Volunteer coaches in Forsyth County youth sports should expect to provide one more signature when registering this year.The parks and recreation department will require each coach in a booster club or county youth sport to acknowledge they will report suspected child abuse in accordance with state law.Georgia’s reporting requirements expanded in July 2012 to include volunteers working with children.To ensure Forsyth County coaches follow the law, the parks board approved a policy to address the issue in a 4-0 vote Tuesday, with member Dan Slott absent.Wayne Maddox, the department’s athletic division manager, explained the plan to disperse the information to coaches.Division employees will hold meetings about the requirement to report any suspected child abuse to either parks staff or directly to law enforcement, Maddox said.An information sheet about the law will be included in the coaching packet, along with a form coaches will sign, he said.Board member Gary Cooper said coaches already fill out a background check report from that packet.“This will just take an extra minute,” he said.In addition to the information presented to coaches, Maddox said the requirements will also be posted on the county’s Web site and in the booster club handbooks.With more than 700 coaches across the county’s youth sports, the individual signatures will help document awareness of abuse reporting, he said.
Volunteer coaches in Forsyth County youth sports should expect to provide one more signature when registering this year.The parks and recreation department will require each coach in a booster club or county youth sport to acknowledge they will report suspected child abuse in accordance with state law.Georgia’s reporting requirements expanded in July 2012 to include volunteers working with children.To ensure Forsyth County coaches follow the law, the parks board approved a policy to address the issue in a 4-0 vote Tuesday, with member Dan Slott absent.Wayne Maddox, the department’s athletic division manager, explained the plan to disperse the information to coaches.Division employees will hold meetings about the requirement to report any suspected child abuse to either parks staff or directly to law enforcement, Maddox said.An information sheet about the law will be included in the coaching packet, along with a form coaches will sign, he said.Board member Gary Cooper said coaches already fill out a background check report from that packet.“This will just take an extra minute,” he said.In addition to the information presented to coaches, Maddox said the requirements will also be posted on the county’s Web site and in the booster club handbooks.With more than 700 coaches across the county’s youth sports, the individual signatures will help document awareness of abuse reporting, he said.