Mandatory Reporting


Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse

   

THE LAW

 

Protecting Young Victims From Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017


Full PDF Click Here

 

Became Federal Public Law No.: 115-126 (on Feb. 14, 2018).

Text available here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/534


  • Per current federal regulations (as of February 14, 2018), reports of child abuse should be made to the local law enforcement agency or local child protective services agency that has jurisdiction to investigate reports of child abuse or to protect child abuse victims or to the FBI. These regulations have not yet been updated to reflect the recent change in the law. Until such time as the regulations are updated, U.S. Soccer will make reports to (1) local law enforcement where any alleged incident took place to the extent it can be determined and the incident occurred in the United States, (2) local law enforcement where the victim resides if different than (1), and (3) the FBI.
  • Child abuse is defined as physical or mental injury, sexual abuse or exploitation, or negligent treatment of a child.
  • An individual who is required, but fails, to report suspected child sexual abuse is subject to criminal penalties including fines and up to one (1) year in jail.
  • These obligations are in addition to any Connecticut state law requirements that an individual may have in a particular jurisdiction.

 

The Law has a three-pronged approach:
1) Any adult interacting with amateur athletes in the program has a duty to report abuse and or suspected abuse within a 12 hour period (Connecticut). EVERY adult is a mandatory reporter.
2) The statute of limitations in CT is extended 30 years after the minor reaches the age of 18.
3) Limits an athlete under the age of 18 from being alone with an adult who is not their parent.


*What is an amateur athlete? Any child or minor under the age of 18. Legislation is available for download (click here).



STEPS TO REPORTING ABUSE
EVERYONE IS A MANDATORY REPORTER


Mechanism for Reporting Physical or Sexual Abuse: You MUST contact everyone listed below when physical or sexual abuse is suspected.
 
1) East Hampton Police Department: (860) 267-9544
2) State Department of Children and Families (DCF) 1-800-842-2288 (TDD: 1-800-624-5518)
3) EHSC President - Beth Zavattero, bzavattero@gmail.com
4) State Association's Main Office - Josh Krusewski, Executive Director, executivedirector@cjsa.org
5) National Governing Body (NGB):

6) US Center for SafeSport: https://uscenterforsafesport.org/report-a-concern/

 

Mechanism for Reporting Other Forms of Misconduct: Other forms of misconduct such as emotional abuse, bullying, hazing, or harassment.
 
1) E-mail the EHSC Disciplinary Committee

  • Depending on the circumstances, the Club may hold a Board Meeting to review the facts, and/or may invite persons involved to speak at the meeting. The decision of the Club or Board of Directors should be sent to the State Association's State Office - Josh Krusewski, Executive Director, executivedirector@cjsa.org.



MANDATORY REPORTING AND SAFESPORT TRAINING

3 OPTIONS


1) U.S. SOCCER LINKED TRAINING

All adult volunteers, coaches, and team managers can complete their annual SafeSport training through their U.S. Soccer account. When accomplished through U.S. Soccer, the Center for SafeSport will automatically sync to your CJSA account. You may then perform a sync to your PlayMetrics account. If you haven't already completed your SafeSport training, this is the preferred way to comply with your EHSC Coaching Requirements. Further Instructions on the SafeSport Training page.

 

2) SAFESPORTTRAINED.ORG

You can navigate directly to SafeSportTrained.org for the training.  If you proceed this way, you MUST remember to save the certificate of completion at the end so you can upload them to your PlayMetrics account. To do this, navigate to https://safesporttrained.org/?KeyName=tsVWe36Xa6PS3b5NzOug.

  1. If you use this method to reach and complete the training, you must save all certificates of completion to upload into PlayMetrics. Click on button "Login" if you already have an account, or enter the required information and Sign Up. The club's Enrollment key is pre-populated in the URL directly above, but is tsVWe36Xa6PS3b5NzOug if you need to manually enter it for any reason.
  2. When prompted make sure to select US Soccer as your National Governing Body (NGB).


To complete your course registration you will receive an email to confirm your email address. You must respond to this email to activate your account.


3) STATE OF CONNECTICUT

Members can access Mandated Reporters Training provided by Connecticut's Department of Children and Families (DCF) through an on-line training video produced and provided by the DCF and available via the internet. Any interested individual can gain access to the approved DCF video training (it takes about 60-90 minutes to complete) simply by completing a required DCF Inquiry Form available at https://portal.ct.gov/DCF/Mandated-Reporter-Training/Home. A link embedded in the form will take you directly to the training video after completion of required information. For more information about the work of DCF, please go to the DCF's website home at: https://portal.ct.gov/DCF/Mandated-Reporter-Training/Home

 


IMPORTANT LINKS AND DOCUMENTS


U.S. Center for SafeSport - Report a Concern

SafeSport Code

Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP)

RAINN's Report of Consent Laws Around the Country (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)

U.S. Reporting Requirements by State

U.S. Federal Reporting Requirements

Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline

Responding to Abuse or Misconduct Disclosures

 

CJSA's SafeSport Policy

 


Connecticut Department of Children and Families - Children's Alliance:


State of Connecticut Safe Sport Policy - Child Abuse Prevention

Fact Sheet: What is "Grooming"

Guidelines for Camp Counselors

Preventing Bullying: What Great Coaches Need to Know



Again, ALL coaches, administrators and adult volunteers, whether they are board members of the club or volunteers, must take the time to learn as much as possible about this important issue and to take the Mandated Reporter Training at their earliest convenience.

 

For specific CJSA related questions on this issue, please contact CJSA.  CJSA's SafeSport Policy


Connecticut Junior Soccer Association

11 Executive Drive · Farmington, Connecticut 06032

Telephone (860) 676-1161 · Fax (860) 676-1162 · www.cjsa.org