Preventing child abuse in recreation: a call for a comprehensive professional response.

Child abuse and maltreatment in America has reached disquieting levels in recent years. Particularly frightful is the realization that the perpetrator is generally not-the stereotypical creepy stranger skulking in the shadows near the schoolyard. Today's headlines tell us that the perpetrators of child abuse are almost always known to the victim, and commonly hold positions of trust and confidence in the community.

Unfortunately, perpetrators have included full-time and part-time staff of recreation and youth-serving organizations, as well as volunteer leaders working for recreation and youth-serving agencies. The good news is that the parks and recreation profession can make a significant contribution to the protection of children by adopting policies and practices that both assure that children are safe from abuse by employees and volunteers of the agency, and that will train employees, volunteers, parents and participants in recognizing and reporting suspected cases of child abuse.

How Big is the Problem?

Child abuse is commonly regarded as a child welfare problem, and a considerable amount of information has been amassed from this perspective. When a child is assaulted, however, this is not only a child welfare problem; it's a crime. Data compiled by child protective service sources estimate that more than 800,000 cases of child maltreatment are substantiated each year in the U.S. In fact, the most recent national incidence study of child abuse and neglect estimates that as many as 4,369,400 children are victims of child abuse and neglect each year.

In addition, child welfare systems are designed to deal with maltreatment perpetrated by caregivers (generally parents or other family members). To get a clearer picture of the extent of maltreatment, it's important to look at maltreatment of children reported to the criminal justice system, too. Data collected by the new National Incident-Based Reporting System estimates that an additional 900,000 violent crimes against children are reported-to the police annually. Of these cases, approximately 80 percent involve non-family members as perpetrators. As in the case of reports to child protective services, criminal acts against children go underreported primarily because children are less likely to report crimes than adults.

It's important to recognize the role of mandatory reporting laws in helping identify children who have been abused or neglected. In 1999, mandatory reporters were responsible for more than half (54.7 percent) of the cases of child abuse and maltreatment reported to child protective agencies. Without mandatory reporting laws many victimized children are likely to go unnoticed.

Child Maltreatment Legislation

Child abuse and neglect are defined in both federal and state legislation. Federal legislation provides a foundation for states by identifying a minimum set of acts or behaviors that define physical abuse, neglect and sexual abuse. The key federal legislation addressing child abuse and neglect is the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, enacted in 1974. The act has been amended several times, and was most recently amended and reauthorized in 1996. It established procedures for national criminal background checks for child care providers, described the circumstances and conditions that obligate mandated reporting of known or suspected cases of abuse, and provided definitions necessary for juvenile/family courts determination of child dependency.

Following federal legislative guidelines, states passed their own child-abuse prevention legislation. State statutes cover definitions of child abuse and neglect, requirements and procedures for reporting child abuse, reporter immunity, penalties for failure to report, the creation of a central registry, as well criminal penalties for child abuse and neglect.

Defining Child Abuse

Child abuse and maltreatment are divided into four major types of prohibited behaviors. While statutory definitions may vary slightly from state to state, the generally operational definitions are:

* Physical abuse is an intentional physical injury to a child.

* Emotional abuse occurs when a child is made to feel bad about himself or herself, or when a caregiver says things that hurt the child. Emotional abuse also occurs when an adult ignores a child's emotional needs.

* Sexual abuse involves a child in a sexual act or situation. The purpose may be to provide sexual gratification or to benefit the abuser financially. Any sexual activity between a caregiver and a child is sexual abuse.

* Neglect is failure to provide for a child's basic needs when you're able to do so. These needs include food, clothing, shelter, health care, education and supervision.

Although any of the forms of child maltreatment may be found separately, they often occur in combination. Emotional abuse is almost always present when other forms are identified.

Falling Through the Cracks

State statutes define who is required to report child abuse. Generally included are health care workers, school personnel, day care providers, social workers, law enforcement officers and mental health professionals. Because park and recreation agencies and professionals aren't specifically identified as mandatory reporters of child maltreatment, the burden may seem largely a moral obligation rather than a legal necessity. According to the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information, only two states specifically address recreation workers as a-mandatory reporter. The Hawaii statute identifies "employees of recreational or sport activities," while the Vermont statue includes "camp administrators and counselors." Several other state statutes include general language such as "anyone responsible for child care" or "employees of public agencies" as mandatory reporters. However, even in states where park and recreation professionals aren't explicitly listed as mandatory reporters, park and recreation professionals who work directly with children have an opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of children by helping to identify children who are being abused or neglected.

In addition, despite not being specifically named by statute as mandatory reporters, recreation and park professionals do have a responsibility to keep children from harm while involved in park and recreation programs. If not mandated by statute, responsibility is certainly implied in tort law. "Reasonable" is the most important word in torts. Recreation and park practitioners must act with reasonable care to protect children in their care. What, then, is reasonable care as it relates to protecting children from abuse and maltreatment?

Legal experts state that an employer is held to a higher standard of duty (care) in the selection and retention of an employee where there exists a unique opportunity to commit a crime because of the employer/employee relationship. This is particularly true for public park and recreation agencies that are entrusted with the wellbeing of the children of the community. In determining what constitutes reasonable care, the courts look to the nature of each job; the greater the risk of harm, the higher the degree of care necessary to constitute ordinary care. According to the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, "The sensitive nature of a job and the opportunity and temptations incident to it are factors considered-by the court in determining what is reasonable." By virtue of placing employees into proximity with children parks and recreation agencies work under an enhanced duty It's at the core of community parks and recreation that leaders, both full- and part-time, as well as volunteers working on behalf of the agency, are placed in positions of trust over the children of the community.

What protective actions, then, are to be considered reasonable? Although recreation and park practitioners may be expected to take reasonable precautions, "reasonable care" isn't the same as "perfect care." It's generally agreed that parks and recreation agencies can't be "insurers of safety"; that is, agencies can't absolutely guarantee safety of participants. Agencies are, however, held to take steps to safeguard participants that would meet or exceed a reasonable standard when compared to agencies in similar circumstances.

What constitutes this reasonable standard has changed significantly in the past decade. It may have been considered unreasonable 10 years ago to expect that recreation agencies should conduct background checks of prospective employees and volunteers. Ten years ago, the criminal and sexual offender databases were either nonexistent or not legally accessible to public park and recreation agencies. Today, however, the availability of online databases, as well as statutory changes and better communication between state and federal agencies, has made conducting background checks both accessible, and reasonable.

In reviewing the position of the National Collaboration for Youth on conducting criminal background checks, the American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law observed that, once an employer has legal access to state or FBI files, an additional burden to take advantage of this access may become incorporated into courts' interpretation of "reasonable care" in hiring.

Need for a Coordinated Effort

Public recreation agencies, however, are largely behind the curve within the recreation industry when it comes to developing a comprehensive approach to addressing child abuse and maltreatment. Not-for-profit agencies and sports and camping organizations have been far more proactive than their public counterparts in addressing child maltreatment. The Boy Scouts of America offers more than a dozen child abuse prevention resources aimed at executives, volunteers, Scouts and parents. USA Gymnastics has developed a code of ethics for coaches addressing child abuse as well as criminal misconduct. The American Camping Association offers a variety of resources to administrators, staff and parents. American Youth Soccer operates a program called Safe Haven, a child and volunteer protection program. Little League Baseball provides information on conducting background checks and links to state sites for conducting background checks.

Not only has public recreation in the U.S. fallen behind not-for-profit youth-serving organizations, but we also trail many developed countries. Responding to publicity about harassment and abuse in sports in Canada, the Harassment and Abuse in Sport Collective, as it has come to be known, was formed. The group was chaired by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport, and had representation from a wide variety of sport governing bodies, coaches' associations, etc. In 1994, the group published Harassment in Sport: A Guide to Policies and Procedures and Resources. The group grew to represent 35 sport and recreation, as well as federal and provincial government organizations, working to develop a strategy to create a safe environment for all participants in sport and to avoid duplication and gaps in the sport community's response to the issue. The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association also participated in the collective. Although the Canadian experience has been focused primarily on sport activities, it has brought the public recreation industry to the table as it worked to develop coordinated and consistent policies, practices and resources for the benefit of all organizations.

Great Britain has had a similar experience. Sport England was created by Royal Charter in 1997 and given responsibility for developing and maintaining the infrastructure of sport in England. Sport England created a Child Protection in Sport Unit and has been instrumental in promoting legislation requiring all cultural and leisure organizations to have child protection procedures in place with training, working practices and codes of conduct to minimize situations where the abuse of children may occur. Again, this effort has focused primarily on child abuse in sport programs. Likewise, recent efforts in Australia have been designed to take a comprehensive approach to tackling child abuse in sport. As in Canada, the focus is primarily on sport programs, and seems to miss the need for planned child protection in other areas of recreation and leisure services.

Call for Action

Protecting children while providing safe environments and opportunities for both structured and unstructured recreation is a primary concern for the park and recreation professional. Although there's a great deal of public attention focused on child maltreatment in society in general, as well as within nonprofit youth-serving agencies and organized sports programs, the primary professional body in this field has yet to address this important issue in any comprehensive manner. To retain the trust of communities, families and parents, it's imperative that the park and recreation profession take affirmative steps to protect children.

As the primary professional organization representing local parks and recreation agencies, the National Recreation and Park Association is in the position to take effective leadership to address this national problem. NRPA can do this in at least two ways.

First, by assuring that children are safe in parks and recreation programs; that is, that they're not in danger of being abused by staff or volunteers. Second, by encouraging park and recreation professionals to learn the signs of child abuse and neglect as well as how and where to report suspected abuse to appropriate agencies. Not unlike the initiative taken by NRPA to address concerns for playground safety during the 1990s, the prevention of child maltreatment is one of the leading issues facing park and recreation professionals this decade. While several hundred thousand children were being accidentally injured on playgrounds, even more children are, intentionally and through neglect, being maltreated by trusted adults each year. Because parks and recreation agencies play a significant role in the lives of a community's children, park and recreation professionals, too, should be properly prepared and equipped to play a guardian role to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Managing the Risks of Child Maltreatment

Across the country, communities are searching for ways to safeguard participants from abusive behaviors. Within the public-sector park and recreation profession in the U.S., efforts can best be characterized as uncoordinated and inconsistent. A systemic community problem such as child maltreatment can't be effectively addressed through uncoordinated and inconsistent effort. Policy development is the first step toward a coordinated and consistent approach to this issue.

Screening of prospective staff and volunteers is most frequently cited as a risk-management strategy. The Florida Recreation and Park Association has been collecting information on the strategies recreation agencies are employing to protect children. Although criminal background checks using fingerprints and drivers licenses through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are most common, other screening efforts include the use of drug testing.

Education and training are also frequently cited as a strategy to ensure that recreational participants are safe from abuse. Education and training programs range from pre-service and in-service education programs for staff to certification programs offered by not-for-profit organizations aimed at coaches and league administrators, parents, participants, as well as agency staff. Initial results of an ongoing study of public recreation agencies in Michigan, however, reveal that only a small proportion of public recreation agencies provide staff training specifically related to child abuse prevention and protection. Training programs in use tend to be focused on particular programs. Youth sport coach certification is a case in point. The National Association for Youth Sports is among several organizations offering certification for league administrators and coaches that includes content related to child abuse identification and prevention. -Another approach has been to require coaches, parents, volunteers or staff to sign a code of conduct pledge or an affidavit of moral character. The use of a code of ethics has been associated with many education programs aimed at coaches, leaders, parents and participants. A code of conduct or code of ethics pledge is an educational tool that can be used to establish behavioral expectations of leaders and volunteers, but it shouldn't be confused with an affidavit of good moral character. An affidavit of good moral character is a legal document whereby a prospective leader or volunteer affirms under oath that he or she doesn't have any history of specified wrongdoing. Although an affidavit of moral character may have more legal clout than a code of conduct pledge, it doesn't replace the need for background checks.

Web Resources

About the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Administration for Children and Families: www. calib.com/nccanch/pubs/factsheets/ about.cfm

American Camping Association: www.acacamps.org/knowledge

Background Checks, Little League Baseball:www.littleleague.org/allabout/ backgroundchecks.htm

Basics of Tort Law: A Report for Nonprofits, ABA Center on Children and the Law, American Bar Association: www.child sexualabuse.com/tort.htm

Child Protection, Little League Baseball: www.littleleague.org/allabout/background checks.htm

Child Protection in Sport, Sport England: www.sportengland.org/whatwedo

Harassment Free Sport, Austrailian Sports Commission: www.activeaustralia.org/hfs

Reporting Laws: Number 2, Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect, National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information: www.calib.com/ nccanch/pubs/stats01/mandrep.pdf.

Safe Haven, American Youth Soccer Association: www.soccer.org/programs/ safehaven/mail.html

Screening Volunteers to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse, National Assembly of Health and Human Service Organizations: www.nassembly.org/nassembly.

Speak Out ... Act Now: A Guide to Preventing and Responding to Abuse and Harassment in Sport, Harassment and Abuse in Sport Collective: www.harassmentinsport.com/e/Handbook/index.htm

State Statutes, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Administration for Children and Families: www.calib.com/ nccanch/index.cfm

What is Child Maltreatment? U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Administration for Children and Families: www.calib.com/nccanch/prevmnth/ childmal.htm

Code of Ethics, USA Gymnastics: www.usa gymnastics.org/publications/technique/ 1996/9/ethics.html

Coming Together for Children

Nonprofit and sport organizations aren't addressing the issue of child abuse in isolation. The National Assembly of Health and Human Service Organizations (NAHHSO) is an association of national nonprofit health and human service organizations. Its primary purpose is to build the capacity of its member organizations by providing opportunities for members to network and exchange ideas and information about issues, trends and innovations. Included among member organizations are the American Camping Association, National 4-H Council, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Camp Fire Girls, and the YMCA and YWCA.

Working through its affiliate organization, the National Collaboration for Youth and its task force on child sex abuse, NAHHSO has published several important resources for nonprofit organizations serving children and youth to assess the risk to children. Screening Volunteers to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse was first published in 1991. For more information, go to www.nassembly.org.

J. Allen (Al) Ellard, Re.D., is an associate professor of recreation, parks and leisure services administration at Central Michigan University, in Mount Pleasant. He can be reached at [e-mail]. Mary Lou Schilling, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of parks, recreation and leisure services administration at Central Michigan University. Cheryl Geisthardt, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of human environmental studies at Central Michigan University.