A church in Tampa, FL is planning on building a daycare center and preschool it says "the neighborhood desperately needs."
It is to be built next to an apartment which houses sex offenders.
The owner of the complex warned the church prior to filing the paperwork and also asked the council to deny the daycare. It went ahead and approved the permit Thursday. At least the apartment owner recognizes that this might not be a good idea. Why is nobody listening?
I think the closing paragraph of the story holds a clue.
Still, where are they to live? And when they finally find someplace, it is hardly just to drive them out because the community has decided it would prefer a daycare. If this church wants to expand its ministry opportunities, perhaps it should look into ways to counsel convicted sex offenders rather than offer daycare services to working parents.
preschool, daycare, Megan's law
We target working families that can't afford a quality pre-school.I hope that means that they will be providing a quality pre-school at an affordable rate, but the marketing language directed at people has always bothered me, particularly when used by churches. We aren't "targeting" anyone. But the statement seems almost perverse considering the difficulty this proposed daycare/preschool has caused.
It is to be built next to an apartment which houses sex offenders.
The owner of the complex warned the church prior to filing the paperwork and also asked the council to deny the daycare. It went ahead and approved the permit Thursday. At least the apartment owner recognizes that this might not be a good idea. Why is nobody listening?
I think the closing paragraph of the story holds a clue.
State law says that sex offenders can’t live within 1,000 feet of a school or daycare center, but attorneys disagree what will happen in this situation. Once the daycare center opens the church believes the sex offenders must leave, but the apartment owner says sex offenders already living there will be grandfathered in. TampaBays 10.com (emphasis mine)I know nobody wants sex offenders living next door. That is why Megan's Law has been so popular. But it also has caused some problems. I know some people are very concerned about the perpetrators rights to privacy after they have completed their sentence, and for some crimes that is an appropriate concern. Even for some people labeled as sex offenders. The recidivism rate for sex offenders is actually lower than for other criminals, but is that indicative that incarceration is working to reduce the problem? Some estimate that the average person convicted of molestation has actually had over 100 victims before conviction. How long will it take to catch him the second time, especially since victims are most frequently the children of friends and relatives?
Still, where are they to live? And when they finally find someplace, it is hardly just to drive them out because the community has decided it would prefer a daycare. If this church wants to expand its ministry opportunities, perhaps it should look into ways to counsel convicted sex offenders rather than offer daycare services to working parents.
preschool, daycare, Megan's law
