Another Mandated-Reporters-who-don't story.
What is difficult about the word "m-a-n-d-a-t-o-r-y"?
June 5, 2008 - A 15-year-old girl told a school counselor that a 25-year-old army recruiter she was babysitting for allegedly rubbed her back and then proceeded to rub her buttocks.
Jeremy Derkovitz, 36, a Greenwood High School counselor, turned himself in on a misdemeanor charge of failure to report child abuse. Derkovitz reportedly told investigators he thought the victim's parents had already reported the incident. Plus, he did not feel that the child was in any danger.
"There are certain school districts in this area that are not getting the message that we're taking this issue very seriously."The girl and her parents reported the harassment to police.
Times-Record (June 6) was more informed.
Derkovitz, as a school counselor, is a mandated reporter required to report suspected child abuse or neglect, according to state statute.TT - If a child can't trust a teacher and school counselor, who can they trust?
The teenage girl reported the allegation about [Sgt. Joseph A. Monday, 24] to Derkovitz at Greenwood High School on April 15.
When the girl told Derkovitz, he asked her what she wanted to do about it, according to a police report. She told him that she didn’t know what she wanted to do, but that she didn’t want to make a big deal of it, according to Derkovitz’s statement to police.
Derkovitz told the girl that if she wanted to report it to a principal and continue on, she would need to see another counselor at the high school because he was more friendly with Monday than with other recruiters and he didn’t want there to be a conflict of interest, according to court documents.
Arkansas has just adopted a new teacher Code of Conduct, but not without opposition. Entry The code was developed by the newly-established (in 2007) Professional Licensure Standards Board Entry
