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by Christopher A. Thurber, Ph.D.
I was moved by “Who Protects Our Children?” and I would like to offer
the following thoughts, from someone who treats both the survivors and
the perpetrators of inappropriate and abusive behavior.
First, I agree that camps “are obligated to do everything they can to
protect the children entrusted to their care.” One would hope that when
a camp director or camp parent enlists the help of a child welfare agency,
that agency would share this responsibility. The tragic reality is that
the number of child welfare reports far exceeds the number of agency investigators.
Therefore, only the most violent and egregious cases are investigated.
One solution to this problem is to lobby your state legislature to overhaul
these agencies.
Second, I share the author’s frustration that her son’s case (which involved
having his genitals grabbed by another eight-year-old boy), was not investigated.
Like the author, I am not surprised that the County District Attorney’s
office “decided to do nothing” after they learned about the allegation.
What I most regret is that the perpetrator (who I would guess is repeating
a behavior initially perpetrated on him) may not have received treatment.
Perhaps he has continued his inappropriate behavior with others.
Third, I support the author’s recommendations to parents to: (1) educate
children about inappropriate touch and about telling a trusted adult;
(2) choose camps wisely; (3) initiate and direct mental health care for
children whenever the need arises; (4) talk candidly with children about
his or her experiences at camp; and (5) provide professional mental health
care when the need arises.
One lingering question for all camp directors is how to handle cases
where the child welfare agency does not investigate the allegations in
question. Here are some guidelines, but check with your camp’s attorney
to clarify your state’s laws:
- All mandated reporters — such as teachers, camp directors, and mental
health professionals — must discharge their legal duty to report suspected
abuse or neglect. Evidence or proof is not necessary, only a suspicion
that mistreatment has occurred. This low threshold for reporting is
intentionally designed to protect children and unburden mandated reporters.
- Refrain from becoming an investigator yourself. Asking a child anything
more than an unbiased, open-ended question such as “What happened?”
can sabotage a future criminal investigation by “tainting the witness.”
Remember, you just need a suspicion to report.
- Design procedures at your camp that minimize the likelihood of inappropriate
intimate behavior among campers and between staff and campers. This
means reviewing appropriate touch guidelines with your staff before
the campers’ arrival, as well as providing proper supervision of campers.
- If a child welfare agency found substantiation for an abuse allegation,
one of the things they would do is recommend or mandate appropriate
services, both for the survivor and the perpetrator. Of course, whether
an agency investigates or not, you can always express your concerns
to parents and discuss the benefits of having their son or daughter
meet with a mental health professional.
- Be sensitive to parents’ needs by listening carefully to their concerns,
following up with other campers and parents involved in an alleged incident,
and enhancing policies that will make camp an even safer place.
- Document everything, from the initial conversation that raises your
suspicion of inappropriate behavior, to the phone call you make to the
child welfare agency, to your own camp’s follow-up, to the recommendations
to pass along to parents.
One final note of optimism — lifelong psychological scars are not the
inevitable consequence of inappropriate touch. Obviously, the emotional
consequences of such an episode depend on the many factors. They are,
in all cases, disturbing and powerful, but with family love and support
— and sometimes therapy — they need not affect a person’s emotional health
for a lifetime.
We all protect our children. As camp professionals, we must work collaboratively
with parents, teachers, coaches, legislators, clergy, health-care professionals,
and child welfare agencies to support each other in this vital endeavor.
Originally published in the 2003 Spring issue
of The CampLine.
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