|
|
| | |
|
|
District 8 Washington Little League® takes the safety of our players and volunteers. In this section you will find information regarding safety plans, ASAP (A Safety Awareness Program) and other information regarding the steps provided by our leagues to ensure a healthy and safe experience for all participants.
ASAP (A Safety Awareness Program)
| http://www.littleleague.org/programs/asap.asp?cid=6 | A safety program implemented by each league and submitted to Little League® headquarters on a yearly basis for approval.
| The Little League Child Protection Program | The National Sex Offender Public Registry, coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice, is a cooperative effort between the federal government and the states that host public sexual offender registries. The registry, which became available in July 2005, features a web-based search tool allowing the user to submit a single query to obtain information about convicted sex offenders in nearly every state. It now includes all states. Use of the registry is free and available to anyone with an Internet connection at: | http://www.nsopr.gov/.
| While the Department of Justice National Sex Offender Registry is a great improvement over individual state sexual offender registries, Little League International strongly recommends that leagues utilize ChoicePoint to perform background checks. ChoicePoint currently conducts a nationwide check in all states except Hawaii and South Dakota.
| http://littleleague.choicepoint.com/. |
IntroductionThe backbone of Little League Baseball is the adult volunteer. One million strong, it is this corps of dedicated people who coach the teams, umpire the games, work in the concession stands, serve on the local board of directors, and serve at the District level. These people, who live in every U.S. state and more than 100 other countries, make Little League the world’s largest and most respected youth sports organization. We know that the greatest treasure we have is children. As adults, we must ensure that these young people are able to grow up happy, healthy and, above all, safe. Whether they are our children, or the children of others, each of us has a responsibility to protect them. The Little League Child Protection Program seeks to educate children and volunteers in ways to prevent child abusers from becoming involved in the local league. Part of that education has been to assist local Little League volunteers in finding effective and inexpensive ways to conduct background checks. Little League regulations now say: “No local league shall permit any person to participate in any manner, whose background check reveals a conviction for any crime involving or against a minor.” (Reg. I [c] 9.) Background checks were optional until the 2003 season. Recent advances in computer technology – allowing greater access to public records – make it possible for background checks (at a minimum, to see if an individual is a registered sex offender in a given state) to be conducted in every U.S. state. Local Little League programs are now required to annually conduct a background check of Managers, Coaches, Board of Directors members and any other persons, volunteers or hired workers, who provide regular service to the league and/or have repetitive access to, or contact with, players or teams. (Reg. I [b], Reg. I [c] 9.) required to annually conduct a background check of Managers, Coaches, Board of Directors members and any other persons, volunteers or hired workers, who provide regular service to the league and/or have repetitive access to, or contact with, players or teams. (Reg. I [b], Reg. I [c] 9.) required to annually conduct a background check of Managers, Coaches, Board of Directors members and any other persons, volunteers or hired workers, who provide regular service to the league and/or have repetitive access to, or contact with, players or teams. (Reg. I [b], Reg. I [c] 9.) The purpose of these background checks is, first and foremost, to protect children. Second, they maintain Little League as a hostile environment for those who would seek to harm children. Third, they will help to protect individuals and leagues from possible loss of personal or league assets because of litigation. In more than 40 states, a check of the state’s sex offender registry is free. In others, there is a nominal fee per person. Parents have a right to know that the leadership of their child’s local Little League conducted the mandatory background check on everyone required. Whatever the cost, the local league cannot afford to ignore this new regulation. In fact, compliance is a condition of membership in Little League. The purpose of these background checks is, first and foremost, to protect children. Second, they maintain Little League as a hostile environment for those who would seek to harm children. Third, they will help to protect individuals and leagues from Possible loss of personal or league assets because of litigation. In more than 40 states, a check of the State’s sex offender registry is free. In others, there is a nominal fee per person. Parents have a right to Know that the leadership of their child’s local Little League conducted the mandatory background check on everyone required. Whatever the cost, the local league cannot afford to ignore this new regulation. In fact, compliance is a condition of membership in Little League. A Parent’s Guide to the Little League Child Protection ProgramWhat Can Parents Do?Most children have been warned about the dangers of talking to strangers. But for many children, sexual molestation is committed by someone they know. In fact, 80 to 85 percent of all sexual abuse cases in the U.S. are committed by an individual familiar to the victim, according to statistics compiled by Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America. The truth is, child sex offenders can come from every background, every occupation, every race, and every level of education. They may be married, and they may have children of their own. It is dangerous to believe that the only threat is the stranger in a long raincoat, lurking behind a tree. In fact, the promotion of this myth may contribute to the problem. Sometimes, a child who is molested by a known and “trusted” person will feel so guilty about not reacting the “right” way that he or she never reports the problem. Sadly, we have all seen too many reports in which teachers, police officers, clergy, youth sports volunteers, etc., trusted by all, have violated that trust and molested children in their care. Of course, this must never be tolerated in Little League or anywhere else. In many of these situations, the young victims are actually seduced, sometimes over a period of months or even years. The child’s family is lulled into believing the unusual attention being lavished is a bond of friendship between the adult and the child. In fact, the adult abuser often uses gifts, trips, attention and affection as part of a courtship process. Sometimes, the courtship process extends to the child’s parent(s), but the real target is the child. Often, but not always, the victim of this type of child sex offender is the child of a single parent. In these cases, the single parent sees the child’s adult friend as a surrogate parent – a Godsend. The very opposite is true. Two good rules of thumb for all local Little Leagues and parents · Generally, a person involved in a local Little League program should not put himself or herself in a one-on-one situation involving a child who is not their own. Of course, some isolated situations may arise where one-on-one situations could take place. However, a one-on-one situation should not be actively sought out by the adult, and should not be an ongoing occurrence. |
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 16 May 2007 )
|
| |
| | |
|
