Deborah Ausburn

Attorney defending and advising youth-serving organizations

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

Kids commit more child sexual abuse than adults do. Negligent supervision law asks whether an organization had notice of that risk. Prior incidents at the same location can supply notice without a repeat offender.
https://t.co/8Nile0boC2

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

Trey's Law doesn't just void your NDA's abuse clause. Most states still let you protect settlement amounts, but the ban may reach any language shielding a prior complaint about the same person. No court has tested that line yet.
https://t.co/2WuPD5loMm

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

Minnesota's new grooming felony is well-intentioned, but it’s going to miss most predatory grooming. It also tells you nothing about your civil standard of care.
https://t.co/F3GeUDb6YV

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

Silence isn’t the safe move on a former employee reference. The exposure runs the other way: a glowing reference that hides a known safety concern. Develop a policy that protects your organization and lets you sleep at night.
https://t.co/1gorb9YE3O

[Tom Rawlings @tcrawlings]

Stopping child welfare agencies from labeling as “abuse” a parent’s protection of their child from transgender zealots isn’t just a matter of legislation. We also have to train judges in the psychology and the science. @nypost article from @NaomiSRiley and me.

https://t.co/1d6X2Ielpt
@donoharm @libsoftiktok @IWF

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

Crisis response has two legal danger zones: the first 24 hours and the first week. New post on the traps to avoid in both: https://t.co/IPlSPh3bcu.

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

On September 24 at the CAFO Summit in Atlanta, @tcrawlings and I are leading a workshop called “Start Planning Now for a Crisis.” It's built for youth-serving organizations that want a real plan in place before something goes wrong, not a scramble after it does.
If you’re at the conference, stop by our booth. We'll have books and information for youth-serving organizations and for foster, adoptive, kinship, and stepfamily parents. Come to the workshop if your schedule allows it. We'd love to talk with you in person.
https://t.co/nPlhUbDJhf

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

"Trauma-informed" has quietly become code for "no consequences" at some youth-serving organizations. That’s a misreading of the framework. Accountability should never be optional.
https://t.co/dJcPzLoQQq

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

A crisis plan isn’t just operational. It’s part of your legal defense. New post on what youth-serving organizations should build before a crisis hits: https://t.co/NA0sNa8b09. Catching us at CAFO Sept 23-25? We’re presenting on this exact topic.

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

The “two-adult rule” isn't a legal requirement for most youth organizations, and it's never been proven more effective than the alternatives. Here's what actually holds up if you can't staff it:
https://t.co/Hp0fvW5669

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

A training record from months ago is not the same as staff who still know what to do. Two specific gaps explain most training failures, and both are fixable.
New post: https://t.co/DETUkVNufC

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

Staff don't skip safeguarding policies because they never saw them. They skip them because they don't trust their own judgment in the moment. That was the throughline at ISPCAN's 2026 Congress. Full post: https://t.co/j2nF3B0fKC

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

A permission slip that just says "permission to attend" won’t protect you. Cover specific activities, medical info, transportation, and photo consent separately. Here’s what belongs on yours: https://t.co/BGcVpKOWVU

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

Standard legal advice says stay silent during a crisis. For a youth-serving org, silence often reads as guilt. Here's what the first 24 hours of a real crisis response plan should look like.
https://t.co/6R9qNJYlIT

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

We're presenting at ISPCAN 2026 in Melbourne. Poster P021, Theme 2: "Creating a Just Safety Culture within Youth-Serving Organizations." A written policy doesn't protect children. A culture that supports it does. Stop by if you're there, Aug 24–26. #ISPCAN2026

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

A church knew its volunteer was a convicted sex offender and didn't tell parents. Now its employees face criminal charges and the church faces multiple lawsuits.
https://t.co/SQuSlisqE1

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

Screening adults by job title instead of actual access to children is a liability trap. Match screening depth to access and supervision, not the badge someone wears.
Here's the framework: https://t.co/touHZnsFRQ

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

Delete a personnel file on a routine schedule after a concern surfaces, and a court can tell the jury to assume it would have hurt you. Know which records your organization needs to collect before you lose them.
https://t.co/cv3FcgnApa

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

Your program director's post-incident email to parents can be a party admission in most states. So might a social media statement. Build a communication protocol before an incident, not during one.  https://t.co/GQpCGzzCKB

[Deborah Ausburn @DAusburnJD]

A Texas district just won a 4-year retaliation lawsuit. That’s the bad news for other YSOs: winning proves nothing about the negligence case a retaliation claim can hand a plaintiff’s lawyer months later.
https://t.co/JK2CJRt2kD