On Tuesday, April 3rd, I testified before the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities.  I was testifying on behalf of my bill H.03902 – An Act Relative to Mandated Reporters. The act would require that all state employees be required to report any witnessed acts of sexual assault against children.

Under MA General Law Chapter 119, Section 21, the list of mandated reporters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is limited.  The bill would require changes to be made to Chapter 119 Section 21 which would add all state employees to the list of mandated reporters.  As a graduate of Penn State University, I sponsored the bill to help ensure that the “Sandusky Scandal” that took place on the Penn State campus does not take place in Massachusetts, because our current mandated reporter laws are similar to Pennsylvania's.

The Jerry Sandusky scandal which dominated the news last November was very upsetting in that a number of eye witnesses to sexual assaults against children failed to report the assaults to the appropriate authorities.  As it turns out, they were not mandated reporters in PA and nor would they be in MA.  My bill expands the list of mandated reporters so that employees of the Commonwealth have a legal obligation, in addition to their moral obligation, to report crimes they witness against children.

While I wished we lived in a world where we didn't need laws to have people report crimes against children, the clergy scandal of yesteryear and the Sandusky scandal that unfolded last Fall prove otherwise.  I hope the committee sees fit to move this bill forward for the safety of our children.                   

Thank you to everyone who fought the lousy weather (of the only snowy day all winter!) to come to my campaign kickoff!  Your support and generosity are so greatly appreciated!