HR 9119

1	House Resolution
2	A resolution recognizing April 16-22, 2006, as "Shaken
3	Baby Syndrome Awareness Week" in Florida.
4
5	WHEREAS, government statistics show that, in 2000,
6	unspeakable pain and suffering were inflicted upon more than
7	880,000 children, our nation's most vulnerable citizens, as
8	victims of abuse and neglect, and, on an average day in the
9	United States, four of these hapless children die, and
10	WHEREAS, the leading cause of death among abused children
11	is inflicted head trauma, including that trauma known as Shaken
12	Baby Syndrome, which occurs when a caregiver shakes a baby or
13	young child, most frequently less than 1 year of age but in some
14	cases as old as 5 years, with the resultant loss of vision,
15	brain damage, paralysis, seizures, or death, and
16	WHEREAS, on average, 1,200 to 1,400 children in the United
17	States are diagnosed with Shaken Baby Syndrome each year, with
18	thousands of additional cases thought to be misdiagnosed or
19	undetected, and substantial medical evidence seems to indicate
20	that, even when injuries resulting from this form of abuse are
21	moderate, such injuries and similar trauma are likely to cause
22	learning disabilities in children and to substantially increase
23	their vulnerability to substance abuse, and
24	WHEREAS, during the first few years of the life of a single
25	child disabled by its having been shaken, medical and
26	rehabilitation costs may amount to more than a million dollars,
27	with annual national costs of child abuse estimated at more than
28	$92 billion, and Florida Medicaid would likely bear some of the
29	medical and rehabilitation costs associated with Shaken Baby
30	Syndrome injuries, and
31	WHEREAS, the most effective way to end Shaken Baby Syndrome
32	is by preventing such abuse, and, inasmuch as awareness and
33	prevention programs have provided critically important
34	information to parents, caregivers, daycare workers, child
35	protection employees, law enforcement personnel, health care
36	professionals, and legal representatives, it is clear that the
37	minimal costs of such programs may avert enormous medical and
38	disability expenditures as well as untold grief for many
39	families, and
40	WHEREAS, prevention programs such as the Pennsylvania and
41	Upstate New York Shaken Baby Prevention Projects have
42	demonstrated that educating new parents about the danger of
43	shaking young children and how they can help protect their child
44	from injury can effect a significant reduction in the number of
45	Shaken Baby Syndrome cases, and
46	WHEREAS, training and education for child care providers
47	and high school and middle school students who are frequently
48	employed as paid or unpaid babysitters are also effective in
49	helping them keep young children safe from injury, and
50	WHEREAS, such national groups as the National Shaken Baby
51	Coalition, the Shaken Baby Alliance, the SKIPPER Initiative, and
52	the National Center for Shaken Baby Syndrome are experiencing
53	great success in their mission to educate new parents and
54	caregivers, increase awareness among the general public and
55	professionals, and encourage increased support for victims and
56	their families in the health care and criminal justice systems;
57	and the selfless commitment and Herculean efforts of those
58	working in agencies of state, county, and local governments are
59	making great strides toward the eradication of this and all
60	forms of child abuse, NOW, THEREFORE,
61
62	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
63	Florida:
64
65	That the House of Representatives commends those advocates
66	and organizations and the agencies of state, county, and local
67	governments that are committed to fostering an awareness among
68	parents and caregivers of the causes, consequences, and
69	prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome and other inflicted abuse and
70	recognizes April 16-22, 2006, as "Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness
71	Week" in Florida.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.