COUNTY FUNNELS $ TO PARENTS FOR MEGAN’S LAW

The Suffolk County Legislature recently approved a $115,000 appropriation which will provide additional staffing to the childhood sexual abuse prevention education contract agency, Parents for Megan's Law.  The funding was hailed by Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, as a much-needed resource to meet the mounting volume of telephone calls to the hotline, which a staff of two part timers presently addresses.  She said, We need more people on board because the demands and volume of calls from parents with questions or whose children have been sexually victimized are so overwhelming.  Suffolk Legislator Joseph Caracappa, R-Selden, was instrumental in securing the $115,000 funding and said additional revenues were necessary to expand staffing for Parents for Megan's Law in Suffolk.  I worked with the staff of Parents for Megan's Law, who have in turn helped me work with my community of sexual predators and understanding associated (sex offender) notification problems.  I've see the type of work they're providing with a growing demand for outreach, but to meet these demands, the $115,000 was needed over and above the county executive's appropriation.  The county's contribution to PFML, along with the county executive's allocation, totals $171,000.