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June 23, 2008

Member Update for June, 2008

Hello Everyone!
We've had a lot happen in the last 4-6 weeks.
  • Welcome to Colorado, our newest chapter. Jane from California forwarded us a news story about a man in Western Colorado who needed some help, and a few days later Jason started the process to create a chapter. Really nice people, and already getting a lot done. If you have relatives for friends in Colorado, let them know they have a resource for safety education and advocacy.
  • Safe Child Week was a great success. Regional Library systems, the Attorney General's Office, the Governor, the Legislature, the PTA, several pediatric clinics, Moms' clubs, PEACE of Mind... all told, we reached approximately 30,000 people with the message of preventative safety education, using the Take 25 program from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And that's not counting the people reached with media coverage! Tremendous thanks to everyone who participated, and -if you missed the chance- there is more coming up with the Safe Child Effort:
  • Town Hall meetings are scheduled in 7 Legislative Districts so far, starting in September. These Town Halls are in further observance of Missing Children's Day, and will cover children's safety issues and crime prevention.  Local legislators and elected officials, local law enforcement, and experts in crime prevention will be attending as speakers and for Q&A. If you would like to participate in this effort, or would like more information, please contact us.
  • Our agenda for 2008-09 is on the website. Our focus this year is on the Safe Child project, Increased Penalties in School Zone legislation, Statute of Limitations on Felony crimes committed against kids, and Predatory Exposure.
  • Paula is going on hiatus for the rest of the year.  We wouldn't be here without her dedication and hard work: she spent hundreds of hours getting this non-profit up off the ground, offering support, driving to Olympia to testify, etc., and all the while being a great parent and finding success in her demanding career. This leaves an opening in our organization for a Director. It's an unpaid position, and time commitments range from 10-30 hours per week. Higher-level project management skills are necessary, along with some experience in, or knowledge of, law enforcement, social work, legislation, or fund raising. If you're interested, send in your resume and cover letter.

Enjoy your summer, and keep safe! Here are Summer Safety Rules from NCMEC - a very good read. Print the .pdf and talk to your kids about it.

Search the Web

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April 20, 2008

statutes of limitation for felony CSA

What do you think about the statutes of limitation placed on felony sex crimes committed against children? Do you think they should go away? Do you think they should be extended? What do you think about statutes of limitation on ANY felony?

This year, we're working on this - and it will be a lot of work. Things to consider:

  • quality of the victim's memory regarding traumatic events; accuracy of victims' memories after long periods of time.
  • why are there statutes of limitation on any felonies? What's the legal basis for statutes of limitation?
  • can we do this incrementally? extend the limitation by, say, five years, and separately, work on removing the statutes of limitation on all Class A felonies.
  • is there room for comprimise? between legislators, current law, and victims' advocates/activists there are some very varying ideas on what justice looks like.

Email us, or post here, and tell us what you think. We read them all, and we appreciate the responses.

 

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March 24, 2008

March Update

2008 is an eventful year so far.
In January, we worked with the Washington State Bar Association on their methods of dealing with members accused of sex crimes, prepared for the 2008 Legislative Session, and we traveled to Olympia to testify before a legislative committee.
In February, we made several trips to Olympia to testify and talk to legislators, put up a new website, and started preparations for Missing Children's Week, in May.
In March we
  1. Watched the clock as all of our Bills stalled in the final stage of the legislative session. In those final hours, the legislators showed us that they do not share our priorities. Disappointed? Hugely. Dis-spirited? Yeah, a little. And very motivated to get our message heard and our legislation passed in 2008/09.
  2. Received word from the Washington State Bar Association that they read our Letter of Request and agree that this is an issue they need to work on. They're forming a committee to figure out the best method of dealing with members accused of sex crimes, so that consumers of legal services in Washington State can have some faith in the integrity of those listed on the WSBA's member pages.
  3. Continued work on Missing Children's Week. This will be a week of prevention education in observance of Missing Children's Day. We're working with a rapidly growing number of organizations across Washington State to bring some amount of prevention education to every single child and care-giver in the state, in the hopes of reducing the horrifying number of children preyed upon each year.
  4. We still need help! The offers of encouragement are wonderful, and very appreciated,  but all of this work costs a bit of money, and takes a lot of time. $12 pays for the website for a month, and you can donate it by buying a couple of items from our store!  Or, if you'd like to work on a project, please contact us and let us know - a few hours of your time is a wonderful way to help.
  5. April 3 is "Blog Against Sexual Violence" day. You can participate over at www.wash-cap.org/blog. We're going to start a few topics, and you can come on over and participate. What topics would you like to see discussed? Let us know, and we'll get them up.
Thank you for your continued support. We started off the year with a lot of enthusiasm, and we're continuing with dedication and tenacity.
We have a very full agenda, we have a detailed plan of action, and we are moving forward.
-Bethan & Paula
PS - if you'd like to be removed from this mailing list, please reply with "unsub" in the subject line. Thanks!

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March 03, 2008

Great Blogs to visit for more information

Blogs will be added to this post as we get time.

there are a lot, so here's the best one: www.fraudarena.wordpress.com. fantastic collection of information and commentary, check out her blog links, as well.

MASP of California now has a blog, brand new. You can visit and join in discussions at www.maspofcalifornia.blogspot.com.

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February 29, 2008

Crunch time - we're in Rules!

HBs 2728 and 3103, and SB 6358 have passed through standing committees and are in the Rules Committees.
This is great news, and thank you all for your efforts in communicating with the Legislature in the last few days; I really think it made a big difference for HB 2728.
The Bills have moved to the Rules committees for the second reading; it's up to those committees whether or not the Bills are read again at all, and whether or not they move onto their third reading, which is the House or Senate vote to move it into law.
We have sent our own letters of support to ensure that the addresses and formatting work, and updated the Support Legislation webpage. There are now two email forms, and two sample letters.
Please take a few minutes and send your support for these Bills to Olympia. If you'd prefer, you can call the members of each Rules committee, House or Senate. If you select the links, and then select the various names, their contact information will be immediately visible.
To save you time, the Chair of the Senate Rules committee is Rosa Franklin, and her office is reached at (360) 786-7656. The Chair of the House Rules Committee is Frank Chopp, and his office can be reached at (360) 786-7920.
Thank you for your efforts. Every single email and phone call really does make a difference.

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February 27, 2008

Legislative update and new features!

Legislative Update-
 
We lost SB 6386 and HB 2715 - both bills would have made great changes in laws to protect our kids. We'll work on them over the next year, and get them through the next session.
 
Three bills are still in the running, and they're in the home stretch. SB 6358, HB 3103, and HB 2728. All are very simple pieces of legislation that would go a long way toward correcting gaps that let a lot of predators through to our kids. You can read about them on our Support Legislation page, and you can support them there, too.
 
HB 2728 is a big deal for us, and it needs your support.
 
Please go to our Support Legislation page and send the pre-addressed email there, or simply contact the Senate Committee for Human Services and Corrections and let them know you support HB 2728. I call them all the time, the woman that usually answers the phone is very nice.
 
That phone number is 360-786-7316. If they don't answer the phone, you can just leave a message with your name, the city you live in, and your support HB 2728.
 
Activism doesn't get any easier!
 
Also, we have a newly-built website, and a MUCH better blog. The blog is a great thing because, should you choose to, you can subscribe to the RSS feed and read our updates along with your daily RSS news, rather than get it in your inbox. If you'd like to do that, let me know, and we'll unsubscribe you from this newsletter.
 
In May we're observing National Missing Children's Day - with a week of activities. Mom's Clubs, PTSAs, preschools, public schools, and law enforcement - everyone is joining in, and it's a fantastic thing. Why is it so fantastic?
 
58,000 non-family abductions in the US every year. Some abductions last for a very short period and the child isn't transported - however, in the vast majority of even the most brief abductions, the child is still sexually or physically victimized.

While it's an important and necessary act to record certain information about kids in case they get kidnapped - we need to prevent the assault, the kidnapping, the sexual violence toward children.
 
So, a week of access to prevention education, for on the street and on the internet. If you want to help, let us know. More details will follow when we have all of the participating organizations levels of commitment, which you can read more about at our website on the page National Missing Children's Week.
 
Please go check out the website, shop at our store, and comment on our blog!

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In support of HB 2728

I am writing in support of HB 2728.
 
You have heard testimony on behalf of HB 2728 from PB, a mother of two children who were accosted while on their school's playground by a Bellevue lawyer. This Bellevue lawyer was convicted of four separate counts of Indecent Exposure to a child, with sexual intent, and yet  -had those been his only convictions- he would still be allowed to work with children, drive a school bus, or coach a team.
 
HB 2728 is a well built, simple piece of legislation that would not threaten any civil rights.
 
Law enforcement know the difference between a protected right to get naked and an inappropriate attempt to engage a child in a sexual manner, and should they err on the side of caution and arrest someone when unsure, the charges can be dropped. Law enforcement are not the final say in what a person gets charged with.
 
Prosecutors practice tremendous discretion, knowing that they'll have to prove the allegations, and that applying them inappropriately decreases the legitimacy of the charge.
 
Lastly, the allegation would have to be proven separately. When the crime is horribly obvious, as it was with the Bellevue lawyer who admitting to approaching and exposing himself to upwards of 200 children in King Co., then there would be a piece of legislation in place to appropriately address his acts, and to prevent him from seeking out methods of getting trusted contact with other children.
 
We're asking that HB 2728, a simple bill that addresses a very apparent need, move forward.
 
Thank you for your time and consideration with regard to HB 2728.

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