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Committee takes testimony on bill to make clergy mandatory reporters; sharp split over confessional exemption
Summary
State senators and a long panel of survivors, religious representatives and legal experts debated Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5375, which would require members of the clergy to report child abuse or neglect when they have reasonable cause to believe a child was harmed.
State senators and a long panel of survivors, religious representatives and legal experts debated Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5375, which would require members of the clergy to report child abuse or neglect when they have reasonable cause to believe a child was harmed.
Committee counsel Luke Wickham explained the bill’s scope: it would add “members of the clergy” to Washington’s list of mandated reporters and defines that term to include ordained, accredited or regularly licensed religious leaders who perform official duties recognized by their faith communities. He said an earlier House companion, House Bill 1211, covered the same ground in a prior hearing.
Sen. Noelle Frame, prime sponsor, told the…
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