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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.

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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 07, 2008

Legislative Results, 2007/08 Session

To our members and supporters,
I would like to say thank you for all of your emails and phone calls in support of this legislative effort. It means a great deal to us that you all stepped up as you did.
Sadly, none of the legislation we worked on was prioritized for vote today. SB 6358, HB 2728, and HB 3103 are all done for the year.
We committed ourselves to this work because it is important to Washington communities, and to our own families.  That has not changed, and we are still determined to make these positive changes.

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March 06, 2008

Letter to members of the Senate Rules

Respected Senators,
HBs 2728 and 3103 are solid pieces of simple legislation that are a step forward in our State's effort toward safer children and communities.
Both of these bills have the support of the community they would serve, as well as the professionals that would use them as tools to keep unsafe people away from vulnerable citizens.
There are less than 48 hours to get HBs 2728 and 3103 through, and there is no reason, save scheduling, to make Washington State go another year without this legislation as back-up for our citizens' safety.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
BT

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March 04, 2008

Legislative Update

HBs 3103 and 2728 are now both eligible for a second reading, which is a good thing. The next step would be getting pulled to the 'green sheet,' at which point we'd have a great chance at reaching the Senate vote, and then Law.

Keep the phone calls and emails going! March 7 is the last day.

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