Compilation of several responses to Student Question
Kim Rossman
Tutors of Literacy in the Commonwealth
925 West College Ave
State College, PA 16801
814.867.0203
http://tutorsofliteracy.blogspot.com/
Re: Megan’s Law offender
We have had situations similar to this –Megan’s Law offender /other offender—at our facility not just one on one but in the GED classroom. Our policy is to meet in a place where other people are always present—library, school, Career link or our facility. If at our facility, the policy is no staff member is to meet/be in the building alone w/a client. There must be at least two staff members present in the building whenever there is a client in the building – ex. class in one room and tutoring in another.
In this case you could contact the probation department and ask if a Megan’s law registered offender is prohibited from meeting in a library for the class. The offender should know this, but you can check to see for yourself. If it is not an issue you could contact him and meet with him. In any case this would help in the future to determine your policy. You didn’t say you wouldn’t serve him, just that he’d have to wait for a better opportunity. As far as his comments – usually the offender will disclose because they don’t want to risk breaking probation and going back to jail.
His scores are too low for Distance learning and/or to suggest he work on his own with a/or book(s) you suggest/give him or that he can get from the library. Perhaps there is a family member/friend that could work with him until a place comes available. It is a difficult situation for everyone.
Good luck.
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Our small agency is housed
in a library. The library is a public space and is open to
all. It is not our job to protect patrons from other patrons.
Instead, we attempt to provide a warm, welcoming, and safe space for
everyone. I understand that your prospective student has
restrictions on where he can go - does that include libraries? If
not, I don't think it's your job to prohibit his movements other than to
do your best to make sure he isn't alone with someone who may be in danger
from his actions. There's always the possibility that others in your
program present more of a danger than this man does.
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I don’t have the answers, but here’s my opinion…
I believe sex offenders are allowed in public places, such as a library, and we really don’t have the right to refuse him/her entrance, even if we feel awkward (to say the least) about it.
We use space at the CareerLink and our home office, both of which are appropriate for any adult regardless of past. If you are operating your classes or tutoring sessions out of a school or DHS type of governing property, you have every right to make disclosure/clearances part of the intake process.
I think the general rule of thumb is that if you know someone is or will be in violation of DHS or legal guidelines for your program, you may refer them to another literacy agency. You’re not refusing them service, you’re simply referring them to an appropriate program.
Good luck with it!
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I had this same situation and I was very disturbed. The man was honest about the fact that he was on Megan's law website and when I researched the situation he had molested a 5 year old girl. My first reaction was not to pair him with a tutor but, at the time, I had confided in the tutor that was going to meet with him. The tutor told me she was fine with meeting him and she would do the tutoring at the Council so we did tutor him but I really would be interested to know if we legally must serve these individuals. The feedback will be extremely helpful.
From: Kim Rossman [mailto:k...@tlcliteracy.org]
Sent: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 8:34 AM
To: Adult Literacy Tutoring Programs Discussion List
Subject: Student Question
Tutors of Literacy in the Commonwealth
925 West College Ave
State College, PA 16801
814.867.0203
http://tutorsofliteracy.blogspot.com/
A student tested at a 3rd grade level and was referred to our tutor program. When our Volunteer Coordinator called him to ask him if he wanted to join a new group that was forming, he stated, “I can’t meet in a school.” So, sure enough, I looked on the Megan’s Law website through the PA State Police and he is a registered sex offender. The group was actually going to meet at a local library, which I still feel is not an appropriate setting for him. When the Volunteer Coordinator spoke with him again to get more details, he was upfront and did state that he was an offender. He wants to get a GED to become a welder. I made the decision not to place him in the group because of the setting. He was told that because of his restrictions on settings, he would wait for another opportunity.
However, if he never made that comment, we would never have known of his record and its implications. There doesn’t seem to be much guidance on what to do with a serious criminal past and we don’t ask this information of students upon entry. We realize that many of our students have criminal pasts and want to rehabilitate and better their lives. However, in a case like this where it was self-disclosed and of a highly serious nature, do we have the right to refuse service to him? Or, can we have conditions where, for instance, we won’t serve him unless we can inform a potential tutor of his situation and make sure that the setting is a public one where children are not present (as in our agency office, for example)? It raises some interesting questions! Your feedback would be greatly appreciated!