The law was designed to ensure that a solid platform existed for ensuring abuse protection, recognition and education, with a defined mechanism for incident handling and reporting. The new law incorporates a mandatory 24 hour reporting period for an abuse incident. The inclusion of a ten year extension for an athlete to report an abuse incident was included to ensure that a victim's right to report and seek adjudication was maintained. The new law focuses on the key aspect of recognizing abuse grooming techniques, to help prevent an actual abuse situation from happening, as well as recognizing the signs of abuse. The law seeks to push the preventative aspect of a potential abuse situation, rather than being reactive to an abuse situation which has already occurred. For this purpose, the law dictates that all adult parties that come into contact with youth athletes must be educated in grooming techniques, and recognition of abuse signs. This same education must be provided to youth, with consent from parents. Sports organizations must design, and publish an abuse policy to all parties within their organization, staff, and parents.
In 2017, the U.S. Congress & Senate, passed S.534, in reaction to rampant sexual abuse discovered in Olympics Gymnastics, in 2016. On February 14, 2018, S.534, the 'Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act' was signed into law. This law is a mixture of new legislation, combined with modifying existing federal statutes, to form a broad new mechanism for protecting youth sports players from emotional, physical, bullying/hazing, and sexual abuse, nation wide.
Amended Laws
Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990
Amateur Sports Act of 1978
Both of these laws, which covered child abuse, were incorporated into the new law
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF THE LAW
PURPOSE OF NEW LAW
The major organizational types covered by this new law were distinguished as Olympics Sports Organizations, Paralympic Sports Organization, 'Non-NGB' organizations, and 'NGB' organizations. The term 'NGB' standing for 'National Governing Body'. As 'Paralympic Sports'/Olympic Sports do not apply to District VIII, this will not be discussed. The distinction between Non-NGB organizations and NGB organizations was defined by the manner in which play was conducted. Non-NGB organizations were defined as those that do not participate in interstate, or international competitions, while NGB organizations are those that do participate in interstate and international play.
For all leagues/clubs/associations within Cal North, District VIII, they belong to California Soccer Association North, which is a sanctioned member of the organization, U.S. Soccer, and USYS, who are NGB organizations. All requirements in the SafeSport Act, required for members of an NGB organization, are mandated for all District VIII leagues/clubs/associations. This applies to all adults who may have contact with a youth player within an organization.
LAW CONSTRUCTION
ORGANIZATIONS COVERED BY THIS NEW LAW
RESOURCES
Under the SafeSport Act, all members of District VIII are required to provide the following:
- "offer and provide consistent training to all adult members who are in regular contact with amateur athletes who are minors..." The training is to include the recognition of grooming techniques, and abuse recognition. Cal North has issued the following instructions for taking the abuse training:
6. Extends the abuse reporting time deadline to ten years after the alleged incident, or ten years after the athlete turns 18 years of age.
7. Established that an abuse incident must be reported within 24 hours after discovery.
REQUIREMENTS FOR DISTRICT VIII ORGANIZATIONS
- Covered Organizations shall, subject to parental consent, annually offer and give training to members who are minors regarding prevention and reporting of child abuse. Covered Organizations shall track:
1. A description of the training(s);
2. The date the training(s) was offered and given; and
3. A description of how the training(s) was offered and given.
- Creation of reasonable procedures to limit one-on-one interactions between an adult, who is not their parent, and an amateur athlete who is a minor, who is not in an observable and interruptible distance from another adult.
- Organization must establish an internal mechanism for reporting abuse to it, which protects the reporter from any form of reprisal/backlash, incorporates/documents an identified mechanism for reporting, and safeguards the incident information.
- Mandates that all physical/sexual abuse incidents must be reported within 24 hours, to the following:
Cal North State Risk Manager Email: riskmanager@calnorth.org
U.S. Center for Safe Sport https://safesport.org/report-a-concern
U.S. Soccer integrity hotline https://www.ussoccer.com/integrity-hotline
(Phone: (312) 528-7004 )
Local Police/Sheriff Dept., or Child Protective Services
( NOTE: For the above, ALL must be notified )
All other forms of misconduct such as emotional abuse, bullying, hazing, or harassment must be reported to your League or Club Risk Manager.
- Must either develop and distribute to staff/coaches/parents, an organizational abuse policy (which includes the minimum policy items, as designated in the SafeSport 'MINOR ATHLETE ABUSE PREVENTION POLICIES , (MAAPP), January 23, 2019', and the Cal North Athlete & Participant Safety Policy.
- All adult parties must complete the SafeSport training, before regular contact with an athlete who is a minor begins, or within the first 45 days of initial membership, or upon beginning a new role subjecting the adult to this policy. This training must be refreshed annually, by taking the appropriate SafeSport course.
- Serve as the Independent national safe sport organization and be recognized worldwide as the independent national safe sport organization for the United States
- Exercise jurisdiction over the corporation, each national governing body, and each Paralympic sports organization with regard to safeguarding amateur athletes against abuse, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, in sports.
- Maintain an office for education and outreach that shall develop training, oversight practices, policies, and procedures to prevent the abuse, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, of amateur athletes participating in amateur athletic activities through national governing bodies and paralmypic sports organizations.
- Maintain an office for response and resolution that shall establish mechanisms that allow for the reporting, investigation, and resolution.
- Ensure that the mechanisms existing for reporting provide fair notice and an opportunity to the heard and protect the privacy and safety of complainants.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport is an independent nonprofit committed to ending all forms of abuse in sport. This includes bullying, harassment, hazing, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual misconduct and abuse. The Center is the first and only national organization of its kind.
- Created a new subset of required 'mandatory reporters', amending existing law, and naming sports coaches and youth sport organizational staff as being a 'covered individual', defined as follows:
The term 'covered individual' means an adult who is authorized by a national governing body, a member of a national governing body, or an amateur youth sport organization that participates in interstate or international amateur athletic competition, to interact with a minor or amateur athlete at an amateur sports organization facility or at an event sanctioned by a national governing body, a member of a national governing body, or such an amateur sports organization. - Created categories of responsible organizations, with defined abuse responsibilities, and prescribed their operational and abuse reporting duties/obligations.
- Requires adoption of a reasonable policy to ensure that an athlete under 18 is not left alone with an adult.
- Mandated widespread abuse educational teaching requirements for the defined organizations and their members. All adults having contact with youth athletes under the age of 18 must take abuse training, which includes learning 'grooming' techniques, and recognition of all forms of abuse. Youth athletes who are minors must be educated on child abuse, with permission of their parents.
- Established the U.S. Center for Safe Sports, which has the following functions:
NOTE:
All of the mandated provisions within the SafeSport Act also apply to youth referees. Referee assignors will need to follow the same mandated provisions for working with youth referees, as coaches have to do with youth athletes. Referee assignors must also take the abuse training course, as coaches are required to do, and are also mandated reporters.
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All reports of misconduct are taken with the utmost sensitivity and as discreetly as possible. Reporting may be made anonymously at no cost. Cal North does not tolerate retaliation of any kind. No individual who makes a good faith report will be subject to retaliation, including harassment, or any adverse employment or participation consequence, as a result of making a report.
In the event that you make a report of suspected child abuse to law enforcement, the U.S. Center for SafeSport, or another authority, Cal North encourages you not to make an anonymous report, simply because an anonymous report will not provide you with evidence that you discharged your mandatory reporting obligation.