SEN. CABRERA, BETHANY MOM WELCOME BILL TO LICENSE MUNICIPAL YOUTH CAMPS

State Senator Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden) and Bethany resident Amy Lestinsky at the State Capitol in Hartford on the day Senate Bill 6 was passed in the Senate.

HARTFORD – State Senator Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden) and Bethany mother Amy Lestinsky today welcomed the Senate passage of a bill that – among its many other resources for infants, toddlers, and disconnected youth – also subjects town-run youth camps to stricter state oversight, such as inspections, immunizations, and criminal background checks for employees.

Senate Bill 6, “AN ACT CONCERNING RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS FOR INFANTS, TODDLERS AND DISCONNECTED YOUTHS,” passed the Senate today on a 22-12 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

The section of the bill addressing town-run youth camps was proposed by Sen. Cabrera at the urging of Bethany parents like Ms. Lestinsky and others after the arrest last year of a Bethany Parks and Recreation Department employee who has since been charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, four counts of illegal sexual contact, five counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and one count of risk of injury to a minor for incidents involving several Bethany youth.

Parents believe that if local town-run summer camps like the one in Bethany faced stricter state oversight, such as criminal backgrounds checks and mandatory reporting requirements, the accused employee would have been caught earlier and fewer children would have been harmed.

“This was a horrible situation which never should have occurred in the first place for a variety of reasons. Now, with this bill which hopefully will pass in the House and be signed into law by the governor, we can help reduce the chances of this ever happening again,” Sen. Cabrera said. ” I want to thank the parents of Bethany for bringing this to my attention and for being such valuable and courageous partners in creating this legislation and in raising public awareness of this issue.”

“We need municipalities to have licensed programs. Rules and guidelines must be followed by all the people responsible for our children,” said Lestinsky, whose daughter was sexually assaulted by the Bethany town employee. “We cannot let something like this happen again.”

Connecticut state law currently allows town and city youth camps to operate with no state oversight; programs run by private companies and nonprofits must be licensed by the state and are subject to a variety of requirements, including requirements related to immunizations, medication administration, inspections and investigations, criminal background checks, and

reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.

Senate Bill 6 subjects those municipal camps to the same regulations as private and non-profit camps.