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June 17, 2005
Bills seek to reduce child abuse
June 17, 2005 [Associated Press]
SALEM — A bill requiring school workers to warn law enforcement or the Department of Human Services about suspected child abuse by an employee cleared the Senate on 28-0 vote.
The legislation also would force schools to disclose the disciplinary records of employees convicted of drug and sex crimes.
The House, meanwhile, passed a bill that would require the human services department to release child-abuse records to the public if a child suffers a serious injury or dies from abuse.
Opening the records would help the public decide whether the department took appropriate action to protect a child, said Rep. Gordon Anderson, R-Grants Pass.
The twin pieces of legislation follow several high-profile child abuse cases.
The Department of Human Services faced criticism following the 2002 deaths of two Oregon City girls — Ashley Pond, 12, and Miranda Gaddis, 13.
An investigation revealed the agency had lost reports from Pond that she had been sexually abused by her Oregon City neighbor, Ward Weaver.
Weaver was convicted of the killings in 2004.
In southern Oregon, a former assistant coach at Gold Beach High School was arrested in April on charges that he had sexually abused several female students over a three-year period. In May, an assistant coach at South Medford High School was charged with sexually abusing a 15-year-old female student.
"It's important for you, as a community member or Oregonian, to know what's happening in our schools,'' said Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, who sponsored the bill passed by the Senate Wednesday. "This helps protect our children."
Posted by Nancy at June 17, 2005 10:08 PM