Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) was successful in pressing Assembly Bill 790 through the Assembly Public Safety Committee – an important first step in closing a dangerous loophole in the law that allows those entrusted with children’s safety to avoid filing reports of child abuse or neglect.
Assemblyman Gomez opened with a statement that “Reporting abuse of a child should not be an option. Every incident of child abuse, sexual abuse or neglect should be reported to the proper authorities, regardless of how many people suspect or saw the abuse.”
“The Sandusky incident, where others failed to stand up and report provides a perfect example of how wrong this kind of optional reporting can go. Through the Sandusky case, we also saw that it is not those who failed to report that paid for the crime, it is the children who are sexually assaulted that pay.”
AB 790 is sponsored by California’s public safety community and is strongly supported by numerous child advocacy organizations. The reform measure will now ensure greater protections and assuredness of reporting by requiring any individual who is a mandated reporter who has knowledge of the abuse of the child to report to authorities.
The measure, which enjoyed bipartisan support, will now go to the Assembly Appropriations committee.
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