AL--Alabama has “most risky day cares,” investigation shows; Victims respond
For immediate release: Friday, April 15, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home,[email protected])
A disturbing new investigation has found that “Alabama offers religious day cares the most freedom of any state, shielding them from most government oversight.” As a result, innocent children suffer.
“More than 900 Alabama day cares say they are affiliated with religious groups, leaving almost half of all child care in the state free from most regulation,” according to licensing documents, the new report says.
The horrifying details are here:
It’s time for action.
Surely Alabama’s governor or attorney general have some emergency powers they can use to better protect kids. Surely there’s one Alabama legislator who cares enough to introduce a bill to better safeguard kids. Surely there are a handful of lawmakers who would at least insist on a public hearing to warn parents about these dangers.
Surely there are Alabama religious leaders, agency officials and law enforcement personnel who have the courage to use their bully pulpits and hold a few news conferences to let families know of this troubling situations.
Surely managers of secular Alabama day care centers can do likewise.
Surely Alabama adults care more about kids’ safety than adults’ beliefs.
We urge lawmakers to toughen laws so that kids are safer in every day care facility. The religious beliefs of adults cannot trump the physical safety of children. Adults can believe whatever they like but cannot do whatever they like, especially when innocent kids are at stake.
We urge parents to think long and hard, and do considerable research, before putting kids in religiously-affiliated Alabama day care programs.
We urge religious day care owners to voluntarily comply with or exceed state safety standards for secular day cares and prod other religious institutions to do likewise.
And we urge police, prosecutors, judges to do all they can to deter church employees from endangering kids by exploiting religious exemptions for their own financial benefit by aggressively investigating, charging, convicting and punishing wrongdoers.
No matter what lawmakers, officials or church personnel do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Alabama day care centers to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling journalists, get justice by calling attorneys, and get comfort by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected])
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
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