Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Assemblywoman Monica Wallace is introducing a bill requiring members of the clergy to report child abuse. Her bill, the CARE Act, comes weeks after the state passed the child victims act.
New York's recently enacted Child Victims Act allows child victims of sexual abuse, who were previously time-barred by the statute of limitations, the opportunity to file lawsuits concerning their abuse up to age 55. While Wallace supported the measure and believes it was a critical first step in ensuring prior victims of child sexual abuse may seek justice, she also believes it is imperative that the state close the loopholes in the law that permitted such abuse to exist undetected for decades. As such, Wallace wrote the CARE Act to clarify that clergy members from every religion also have an obligation to protect children from abuse and maltreatment.
Under current state law, clergy members are not included in the otherwise extensive list of professionals required to report suspected cases of child abuse. Moreover, clergy are prohibited from disclosing any communications made to them relating to child sexual abuse or maltreatment when such communications are made confidentially in the scope of their professional character as a spiritual adviser.
She says the inherent potential for conflict between mandatory reporting requirements and privilege would be addressed under her bill. She says creating a bright line-rule for mandatory reporting takes the decision-making power regarding assertion of privilege out of the hands of individual clergy and ensures that any clergy who learns of a child being abused or mistreated will have the obligation to report that abuse.
