July 17, 2:29 p.m., Greenwich, CT — The Greenwich YMCA has informed parents and guardians of children enrolled in their program of a possible “improper touching” incident. We have confirmed that the Greenwich Police are investigating such an incident.
The July 7 letter from YMCA President Rebecca Fretty says that “the employee under investigation is no longer employed by the Greenwich Family YMCA.”
She asked parents to talk with their child about their experiences at the YMCA and ask if the child “is aware of any other inappropriate actions by anyone in” the program, “whether a staff member, other adult, or another child.” The letter offers guidance to the parents on having such a discussion with their children.
The YMCA President then asks parents to call her directly if a “child relates to you any behavior [the parent] consider[s] to be inappropriate.”
Written in bold print in the third paragraph of the letter is the statement, “The safety of your children is our primary concern. We continually review our policies and procedures seeking possible areas of improvement.” The YMCA certainly seems to be handling this situation accordingly.
POSTSCRIPT: July 17, 3:32 p.m., Greenwich, CT — The Greenwich Post just sent out a “Breaking News” alert on this stiry. For more thorough reporting on this see Ken Borsuk’s article.
on Jul 17th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
It might have been good if they’d given parents some age appropriate tips for talking to kids about this. One thing they told us at a talk I went to at my kids elementary school is to tell them that the “bathing suit area” is private. (ie/ bikini for girls and swim trunks for boys) But it’s also important to tell them to talk to their parents about any contact that feels uncomfortable.
on Jul 17th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
There were apparently enclosures with the letter, to guide parents in the discussion. Perhaps the enclosures had age-appropriate information.