PRINTER'S NO. 1635
No. 1155 Session of 2006
INTRODUCED BY BROWNE, ERICKSON, PILEGGI, ORIE, WENGER, LEMMOND,
RHOADES, PIPPY, GREENLEAF, RAFFERTY, ARMSTRONG, BOSCOLA,
FERLO, MELLOW, LOGAN, C. WILLIAMS, KITCHEN, COSTA AND STACK,
MARCH 22, 2006
REFERRED TO AGING AND YOUTH, MARCH 22, 2006
AN ACT
1 Creating a Statewide public awareness education campaign to
2 prevent the occurrence of injuries and deaths to infants and
3 children as a result of shaken baby syndrome.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Shaken Baby
8 Syndrome Public Awareness Education Campaign Act.
9 Section 2. Findings and declarations.
10 The General Assembly finds and declares all of the following:
11 (1) Shaken baby syndrome is a medically serious,
12 sometimes fatal, matter affecting newborns and very young
13 children. Shaking an infant or child in anger is particularly
14 dangerous.
15 (2) Vigorous shaking of an infant or child can result in
16 bleeding inside the head, causing irreversible brain damage,
17 blindness, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, spinal cord injury,
1 seizures, learning disabilities and even death.
2 (3) While doctors have long recognized that shaking an
3 infant or child can cause injuries, many adults remain
4 unaware of how dangerous this practice can be.
5 (4) Studies have shown that exposure to materials about
6 the dangers of shaking a baby improved understanding of the
7 effects of shaking an infant or child.
8 (5) Shaken baby syndrome is preventable. Knowledge about
9 shaken baby syndrome can be significantly raised through
10 education and public awareness campaigns.
11 (6) It is the intent of the General Assembly to
12 encourage public and private collaboration in developing
13 instructional materials regarding shaken baby syndrome and to
14 encourage that these materials be supplied to health
15 facilities, midwives and to the Department of Health free of
16 charge.
17 Section 3. Purpose.
18 The purpose of this act is to prevent the occurrence of
19 injuries and deaths to infants and children as a result of
20 shaken baby syndrome by creating a Statewide public awareness
21 education campaign. The campaign shall include the distribution
22 of readily understandable information and instructional
23 materials regarding shaken baby syndrome, explaining its medical
24 effects upon infants and children and emphasizing preventive
25 measures.
26 Section 4. Information and instructional materials.
27 (a) Provision.--Information and instructional materials as
28 described in section 3 shall be provided free of charge by each
29 health facility to parents or guardians of each newborn, upon
30 discharge from the health facility. In the event of home birth
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1 attended by a licensed midwife, the midwife shall provide the
2 information and instructional materials to the parents or
3 guardians of the newborn.
4 (b) Cost.--The Department of Health shall provide the
5 information and instructional materials under subsection (a)
6 free of charge to child care providers upon licensure and at the
7 time of a site visit.
8 (c) Content.--The information and instructional materials
9 provided under this section shall focus upon the serious nature
10 of the risk to infants and young children presented by shaken
11 baby syndrome.
12 (d) Requirement.--The requirement that informational and
13 instructional materials be provided under this section shall
14 apply only if the materials have been supplied to those persons
15 or entities that are required to provide the materials under
16 this section.
17 (e) Immunity.--Persons or entities required to provide
18 materials under this section shall not be subject to any legal
19 cause of action based on the requirements of this section.
20 (f) Duplication.--Persons or entities providing materials
21 under this section shall not be required to provide duplicative
22 or redundant informational and instructional materials.
23 Section 10. Effective date.
24 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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