The Baltimore Jewish Council has adopted an official policy on child abuse and neglect that supports legislation to limit the current broad exemption for clergy on reporting sexual and other child abuse, except in specific circumstances of confidentiality.

“For those who commit sexual crimes against children, or protect those who do, there must be no sanctuary,” the resolution stated.

The document, approved by the Associated agency’s board of directors on Nov. 13, was prompted by the BJC not taking a position on child abuse bills in the 2008 General Assembly because the BJC and its partners in the Maryland Jewish Alliance did not have a policy, according to Jo-Ann Orlinsky, chair of the BJC’s government relations commission.

Last year’s and previous bills on the issue dealt with the statue of limitations on reporting child abuse and with judicial sanctions against perpetrators. They were either withdrawn by their sponsors or defeated in committees.

The Maryland Jewish Alliance is a legislative coalition of the Associated, BJC, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. It generally speaks with one voice for its members. When there are differences of opinion or, in this case, no official opinion, coalition members speak individually.

Fourteen years ago, the BJC did deal tangentially with child abuse through its resolution on domestic violence, which is now part of the BJC legislative agenda. “We didn’t have a separate policy before because the issue had not come up in a context other than a domestic violence situation,” Ms. Orlinsky said.

Now, based on the 2008 experience, commission members wanted a separate and distinct policy on child abuse in place before the upcoming 2009 General Assembly.

The BJC resolution on child abuse includes:

§                                 Recognizing that child abuse exists in society at large and the Jewish community. “Abusers thrive in an environment where discussion of this topic is silenced and reporting and punishment are discouraged,” the resolution stated.

§                                 It urges identification and treatment of victims.

§                                 It encourages institutions and synagogues, among others, to implement programs to prevent abuse, identify victims and support children and teens.

§                                 It makes clear that adults — not child victims — have a responsibility to disclose suspected abuse. It talks about schools, synagogues, camps and youth service organizations in this context.