California Lobbyists Remain Mum on Boy Scouts Scandal

As the Boy Scouts of America faces the largest sexual abuse atrocity in modern history, longtime camp lobbyist firm California Collaboration for Youth (CCFY) continues to protect the Boy Scouts and other clients from critical child health and safety measures without offering any comment about the shocking harm.

Contrary to its name, CCFY actually works for youth-serving organizations, not for youth protections. The operation is run by longtime lobbyist and American Camp Association (ACA) ally Catherine Barankin who spearheaded resistance to the 2020 child-centric camp safety bill SB 217 (previously SB 955), also known as the Roxie Rules Act.

As of this writing, CCFY is not registered as a business and does not offer any staff or contact information.

Barankin helms a similar organization with partner Steve Barrow, also involved in the lobbying campaign against SB 217. As of this writing, the organization, known as California Coalition for Children’s Safety and Health, has been suspended by the California Attorney’s General’s office for failing to annually register and file fees for more than a decade. Suspension prohibits Barankin and Barrow from fundraising, yet they continue to do so.

Barankin has also violated the Fair Political Practices Commission lobbying requirements. The agency severely fined her for failing to register lobbying fees amounting to more than $750,000. She was recently cited again for failing to register.

Barankin calls her lobby clients “members,” as if members of a nonprofit organization. The lion’s share of her practices, especially those related to the Collaboration, helps camps maximize revenue and minimize oversight, under the guise of supporting youth.

Foundation founders Doug Forbes and Elena Matyas crafted SB 217 following the June 2019 drowning death of their 6-year-old daughter Roxie Forbes at Altadena, California, facility known as Summerkids. Numerous safety abuses led to the preventable death. Summerkids staffers admitted to at least eight other considerable child injuries, including one only weeks after Roxie’s death.

Of the 178 letters opposing SB 217, apparently 85% came from Barankin’s lobby clients. And, of the 146 letters from Barankin’s California Collaboration for Youth lobby clients, 76% came from the Boy Scouts, despite it perpetration of the worst child sexual abuse campaign in American history.

According to lawyers representing Boy Scout sexual abuse survivors, scouting leaders molested children in over 1,300 cities and camps across the United States. More than 90,000 survivors have come forward to date. ChildUSA estimates that the Boy Scout have likely harmed upwards of a million children, most of which occurred at camps and events.

The Boy Scouts have declared bankruptcy in order to remain viable. It remains unclear how an organization with nearly 100,000 brutal crimes against children can be allowed to operate, let alone deem itself worthy of continuing to do so.

Despite these staggering statistics, neither Barankin nor American Camp Association President Tom Rosenberg has publicly condemned the horrific sexual abuse perpetrated by the BSA.

In a related matter, Rosenberg lied to Forbes and Matyas about his knowledge of Roxie’s preventable drowning, according to a battery of documents. Rosenberg’s senior officials, with his knowledge, subsequently assisted Summerkids in pursuing accreditation, despite the fact that doing so violates its own standards.

The ACA has employed a policy whereby “there must be no outstanding ethical complaints” related to any camp that applies for accreditation. Summerkids has at least three such complaints, including a highly public lawsuit by the California Attorney General’s office for running an illegal child care operation. Rosenberg and his organization nonetheless accepted more than $4,300 from Summerkids and assisted the owner-operators with public relations and other resources after Roxie was killed.

Lax ACA standards and practices, inspections and self-policing remain a grave concern for child safety advocates. According to one of the ACA’s opposition letters to SB 217, “For over 100 years, the summer camp industry has been self-regulated, under the guidance of the American Camp Association.” This self-regulation and lobbying has stifled efforts for camp stakeholders to collaborate with child safety advocates on improving insufficient health and safety standards.