Am I the only one asking myself how to check on child abuse prevention?

[Anonymous]

The recent Penn State scandal has really unsettled my belief in our parental ability to prevent child sexual abuse in such settings as camps, sports, out of school time etc. That someone could go unnoticed for so long while being surrounded by mostly caring, open, and attentive families who wanted nothing but the best for their children is beyond me. I can't help but think that more needs to be done within such organizations to put in place procedures to prevent opportunities for abuse. Large organizations, especially those close to the Catholic Church, after years of scandals and lawsuits, seem to have policies in place, but what about the countless community organizations our children attend during camp, days off, after school etc.? What should I request from them? How can I check on them?

[Anonymous]

ask the camps if they perform background checks on their staff--unfortunately often red flags don't appear unless they've been investigated and/or arrested. sadly, it's about all you can do.

often predators befriend kids whose home life isn't the greatest, like in the Penn State scandal these kids were at economically disadvantaged, often from single parent households, definitely easy targets