By SCOTT JORGENSEN

SALEM, Ore.- Disagreements about a bill that would expand Oregon’s mandatory child abuse reporting laws dominated the discussion during the Thursday, Feb. 2 House Education Committee meeting.

The bill in question is HB 4016, which would add coaches, employees or volunteers of organizations providing child-related services and others to the list of public and private individuals required to report suspected child abuse.

State Representative Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, co-chair of the committee, stepped down from the dais to testify in favor of the bill. She emphasized that the new requirements under the bill would apply mostly to individuals and not to organizations.

It is rare for people to be prosecuted for failing to report suspected abuse, Gelser said.

Mentioned repeatedly during testimony was the child sex abuse scandal that has tainted Penn State’s athletic program and the legacy of its recently deceased coach Joe Paterno, who died Jan. 22 at age 85.

Gelser said that sometimes organizations have internal policies that discourage reporting and added that such practices would become illegal under HB 4016.

Rep. Betty Komp ,D-Woodburn, said that during her time as a high school principal, she reported the abuse of a 17-year-old student to the state Department of Human Services (DHS) and was told that cases involving younger children take priority.

Komp expressed concerns that HB 4016 may increase the workload for that agency’s Child Protective Services (CPS) division.

Gelser replied that HB 4016 does not include any requests for additional funding. She added that repeated reports of abuse elevate the likelihood of agency involvement.

Portland attorney Kristian Roggendorf testified in favor of HB 4016 via telephone. Roggendorf said he has handled “hundreds” of sex abuse cases in the last decade.

Failure to report abuse is already regarded as negligence, Roggendorf said, which would not change under HB 4016. However, Roggendorf said that liability would be made clearer in those instances if the proposal were passed into law.

Gelser asked Roggendorf if he were aware of any torts being brought against individuals for failing to report abuse. Roggendorf responded that he had never instigated any such court actions.

The true benefit of HB 4016, Roggendorf said, is that many organizations tend to tailor their reporting policies towards state law.

For example, Roggendorf said that the Boy Scouts of America typically keeps quiet about abuse reports due to fear of bad publicity.

“That is a significant concern for a lot of organizations,” he said, adding that HB 4016 would eliminate such problems.

Rep. Jason Conger, R-Bend, a lawyer, asked about the existence of liability for false reporting.

Roggendorf replied that the law provides immunity for people who report in good faith.

Also testifying via telephone was Corvallis attorney Joan Demarest, who used to prosecute child abuse cases in Benton County.

When she was a prosecutor, Demarest said, she would face “gut wrenching situations” regarding child abuse. But now that she’s a mandatory reporter, Demarest said that she knows whom to call in such instances and doesn’t have to worry about it anymore.

Gelser asked Demarest what the standard is for removing children from their home.

“It is pretty high,” Demarest responded, adding that a single report of abuse is not enough to prompt removal or criminal charges.

Demarest said that she staffed “dozens” of such cases, but other forms of intervention were attempted and that removals were a “last resort” when “absolutely necessary.” She also testified that she never prosecuted anyone for failing to report abuse.

Tonia Hunt, executive director of the Children’s Center of Clackamas County, expressed her support for HB 4016, stating it was “critical” for public safety.

Mandatory reporting is “one small step” towards stopping child abuse, Hunt said, adding that children typically only tell people whom they trust about the abuse.

“Children are terrified to make this disclosure,” she said.

Marion County District Attorney Walter Beglau also testified and said that HB 4016 is the “right direction to go.”

Conger stated that there are “broader implications” to mandates such as those included in HB 4016.

Opponents to the bill then voiced their concerns to committee members.

Homeschooling advocate Roger Williams said that the bill would “undermine” the ability of organizations to provide services. He said there are already 27 professional categories that are mandatory abuse reporters.

“This is going to have a chilling affect on volunteers in Oregon,” Williams said.

Polk County resident Peter Padilla said the bill could “criminalize volunteers.”

Brian Ray from the National Home Education Research Institute described HB 4016 as “ineffective, emotional and anti-freedom.”

“You have no evidence that this is going to do what you want,” Ray said.

David Valdez testified that he was abused for many years by a mandatory reporter when he was a child.

“I am alive today because of volunteers, simply put,” Valdez said.

Valdez cited DHS child welfare statistics from 2010. He said that there were around 71,000 reports of child abuse brought before that agency that year, with less than 50 percent of those pursued by the CPS division. Of those, Valdez said, around 7,000 were ultimately founded—an 11 percent rate.

Chuck Bennett, director of governmental relations for the Confederation of School Administrators, said that the requirements proposed under HB 4016 are not seen as a cost by school districts throughout the state.

“We believe this bill applies to a very specific kind of volunteer,” Bennett said. “We’re pretty comfortable with this.”

Because of all the testimony offered on HB 4016, the committee was unable to hold hearings on several others bills originally up for consideration. Those bills will be heard during the committee’s Tuesday, Feb. 7 meeting.