Safety measures begin early. All potential employees must undergo fingerprinting and background checks before being hired. "All staff members, coaches, and volunteers receive a first scan of any criminal activity, and anything like that is an automatic `disqualifier," says assistant superintendent Dr. Robert Hudson.
Upon hiring, personnel receive training in mandated reporting procedures. All staff members are mandated reporters, meaning they are obligated to inform supervisors of abuse allegations. The information is then immediately reported to the superintendent, board of education, Department of Children and Family Services, and the Buffalo Grove Police Department. Protective action and criminal investigation proceedings begin immediately.
Even after staff members relay information to their supervisors, they must confirm that the appropriate follow-up steps have been taken, thus avoiding breaks in the chain-of-command. "You're not off the hook just by telling the supervisor," superintendent Theresa Dunkin says. "You have to know that the DCFS was contacted."
Mandated reporting is not limited to alleged abuse at school; staff also report suspected abuse in the home. "An adult abusing a child is an adult abusing a child," says Dr. Dunkin, "and it needs to be investigated."
