{"id":1451102,"date":"2024-01-17T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1451102"},"modified":"2024-01-17T02:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T07:00:00","slug":"chicago-public-schools-hundreds-of-new-sexual-abuse-allegations-should-get-all-the-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/chicago-public-schools-hundreds-of-new-sexual-abuse-allegations-should-get-all-the-attention\/1451102\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Public Schools: Hundreds Of New Sexual Abuse Allegations Should Get All The Attention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago Public Schools: Hundreds Of New Sexual Abuse Allegations Should Get All The Attention <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

By Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner of Wirepoints<\/em><\/p>\n

A glance at the news coverage of the recent Inspector General report<\/a> on financial and sexual misconduct at Chicago Public Schools shows it\u2019s the fiscal mismanagement that\u2019s getting all the attention. The media is highlighting more than $23 million in missing laptops<\/a> among other material fraud.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the more urgent issue of sexual abuse in CPS that should dominate the headlines. The IG reported a total of 446 sexual allegations<\/a> made in 2023, <\/strong>ranging from misconduct and sexual harassment to nonsexual conduct that raises \u201cthe appearance of impropriety or possible grooming concerns.\u201d That\u2019s similar to 2022\u2019s 470 allegations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The IG also substantiated<\/a> eight cases of adult-on-student sexual abuse.<\/p>\n

Instances of abuse continue despite the Chicago Tribune<\/a>\u2019s exposure in 2018 of the school district\u2019s sexual abuse crisis, when the newspaper found police had investigated more than 520 cases of juvenile sexual assault and abuse in Chicago\u2019s public schools from 2008 to 2017.<\/p>\n

Some things have improved since the publication, like the passage of Faith\u2019s Law<\/a> and the creation of the OIG\u2019s Sexual Allegations Unit, but until CPS is subject to massive outside scrutiny and public outcry \u2013 much like the Catholic Church rightfully received for its own abuse scandals \u2013 count on cases of abuse to continue.<\/p>\n

A lack of management and accountability<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The problem at CPS is a lack of control and oversight, something the OIG office openly admits<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong cases closed by the agency\u2019s general investigations unit from July 2022 through June 2023, Inspector General Will Fletcher said there\u2019s a consistent theme: \u2018Where you find vulnerabilities in management controls (and) exercising oversight \u2014 you will find fraud.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Those same vulnerabilities allow for continued instances of sexual abuse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s worse, sexual abuse is harder to detect than stolen laptops or missing funds. There\u2019s nothing \u201cmissing\u201d for a manager to notice. The prevalence of texting and video also makes abuse easier to perpetrate and harder to detect.<\/p>\n

There are also likely many cases that go unreported and undiscovered due to shame or fear of retribution. That was certainly the case for the Catholic Church, which saw most accusations take years or decades to emerge.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the CTU and its collective bargaining agreement. Their \u201cmyriad\u201d and \u201ctedious\u201d<\/a> rules are more about protecting the union and its members than they are about protecting children.<\/p>\n

In sum, the deck is already stacked against parents and their children when it comes to abuse. The system\u2019s continued mismanagement only makes things worse.<\/p>\n

Needed reforms<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Chicago Tribune\u2019s \u201cBetrayed\u201d<\/a> series should have opened the door to massive changes and extreme transparency. It should have spurred the creation policies mirroring the Catholic Church\u2019s own reforms, including:<\/p>\n

A strict \u201cone strike and you\u2019re out\u201d zero tolerance policy, as established in the Church\u2019s Dallas Charter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Removal of accused employees from school until an investigation is completed.<\/p>\n

A public and easily accessible website that lists all offenders, their histories and their whereabouts, so these teachers don\u2019t become tutors or get hired by another school system.<\/p>\n

A rigorous screening process obsessed with a hiree\u2019s character.<\/p>\n

Robust and mandatory \u201csafe environment\u201d training for all employees and vendors.<\/p>\n

And it should have spurred State Attorney General Kwame Raoul to open an investigation of his own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Instead, Raoul\u2019s office dedicated itself to a multi-year reinvestigation<\/a> of the Catholic Archdiocese, decades after the Church\u2019s strict controls and safety processes had already been put in place.<\/p>\n

Bureaucratic blocking<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Not only has CPS failed to implement best practices for its own investigations, but its processes make it nearly impossible for private groups and citizens to conduct their own inquiries.<\/p>\n

A report by KidsToo<\/a>, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to child protection, recently outlined its attempt at investigative reporting needed to get to the truth about the depths of sexual abuse at CPS.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s vital work because the OIG is always overwhelmed: \u201cEvery year, the OIG receives more credible allegations than it has the resources to investigate, so the investigations that are opened are the result of an assessment of the severity of the allegations and the potential impact or deterrent effect of investigating certain subject matter.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, KidsToo\u2019s efforts were often thwarted for a host of reasons, which they laid out in detail in their \u201cIn Loco Parentis\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/a> report, including:<\/em><\/p>\n

A FOIA process designed to \u201climit and filter information\u201d rather than freely provide it.<\/p>\n

Difficulty in gaining access to appropriate teacher data, including license information.<\/p>\n

The teachers\u2019 collective bargaining agreement allows CTU representatives to be part of the investigative process, creating a \u201cmyriad of steps\u201d and \u201ctedious\u201d processes.<\/p>\n

Other contract rules, including \u201cgrievance\u201d and \u201cmediation\u201d processes, create even more investigative delays.<\/p>\n

The revocation or suspension of teaching licenses is hampered by the State Superintendent having ultimate control over the process.<\/p>\n

To be clear, these investigations involve serious allegations and so should be treated seriously, but the process should not be so labyrinthine for those trying to gather information.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

That CPS is such a poor steward of taxpayer dollars is bad enough, but the failure to catch fraud and theft pales in comparison to the continual harm done to Chicago\u2019s children. Not only are a vast number pushed out of the system without the basic skills they need<\/a> to succeed in life, but some also end up victims of sexual abuse.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sad reminder of how inept, corrupt and morally bankrupt CPS really is.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nTue, 01\/16\/2024 – 21:00<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bRead More<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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