The town board has passed a resolution supporting the Child Abuse Reporting Expansion (CARE) Act.

The Act, under consideration by the State Senate as NYS Senate Bill 3158, seeks to amend Social Services Law to require clergy and religious institutions to be mandated reporters of child abuse situations it discovers in its community.

Town councilors on Tuesday night unanimously passed a resolution urging Albany lawmakers to support the Child Abuse Reporting Expansion Act, dubbed the CARE Act. If passed and signed by the governor, it would add clergy to the state’s list of mandated reporters of known or suspected child abuse.

The CARE Act advocates have continued their push for passage of the legislation, which would make clergy mandated reporters. Critics argue the legislation would violate an individual’s First Amendment right.

Many members of CFCtoo spoke at the meeting, highlighting instances of abuse that went unreported to state authorities even after church elders were notified of the abuse.

In response to a conversation among St. Lawrence County legislators about New York Senate bill 3158, the Child Abuse Reporting Expansion Act, at the board’s June 12 operations committee meeting, 12 members of CFCtoo attended Monday night’s full board meeting.

Bonnie Ogilvie is the mother of CFC church member Sean M. Ferguson, who pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual abuse.

"I stand before you today as the grandmother of children who've suffered child sexual abuse," she said. "The CARE Act is not just a piece of legislation to me, it's a desperate plea that no more children have to be hurt."

A group of activists, survivors, family members, clergy and New York state legislators are hoping to change that with the Child Abuse Reporting Expansion, or CARE Act. That bill would change state law to require that clergy members of any faith or tradition report instances of child abuse that they become aware of to the proper authorities.

Support for the CARE Act, which would add clergy to list of mandated reporters of child abuse, is gaining steam in Albany and several former members of Christian Fellowship Center are continuing to lobby for its passage.

Last May, shock waves rippled through Christian Fellowship Center, a nondenominational church in New York’s North Country, when Sean Ferguson, who’d attended the church for decades, was charged with first-degree sexual abuse of a child. Then came the accusations that church leaders had been aware of the abuse five years ago — and failed to report it.

As a member of Christian Fellowship Center, Ferguson’s case made waves locally after he was charged in 2022 with sexually abusing children in 2015. He was not charged until seven years after the incident.

If a member of the clergy suspects a child in the congregation has been abused, is the clergyperson legally required to report it?

In New York state, the answer is no. But some advocates, clergy and lawmakers think that should change.

‘Because pastors do not report abuse, it allows abusers to keep on preying on vulnerable individuals,’ said advocate Abbi Nye.

Clergy from churches in St. Lawrence County spoke in support of the proposed Child Abuse Reporting Expansion (CARE) Act at an October 21 press conference outside the St. Lawrence County Courthouse.

Former CFC members, a local political candidate and over a dozen activists called on New York State to pass the Child Abuse Reporting Expansion Act during a press conference on Oct. 21.

Former members of the Christian Fellowship Center, as well as local religious leaders, gathered Friday outside the St. Lawrence County Court House in Canton to protest alleged abuses within the church and advocate passage of the CARE Act, a state bill that would make clergy mandated reporters of child abuse.

People in St. Lawrence County are pushing for state legislation that would require all members of the clergy to report child abuse.

Former Christian Fellowship members will hold a rally at 10 a.m. Friday in front of the St. Lawrence County Courthouse calling on state officials to make members of clergy mandated reporters of sexual abuse.

A group of former Christian Fellowship Center members who say they left because of systemic abuse within the church, CFCtoo, will hold a Friday morning news conference to drum up community support for the proposed Child Abuse Reporting Expansion (CARE) Act.

CFC Too — the name is a nod to the #MeToo movement — was founded this summer. The group has eight members, all of whom used to worship at CFC. They allege a pattern of physical and sexual abuse within the CFC community, and they say church leaders have not been doing enough to stop it.

Former members of the Christian Fellowship Center congregated Sunday in front of the CFC in Potsdam to protest alleged systemic abuses within the church and advocate passing of the CARE Act, a state bill that would make clergy mandated reporters of child abuse or mistreatment.

Protestors gathered in front of the Christian Fellowship Center in Potsdam, as well as the Canton Village park to protest child sexual abuse.

Former members of the Christian Fellowship Center congregated Sunday in front of the CFC in Potsdam to protest alleged systemic abuses within the church and advocate passing of the CARE Act, a state bill that would make clergy mandated reporters of child abuse or mistreatment.

A group of former Christian Fellowship Center members are raising awareness of the Child Abuse Reporting Expansion Act, or CARE Act, a state bill that would make clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse or mistreatment.

A group of former Christian Fellowship Center members who are calling on state officials to make the change after leaders in the church opted not to report allegations of sexual abuse by one of its members.

Christian Fellowship Center in New York state’s North Country is described as an idyllic community — as long as you follow the rules.