"...Drill down to the level of detail required in rewriting major state law, as many sympathetic lawmakers and their allies are finding this spring, and it starts to get more complex.
"Make that a lot more complex.
"So far, advocates for children say they aren't upset about the time it has taken to craft legislation. They are hoping to see some bills become law by the end of the year, but they have to resolve some thorny questions....
"Now most advocates will argue it’s time for Mom to leave, and at the least file for protection from her abuser. But let’s just say that, for whatever reason, she lacks the courage or means to do that right now.
"Should she be considered an abuser for knowingly allowing abuse to occur? Or a criminal for failing to report abuse?
"The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence doesn’t think an abused mother should be facing criminal charges.
The coalition's leaders are hard at work to ensure that bills to re-write definitions of abuse in Pennsylvania don’t force the very person who may be the one positive force in her kids’ home life into a spot where her child is taken away.
It’s just one of scores of details that need to be fine-tuned before this package of changes to existing child abuse laws goes to Gov. Tom Corbett’s desk...."
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/06/in_a_year_of_booze_and_highway.html
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