A Child Advocate's Blog

April 13, 2012 — Massachusetts Citizens for Children, also known as Mass Kids, a Boston-based nonprofit that advocates for the welfare of children, announced that it recently received an $80,000 grant from the Ms. Foundation for Women to fund a campaign that aims to end child sexual abuse. Massachusetts Citizens for Children (MCC) is the lead agency for the Enough Abuse Campaign, an effort that helps communities build local coalitions to prevent child sexual abuse and provides tools and training to educate parents, youth, and a wide range of professionals about prevention strategies. MCC Executive Director Jetta Bernier said, “This latest grant will help the campaign move closer to its goal, that by 2015 every city and town in Massachusetts will be actively engaged in preventing child sexual abuse in their homes and communities." The campaign, which launched in 2002, operates in Gloucester/Cape Ann, Orange/Athol, Newton/Waltham, Greater Springfield, Lowell, and in several w...

The March 30 th  Letter writer Paul Shannon (“Voice of reason muffled over child abuse bill”) wrongly depicted support for repeal of the Statute of Limitations in cases of child sexual abuse as “madness” and its supporters as operating under “mob mentality.”  Under the guise of supporting “evidence-based” policies and opposing hysteria around sex offenders, Mr. Shannon concocts a false and fear-mongering scenario in which repeal, he says, would result in police taking a person accused of a 40-year-old child sex crime into custody “without any significant corroborating evidence.”  The fact is that repeal of the criminal Statute of Limitations would have no retroactive impact on past crimes. After the bill’s passage, only future victims would be able to file charges against their abusers without having to do so before an arbitrary time clock ran out. Readers should know that Mr. Shannon’s interest in opposing SOL repeal stems from his long history of defending child sex...

published: April 1, 2012 in the Warren Reporter Legislators, social service organizations, municipal officials and educators convened in Newton on Friday to begin a local effort to combat child sexual assault. Sussex County nonprofit agency Project Self-Sufficiency has been chosen, along with only two other nonprofit organizations in the state of New Jersey, to take part in a ground-breaking effort to end child sexual abuse in partnership with Prevent Child Abuse – New Jersey. The agency will be joined by PEI Kids, located in Mercer County, and Wynona’s House, headquartered in Newark, as the first organizations in New Jersey to replicate the Enough Abuse Campaign throughout their communities. The initiative aims to educate teens and adults about the nature and scope of child sexual abuse, and provide the tools necessary to protect children. For example, studies continue to show that many parents believe the major risk of child sexual abuse involves strangers, when in fact, up to ...

An Historic Turning Point for Reforming Statutes of Limitations for Child Sex Abuse: News From Massachusetts, and More Verdict - Legal Analysis and Commentary from Jurista March 23, 2012 Marci A. Hamilton Legions of victims of child sex abuse will tell you that when they were finally ready to talk to a prosecutor or a lawyer, the criminal and/or civil statutes of limitations (SOLs) had already expired.  Across the United States, one victim after another has been surprised by these cruel and arbitrary legal deadlines. For decades, states have been adjusting their child sex abuse SOLs in response to fresh stories of horror.  At one time, states measured the SOL from the date of the abuse, giving victims only a few years in which to sue.  Then, they set age 18 as the moment when the clock started ticking.  Now, we have a true 50-state experiment, with a wide variety of approaches among the states. There is one common theme, however:  States are c...

By Colleen Quinn STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MARCH 14, 2012….Rosanne Sliney was 5 years old when her uncle allegedly started sexually abusing her, abuse that would last until she was 14 years old. When she was an adult, her uncle wrote her a letter apologizing for the alleged abuse, she said. The letter could be used as evidence against him, but the alleged crimes have passed the statute of limitations, making it impossible for her to press charges, she said. Sliney and other childhood sexual abuse victims gathered at the capitol Wednesday pushing lawmakers to pass legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations for sex abuse crimes against children. Advocates said they have overwhelming support among House lawmakers to get it passed, with 101 state representatives saying they favor changing the law – enough for it to pass in the 158-member House. They asked that the bill be released from committee for debate and a floor vote in the House. “Mom...

Advocates to Hold Rally on March 14 in The Waltham Patch: view here by Ryan Grannan-Doll A Waltham native who alleges her uncle sexually abused her when she was a child is pushing for the repeal of the criminal statue of limitaitions on sexual abuse crimes. Rosanne Sliney, a Burlington resident who hails from Waltham, joined others on Friday, March 2, to call for the passage of a bill that would eliminate the criminal statute of limitations for sex abuse crimes. “Hopefully … people will feel more accepting to come forward,” Sliney told Waltham Patch shortly before the rally event held at the American Legion on Waverly Oaks Road. “The people of Waltham have just been so supportive. It's been really incredibly wonderful." Passage of the bill would encourage more alleged victims to report their abuse, Sliney said. Sliney, who recently filed a civil lawsuit allgeging her uncle sexually abused her when she was a child, is just one of the people pushing for the passage o...

Written on February 17, 2012 by Isis Staff in In The News Isis Parenting is proud to support Massachusetts Citizens for Children and their commitment to keeping children safe from abuse and neglect. We decided to interview the folks at MCC so they could describe their history, current initiatives and their unique logo, designed by artist Corita Kent. The "Cherish Mug" is adorned with the MCC logo and available for purchase at Isis Parenting and on the MCC website. Tell us a little bit about MCC and your mission. Massachusetts Citizens for Children was founded in 1959 by Martha May Eliot, M.D., a Harvard educated pediatrician who went on to head the U.S. Children’s Bureau and UNICEF. Her idea, which was supported by then Governor Foster Furcolo, was to establish a permanent and independent organization of concerned citizens who would work to improve the lives of the state’s most vulnerable children. Our mission is grounded in the belief that all children have basic ri...