Following modifications, measure targeting adults having unsupervised contact with children introduced in split vote
By: Greg Forester
MONTGOMERY After months of talking and tweaking, the Montgomery Township Committee on Thursday voted 3-2 to introduce a revised version of an ordinance requiring background checks of adults having unsupervised contact with youth on township property.
Committee members Mayor Cecilia Birge, Brad Fay, and Louise Wilson voted for the ordinance, which included revised language designed to protect the privacy of adults subjected to the background checks.
"We defeated the original ordinance as introduced and introduced the new version that contains revisions so people’s privacy and constitutional rights were protected," said Mayor Birge. "The majority of the Township Committee thought it was important not to take any chance when it comes to children’s safety, especially when the chance of violating someone’s privacy is minute."
Committeemen Mark Caliguire and John Warms voted against the ordinance, with both committeemen previously expressing concerns about the possibility of residents being subjected to privacy and civil rights violations while undergoing the requirements of the ordinance.
Once the ordinance passes, adults would be required to submit to background checks undertaken by a branch of the State Police, and await certification from the agency giving them permission to work with the children.
Adults would be denied access to the children based on the results of the background check, which would show if they had been convicted of certain offences outlined in some state statutes.
The system would also include an appeals process for adults who have been denied access after undergoing the background check.
Mr. Warms had said he was worried about the impact on people who had committed minor offenses in their youth being denied access to work with children.
Mr. Fay said he believed the new language addressed such problems."If we pass this ordinance and some child is saved from a terrible crime, we would probably never know," he said. "But if we don’t pass the ordinance, and a child is the victim of some unspeakable crime, we wouldn’t be able to live with ourselves."

