A case from the New Jersey Supreme Court has some important lessons for youth organizations. The immediate issue involved defamation claims by a fired teacher against an Orthodox Jewish school. The trial court had concluded that resolution of the claims would require inquiry into the religious beliefs of the school and therefore the First Amendment…
When your youth organization faces allegations of serious injury or abuse, the first question you need to decide is whether to commission an internal investigation or an independent one. You will have to weigh several factors when deciding which is best. Internal Investigations – Some organizations faced with reviewing a child abuse claim prefer to conduct…
By now, most people have heard about the students from Covington Catholic High School, initially accused of harassing a Native American protestor at the end of the March for Life in Washington, D.C. A short clip of the encounter went viral, and a wave of criticism descended on the students. The school administration and the…
This post is part of a continuing series about responding to reports by a now-adult of past abuse at a youth-serving organization. The first post discussed general principles, and this one discusses first steps in an internal investigation. In many ways, the first 48 hours after you receive a report of historic abuse are the…
This post is part of a continuing series about responding to reports by a now-adult of past abuse at a youth-serving organization. The first few posts discussed general principles, first steps, and what not to say at the beginning of an investigation. This post discusses principles for interviewing the people involved. The most difficult and…
I ran across this article describing more fallout from the investigation of Larry Nassar, the U.S.A. Gymnastics (USAG) doctor convicted of molesting female gymnasts. Rhonda Faehn, who was in charge of the women’s program during Nassar’s tenure, lasted less than one week as a consulting coach with the University of Michigan. UM fired her after…