Early Education and Care Audit- and the safety of our children

For Immediate Release: March 27, 2013 Contact: Laurie Myers 617-515-2079 www.communityvoices.net lmyers@communityvoices.net Chelmsford, Massachusetts Today Auditor Suzanne Bump released the much anticipated audit of the Department of Early Education and Care. The audit showed that 119 licensed child care facilities were found to have common addresses with level 2 and 3 sex offenders. It also showed that not all licensed child care facilities are conducting CORI background checks as required by EEC. According to the report, four facilities had their licenses revoked for knowingly allowing an offender in the same location as the child care facility. This information is disturbing to say the least. It's also worth noting that level 1 sex offenders were not included in this report because the law does not allow the Sex Offender Registry to share level 1 information. We are calling on the Department of Early Education and Care to: Establish guidelines to conduct monthly audits against the information provided by the Sex Offender Registry Board via SORI requests. To make available the names and addresses of the of four formally licensed child care facilities who had their licenses revoked as a result of the audit. We are also calling on the Massachusetts legislature to pass legislation that would make all sex offender information publicly available and to comply with the federal Adam Walsh Act. It's stunning that the top agency in charge of the care and protection of children is not taking advantage of public information to keep children safe. It's time for Massachusetts to step up and make the safety of children its top priority. Thank you to Auditor Suzanne Bump for conducting this audit and taking a proactive approach to protecting our children. VOICES - a child protection and victim advocacy organization. Since 2004, VOICES has been a strong VOICE for victims of crime, connecting them with resources and support and advocating for their rights every step of the way. In November of 2011, we enlisted the assistance of a service trained dog, Wena to offer comfort and support to victims of crime within the criminal justice system and community. Wena was trained and donated by Canine Companions for Independence.