http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/big-trouble-with-little-sleepovers/Content?oid=12736982 Comments On: Big Trouble with Little Sleepovers by Dominic Holden en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Sat, 18 May 2013 05:00:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
Again, I don't think this is a big deal, and I REALLY do understand the policy change. From a dedicated volunteer's perspective, they just handled the implementation very poorly. The letter they sent out carried a threatening tone, and the suddenness of the switch would have been an unnecessary shock to my kid. It was also insulting to his mother who is a great mom, yet the organization made it sound like she couldn't make good decisions for her son. My wife is a big was well, and she complained too yet doesn't have as solid a relationship with her little's parent to go forward without the organization. She hoped to take her teenage little on a college visiting trip to California because the kid wouldn't get this opportunity from her family. That can't happen now. So, in our family alone, there were three complaints... I'm not sure where D'Amelio came up with his figures.

Again, the policy change is understandable and even commendable, but the suddenness and rudeness of the letter could have been avoided. It was the implementation and not the policy that irked us.
Posted by Big P]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:56:00 -0800 The Stranger
Its the Media freaks that the American public are brainwashed by into over kill over thinking and over reaction.

Your basically saying that Americans are "all" Pedophiles if you feel it unsafe for Americans to watch kids.

But yea! off they go to the boy scouts and camp wacky and Police boat ride alongs and taking public transportation to school? and off to Penn State?
Posted by slade]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:59:35 -0800 The Stranger
And then, when you do, you get to get fingerprinted and background- checked and all that fun stuff, and you still get to deal with some people thinking you're a perv.
Posted by TLjr]]> Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:46:19 -0800 The Stranger Posted by bleedingheartlibertarian]]> Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:23:41 -0800 The Stranger thestranger.com. seriously? i don't get it.

let's do some thinking here.

1) how much do you want to bet that if you called BBBS and asked if taking AN UNRELATED MINOR OUT OF THE COUNTRY is in line with their policies that they'd say, "what the fuck?? ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

2) so this guy has been paired with his little for 9 years, right? let's say that this kid entered the program at 7... pretty sure that's the youngest they'll accept as a little. so, using the most conservative estimates, 9 + 7 = 16, or a JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL. i am pretty sure that matches automagically close at either graduation or turning 18, making this kid between 16 and 18, probably on the cusp of graduating high school and leaving the BBBS program anyhow. so what the fuck is this dude freaking out about? that, for the next few months to a year, he can't have this UNRELATED MINOR CHILD SLEEP OVER?

3) he "resigned"?? PLEASE. you weren't elected, dude. you "quit" because no one at an agency that deals with THOUSANDS of adult/child mentoring pairs didn't ask your permission before deciding that the risks of allowing UNRELATED MINORS AND ADULTS HAVE SLEEPOVERS outweighed the benefits.

4) and since we're addressing the point of there being THOUSANDS of matches, there were THREE other bigs that had complaints? 4 divided by 1500 = 0.00266666667, or 0.266666667% of bigs had a problem with this. OH MY GOD, it's an outrage!

5) if this dude were in the program for the right reasons, he'd be less of a bitch about this. he'd support the program and its concerns for child welfare and even if he didn't agree with the changes, he wouldn't try to drag the organization through the mud because it put a stop to his international sleepovers. going to the media over something that, in the grand scheme of things, is a small fraction of the overall relationship between the bigs and littles (sleepovers:everything else) and ultimately inconsequential... THAT'S an overreaction.

so, yeah, i think this guy is totally creepy and weird for being so weird and creepy about this totally reasonable policy change.
Posted by perfectscreenname]]> Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:56:19 -0800 The Stranger Posted by jbizzie]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:32:03 -0800 The Stranger
I mentor an 11-year old girl through Big Brothers Big Sisters and completely understand the policy change, because I believe that BBBS knows more about child safety than I do.

Personally, the fact that my Little Sister and I don't sleep under the same roof from time to time hasn't kept us from developing a strong and lasting relationship. We see each other every week for four hours, and - although we find plenty of activities to do in and around Seattle - what's most important to my Little Sister is that she can count on me.

Given this, overnights are definitely less important to me than the supports my Little Sister, her mother, and I receive through BBBS. The organization has made a huge difference in our lives, and I will continue to support their work with my time and money.
Posted by deloresfriend]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:46:43 -0800 The Stranger HOWEVER, I'm not willing to risk even the slightest allegations, mis-understandings, or issues with xtians who might have a problem simply because I'm gay.
As for sleep-over situations, I'm with Mr Robison- deal with individual problems. If you wanted to take a kid on an over-night trip, you're SOL now. Sad for these kids (doubt they ever get out to see much), sad for the adults who want to help, sad for the BBBS organization.
Posted by OutInBumF]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:39:16 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Orv]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:00:34 -0800 The Stranger
Posted by Anonymous Commenter]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:35:42 -0800 The Stranger protection is not shutting off the world?

Seems some people still don't understand that the molesters are in the church and in the police department and in congress?

seems D'Amelio is missing a huge point and fails to realize "thee" factor.
Posted by slade]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:07:12 -0800 The Stranger Posted by giraffethegiraffe]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:16:18 -0800 The Stranger