| |
Shay Bilchik Appointed Chair of Child Protection Advisory Board for Archdiocese of Washington, DC
July 16, 2002, Washington, DC -- Shay Bilchik, President & CEO of the Child Welfare League of America, has been tapped to serve as the chair of a new Child Protection Advisory Board designed to review and improve policies within the Archdiocese of Washington. Following on the heels of the national meetings of Catholic bishops in Dallas, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is now turning to experts in child welfare and other related fields to review the local archdiocese's policies and procedures to ensure the safety of children and to offer help to those who may have been victimized.
"In creating this advisory board, Cardinal McCarrick is creating an accountability and a transparency to the way that the Church reacts to cases of child sexual abuse," says Bilchik, a former prosecutor in Florida, and former director of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the U.S. Department of Justice. "The advisory group will have the authority to review all procedures in place within the archdiocese, make recommendations to the Church as to what should be continued and what can be improved, and then monitor those activities to be sure that there is adherence. We look forward to working with the Archdiocese to fulfill its promises-to promote healing and reconciliation with victims and survivors, to guarantee an effective response to allegations of sexual abuse, to ensure the accountability of dioceses procedures, and to protect parishioners in the future."
The Board will consist of nine members featuring an array of individuals from the District and Maryland, including a former police officer and child abuse investigator, an educator, a judge, a pediatrician, and a priest.
The Cardinal also announced the creation of a Victim Assistance Coordinator position to act as the primary contact for those who seek assistance through the archdiocese.
Established in 1920, the Child Welfare League of America is the nation's oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization. Headquartered in Washington, DC, CWLA strives to advance sound public policy in behalf of the more than three million abused, neglected, and vulnerable children served by its 1,200 public and private member agencies. To further its mission of preserving, protecting, and promoting the well-being of all children and families, CWLA conducts research, develops standards of best practice, hosts regional and national conferences, provides comprehensive, field-based consultation and professional development services, and is the largest publisher of child welfare materials in North America.
For additional information, and to arrange interviews with Shay Bilchik, contact Joyce Johnson, CWLA Director of Public Relations at jjohnson@cwla.org or call 202/942-0244.
 Back to Top  Printer-friendly Page  Contact Us
|
|
