As part of reforms, SafeSport center seeks greater efficency, improved communication on long cases

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DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Center for SafeSport will try to cut down on the amount of time it takes to resolve cases and better explain to people involved in investigations that such “long duration” cases are possible, as part of reforms designed to improve on what some complain is a confusing, drawn-out process.

The center's interim CEO, April Holmes, sent a letter Wednesday to athletes, sports organizations and others involved in the SafeSport process outlining changes stemming from a series of community outreach efforts earlier this year.

Among the nine changes the center announced:

— “Better explain(ing) what happens when the Center declines a case.”

— Improving resources and adding language to help people better understand third-party reporting, anonymous reporting and due process.

— "Adding educational content on misusing the center's process."

— “Incorporating language in communications about the potential long duration of cases" — an issue the center has tried to improve upon by adding staff.

“Despite resource challenges, the Center has doubled its legal team and merged it with the investigative team to enhance efficiencies as well as streamlined other investigative processes,” the center said in a statement.

The center is also establishing regular, in-person office hours at Olympic Training Center sites and trying to provide other methods of feedback, including attending events to meet with athletes and setting up more sessions to receive feedback.

The center's outreach efforts began shortly after Holmes took over for Ju'Riese Colon, whose departure came after a series of Associated Press stories about an investigator hired and later fired by the center triggered an inquiry from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Established in 2017 to sort through sex-abuse cases in Olympic sports, the center has struggled to efficiently resolve cases — a problem it says is rooted in the more than 8,000 reports it receives in a year and staffing issues that have plagued the organization since its founding.

In her letter, Holmes said the center heard concerns about areas that were flagged “as requiring more attention, transparency and/or education.”

Another takeaway, Holmes wrote: “The Center is important and necessary. Improvements are being noticed, but challenges remain.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games