Parents angry they weren’t told of sexual assault at school sooner

Parents in Arlington, whose children attend James L. Coble Middle School, were finally told that a sexual assault happened at the school in a letter yesterday, two weeks after it allegedly happened.

According to the following WFAA-TV Channel 8 news report, many of them are outraged they weren’t told sooner. Should they have been told right after it happened? Administrators claim they were just following police instructions, and that notifying parents may have interfered with the investigation.

I think parents should have been notified, but told no other details until after the investigation was completed.

What do you think?

See the Channel 8 news report here.

Cindy Dyer to speak at TX Council on Family Violence statewide conference in Sept.

Cindy Dyer

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Cindy Dyer, the recently-appointed director of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) at the United States Department of Justice, will be one of the featured speakers at the 25th annual Texas Council on Family Violence statewide conference, Sept. 25-26, at the Westin Park Central Hotel in Dallas.

Dyer is well-known in Texas as the former head of the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office Family Violence Division. She is an experienced prosecutor, recognized authority on the topic of family violence and sexual assault, the first prosecutor to join the Dallas County Family Violence Division during its inception in 1994 and became the Chief Prosecutor of that division in 1998.

Other speakers include:

• Former All-American college and professional football player Don McPherson, the founder and former Executive Director of the Sports Leadership Institute at Adelphi University located in Garden City, New York

• Donna Garske, the Executive Director of Marin Abused Women’s Services in San Rafael, CA

• Lisalynn Jacobs, Vice President of Government Relations for Legal Momentum, a leader in establishing litigation and public policy strategies to secure equality and justice for women, headquartered in New York City

The 2008 conference, “Thirty Years of Building a Safer Texas: Past, Present and Future”, will offer workshops about the following topics:

Working with Men and Boys, Healthy Marriage Initiatives, Domestic Violence Policy Trends, Batterer Intervention Prevention Programs, Engaging Communities in Prevention, Economic Advocacy, and Cultural Competency, Complex Protective Orders for Survivors of Family Violence, Sexual Assault, Media Relations, Housing Options, Confidentiality and Documentation.

For more conference details, see www.tcfv.org.