liberals")
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To: SmithL

Keep the queers out, the remaining problem will be statistically insignificant.


12 posted on 01/21/2012 7:04:28 PM PST by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Go Steelers (what's the baseball team called again?))
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To: SandRat; SmithL

I think the only people who don’t respond to this are the ones who want unfettered access to our Scouts. Our job is to guard the gates against such.


13 posted on 01/21/2012 7:23:03 PM PST by gitmo (Hatred of those who think differently is the left's unifying principle.-Ralph Peters NY Post)
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