Now a Child Abuse Registry???
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Few of the people on the database of "abusers" have been charged, let alone convicted, of a crime. Social workers- not judges or juries - add names to the list. These people are not sex offenders.
There are numerous problems with the list maintained by the state. These problems should scare the heck out of anyone who lives or works with children. They should prompt lawmakers to finally address problems with the state list.
If you are investigated for abuse by the Iowa Department of Human Services, you have few due-process rights before you can be placed on the registry. If you are added, you have six months to appeal and it could take more than a year to have your case resolved or your name removed. If you miss the appeal window, you'll remain on the blacklist for 10 years.
Because employers use the registry to check job applicants, being on the list may prevent you from getting a job. It may negatively impact you in a custody battle. For teachers or social workers or child-care providers, it is professionally devastating.
Iowa lawmakers need to rethink the very existence of this state's abuse registry. Some states don't have one. The state can maintain a confidential database - not accessible by employers - to assist them in child abuse investigations. However, lawmakers should do something this session: Pass House File 191. Gov. Terry Branstad should sign it into law. It's a beginning.
The legislation provides some protections for those accused of abuse and makes clear they must be notified of the outcome of an investigation. It also allows appeals to be expedited. Iowans would not be placed on the registry until their appeals are exhausted.
These are important changes. Yet there is more work to do.
The legislation doesn't help the thousands of people currently on the registry and facing many more years there. The Register editorial page staff has talked with many of them. They tell of being wrongly placed on the list and losing a job. Many say they were never even notified they were placed on the registry.
Last week, Jason Heck of Grinnell said we could share his story.
Heck has a long and complicated tale of abuse allegations and social workers visiting his home - but he thought the problems were behind him. About a month ago, in the midst of a custody battle, his lawyer told him he was on the registry. He'd been there for years and found out too late to appeal.
"I've been talking to representatives and judges. All I get is the runaround. The last judge I talked to said 'You're just gonna have to deal with it'," said Heck. He also thinks being on the list is one reason he's had such a hard time getting a job.
"There's got to be changes," said Heck. "There are too many people out there with too much power to make calls on things they shouldn't. They write something in a report on paper and that becomes the 'facts' about what went on."
Then Iowans on the list face a 10-year "punishment."
It's going to take more than a seven-page bill to address such problems. For now, it is a decent start.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110213/OPINION03/102130307/Lawmakers-should-fix-child-abuse-registry
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Nearly 52,000 people are listed on Iowa's child abuse registry. Gather them together, and they would almost rival the population of Ames. It's a lot of names - more than many other states have on their registries.
Few of the people on the database of "abusers" have been charged, let alone convicted, of a crime. Social workers- not judges or juries - add names to the list. These people are not sex offenders.
There are numerous problems with the list maintained by the state. These problems should scare the heck out of anyone who lives or works with children. They should prompt lawmakers to finally address problems with the state list.
If you are investigated for abuse by the Iowa Department of Human Services, you have few due-process rights before you can be placed on the registry. If you are added, you have six months to appeal and it could take more than a year to have your case resolved or your name removed. If you miss the appeal window, you'll remain on the blacklist for 10 years.
Because employers use the registry to check job applicants, being on the list may prevent you from getting a job. It may negatively impact you in a custody battle. For teachers or social workers or child-care providers, it is professionally devastating.
Iowa lawmakers need to rethink the very existence of this state's abuse registry. Some states don't have one. The state can maintain a confidential database - not accessible by employers - to assist them in child abuse investigations. However, lawmakers should do something this session: Pass House File 191. Gov. Terry Branstad should sign it into law. It's a beginning.
The legislation provides some protections for those accused of abuse and makes clear they must be notified of the outcome of an investigation. It also allows appeals to be expedited. Iowans would not be placed on the registry until their appeals are exhausted.
These are important changes. Yet there is more work to do.
The legislation doesn't help the thousands of people currently on the registry and facing many more years there. The Register editorial page staff has talked with many of them. They tell of being wrongly placed on the list and losing a job. Many say they were never even notified they were placed on the registry.
Last week, Jason Heck of Grinnell said we could share his story.
Heck has a long and complicated tale of abuse allegations and social workers visiting his home - but he thought the problems were behind him. About a month ago, in the midst of a custody battle, his lawyer told him he was on the registry. He'd been there for years and found out too late to appeal.
"I've been talking to representatives and judges. All I get is the runaround. The last judge I talked to said 'You're just gonna have to deal with it'," said Heck. He also thinks being on the list is one reason he's had such a hard time getting a job.
"There's got to be changes," said Heck. "There are too many people out there with too much power to make calls on things they shouldn't. They write something in a report on paper and that becomes the 'facts' about what went on."
Then Iowans on the list face a 10-year "punishment."
It's going to take more than a seven-page bill to address such problems. For now, it is a decent start.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110213/OPINION03/102130307/Lawmakers-should-fix-child-abuse-registry
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