Outstanding Issues

There are some issues mentioned in this Report that the Task Force did not address fully, or addressed with caveats, or did not have time to address. As part of the 5-Year Plan, the Task Force will work to address these issues more fully and to issue them as an addendum to this Report. These issues include:

• Shifting the emphasis when addressing instances of children and youth who exhibit or engage in problematic or harmful sexual behaviors with other children/youth, and “consensual” sexual encounters among minors (so-called “Romeo and Juliet” relationships) from a judicial process focused on criminality and punishment to a multidisciplinary team approach focused on therapeutic intervention, family support and rehabilitation. The predominant research on recidivism in this area indicates that if identified and addressed early, and with this latter emphasis, 85-95% of the offending children/youth never reoffend. Thus, such an approach offers great promise as a preventive measure.
• The emerging area of the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC).
• Children and youth with physical and intellectual disabilities and other special needs that render them more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
• A fuller treatment of children and adults in mentoring and other one-on-one relationships that would require special provisions in many of the Report’s requirements to accommodate.