WHEREAS, On September 27, 2011, State Representative Louise Williams Bishop introduced House Bill 1876 which would require reporting sexual offenses against minors to law enforcement officials; and
WHEREAS, On November 15, 2011, State Representative Kevin Boyle introduced House Bill 1990 which would require
those who are aware of abuse to report it to law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, Currently
according to state law, only certain professionals are required to report child abuse and employees of an institution are only required to report it to their supervisors and the person in charge, or their designee, has an obligation to report the suspected child abuse to Child Line and Abuse Registry immediately
; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania is not one of the 18 states that require all adults to report suspected child abuse
; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 1990 would change current law so that staff members of institutions must immediately notify law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, The City Council of Philadelphia supports and calls for the passage of House Bills 1876 and 1990 which seek to protect minors in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from being abused; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,
That we hereby support House Bills 1876 and 1990 which seek to strengthen the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's abuse reporting law by requiring those who are aware of sexual offenses and abuse to report it to law enforcement.
FURTHER RESOLVED,
That the Chief Clerk shall forward a certified copy of this Resolution to the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the Majority and Minority Chairs of the Pennsylvania Committee on Judiciary and to all members of the House delegation representing the City of Philadelphia as evidence of the this Council's support of this legislation.
End