A READERS APPEAL...

Dear Members:

Throughout the course of one's profession one comes across many issues which may or may not directly affect his chosen career. In reviewing minutes of a recent meeting of the Chicago Hospital Council, I came across a session devoted to child abuse. I tried to recall whether or not we, as parks and recreation professionals and commissioners, have ever addressed ourselves to this growing problem. On an annual basis we come in contact with thousands of children. Have we ever stopped to consider that one of these children may be an abused child, and that this child needs our help in a different way?

There are more than 1,500 incidents of child abuse reported to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services each year. Child abuse involves heatings, sexual assaults, fractures, burns, malnutrition, poisoning and sometimes combinations of abuses. Under Illinois law, child abuse is "injury or disability from physical abuse or neglect ... or evidence of malnutrition" inflicted upon any person under sixteen years of age "other than by accidental means."

The law requires that the following persons report suspected incidents to the Department of Children and Family Services: physicians, surgeons, dentists, osteopaths, chiropractors, podiatrists, Christian Science practitioners, school teachers, school administrators, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, directors or staff assistants of nursery schools or child day care centers, law enforcement officers, or field personnel of the Illinois Department of Public Aid. Parks and recreation persons are not mentioned specifically by law as required to report such cases; however, I believe that it is appropriate for us concerned with the welfare of children to become aware of such abuse and to report the case.

Accordingly, Section 5 of the September 7, 1973 Abused Child Act reads: "Anyone participating in the making of a report pursuant to this Act or participating in a judical proceeding resulting therefrom prima facie (in good faith) shall be presumed to be acting in good faith, and in so doing shall be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that otherwise might be incurred or imposed."

The parks and recreation professional & commissioner should not be intimidated by the law. This section does not grant individuals immunity, but, again, has never been tested in court. The man with whom I have been in contact in Springfield has assured me that no one has been prosecuted for reporting a case. Furthermore, a case can be reported anonymously to the Department. The Department of Children and Family Services must by law follow through on this report.

A suspected case of child abuse should be reported immediately to the nearest office of the Department of Children and Family Services, either by phone or in person. Reports should include the names and address of the child and his parents or custodians; the child's age, the nature of the child's condition, including any evidence of previous injuries and disabilities; and any other information that the reporter believes might be helpful in establishing the cause of such physical injury. By law, written reports must be made within twenty-four hours after determination of suspected child abuse.

Thank you, Fellow Members and Commissioners, for your consideration of this growing problem.

Yours sincerely,

Robyn Glick I.P.R.S. Board member

(Editor's note: The Illinois Park and Recreation Society Board voted to support this proposal and encourage all members to be aware of child abuse and to report it.)

Illinois Parks and Recreation 17 July/August, 1974