Rep. Jehan Gordon (D-Peoria) is urging Governor Pat Quinn to sign House Bill 3887, legislation requiring employees of higher education institutions, athletic programs and early intervention organizations to report instances of child abuse and neglect. The legislation is inspired by the sexual abuse case at Penn State University.
“One of the most important responsibilities of elected officials is to make sure that the most vulnerable people in our community are adequately protected and this includes our children,” Gordon said. “Recent events have shown us that not all adults will report child abuse when they think it might be occurring. This law will require personnel of higher education, athletic, and early intervention programs to report any instances of suspected child abuse and neglect.”
House Bill 3887 was introduced in response to events with the Penn State University football program. The state already requires school employees, healthcare providers, childcare facilities, state agencies, crisis centers and more to report child abuse. This bill adds professions that interact with children in similar ways to the list of mandated reporters.
“Any adult who works with children must take the necessary action to safeguard those children from any kind of abuse and neglect. When we see instances where children fall victim to abuse, action needs to be taken to make sure it does not happen again,” Gordon said. “I encourage Governor Quinn to sign this piece of legislation to help protect the children in Illinois.”
For more information about this or other pieces of legislation, please contact her office at (309) 681-1992 or by email at repjgordon@gmail.com.
