What protections should a parent expect for their child's field trip?

[Amati]

What protections should a parent expect from an organization that has taken the responsibility for their child on a field trip? There is a situation reported in today's paper about a 7 year old girl who went on a field trip with the YMCA. A teenage boy is now charged with sex assaults against the girl, which occured in at least one incident on the bus to a field trip. The YMCA now says that the offender was not their employee nor volunteer, but rather a "paying" teenage in a youth leadership program. As a parent, I fully expect an organization that has taken custody of my child during a field trip to be limiting who has access to my child - limiting it to other children, screened employees, and screened volunteers. A molester "paying their way" into access to my child just does not cut it - what's up with the YMCA???

Does anyone else find this situation distressing?

Here are some excepts from the StarBulletin article for background:

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/200...A_program.html

"An alleged series of sexual assaults against a 7-year-old girl has YMCA of Honolulu officials facing questions about its "junior leader" program."

"Larry Bush, president of the YMCA of Honolulu, issued a written statement yesterday that stressed that the teenager was not an employee or volunteer of the YMCA. He said those in the YMCA Junior Leader program pay to participate."

"YMCA officials did not respond to Star-Bulletin questions about training, screening and supervision of junior leaders."

"Police said Rouse was assigned as a junior leader to the group that included the girl during a trip on June 26, 2007, to Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park. While riding on a bus, the girl awoke to find him touching her genitalia over her clothing, police allege. Police charge there were at least three other incidents."

[Frankie's Market]

Re: What protections should a parent expect for their child's field trip?

I don't know how familiar you are with the YMCA and its programs. When I was a kid, my parents sent me and my siblings to their Summer Fun. All of the kids in each Y were divided into various groups led by an adult "leader" and teenaged "junior leaders." While the jr. leaders (anywhere from 13-18 years old) were given some responsibilities in teaching and working with the kids, everything was always done under the supervision of the leaders. I would assume that in this day and age, the leaders go through the normal background check that is typical of any job that involves young children. But if the same is not true of jr. leaders,.... then that is something that needs to be changed. Although in fairness to the Y, details re: criminal records of youths/family court proceedings are kept under a tighter confidential lid as compared to adult offenders. So even if that boy had a prior record, it may not have been something that YMCA personnel were privy to.

You are right to be concerned about the safety of every child to whom the YMCA is entrusted with. If the organization is not allowed to conduct a thorough enough background check on jr. leader applicants because of confidentiality laws for juvenile offenders, then maybe jr. leaders should have no role in working with the Summer Fun and After School Care children. If that happens, it would be a sad thing since the vast majority of the jr. leaders are good people and role models. But all it takes is one bad apple to ruin it for everyone.

[tutusue]

Re: What protections should a parent expect for their child's field trip?

[...]
"Larry Bush, president of the YMCA of Honolulu, issued a written statement yesterday that stressed that the teenager was not an employee or volunteer of the YMCA. He said those in the YMCA Junior Leader program pay to participate."
[...]

Serious questions...Exactly what difference does it make that the teen paid to participate in the Y's program, rather than being an employee or a volunteer? What exactly does this statement by Larry Bush have to do with the teen's alleged behavior? Is he saying the Y is less responsible because the teen paid to participate?

[cyleet99]

Re: What protections should a parent expect for their child's field trip?

I'm so sorry for this child, and I wish she would have told on the perp immediately. I find it distressing that it was not noticed by any other kids. DS goes to summer camp in Mililani at the Y, and he is a chatterbox daily about what happened to whom and such. I always encourage him to tell the leader if he sees any type of meanness or attacks (to himself or others.)

The reason he is at that Y is bad experiences with Kama'aina Kids in Mililani a year ago...physical attacks on the buses with no supervision. When I approached the counselors about the incidents, they ignored the complaints. I have only had good experiences with the YMCA. If we have a question or problem, it is addressed right then. I hear that the staff at KK has improved since that time, but DS is not willing to try it again.

Since the report stated "a series of attacks," I also wonder if the child was initially drawn into this contact by the older boy showering her with attention, then it went awry and she was too ashamed and scared to tell.

[Kaonohi]

Re: What protections should a parent expect for their child's field trip?

Parents enrolling their children in ANY paid for, public program have a reasonable expectation for the protection of their children from harm, be it physical, emotional, spiritual or otherwise.

Yet as we of the 21st century know all too well, there is no impervious membrane to protect our children or other loved ones from the World at-large. Our responsibility for protection does not end at the drop-off point.

My son was significantly physically and emotionally abused at St. Mark's School in Kaneohe, by the school bullies in his class, who incidentally were also the sons of the two playground monitors being paid by the school to 'keep the peace.' They should have been fired!

Abuse happens, often under our very noses, by people we trust.

Why don't kids tell on their abusers? I don't know. Shame? Mistrust? Fear?

It's part of our cultural construct (I am not limiting this to Hawaii); bullies threaten, and kids are not trained to respond, because we don't know how to (or expect to have to) teach them.

I don't know how to prepare our children for EVERY exigency, every possible abuse, but we must discover how. Even if it means exposing them to concepts they are not ready to absorb (genital privacy).

If we cannot, we risk having them scarred for life.