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INTRODUCED
February 7, 2018
S. 973
S. Printed 2/7/18--S. [SEC 2/8/18 10:59 AM]
Read the first time February 7, 2018.
TO RECOGNIZE THE THIRD FULL WEEK OF APRIL 2018 AS "SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME AWARENESS WEEK", TO RAISE AWARENESS REGARDING SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME, AND TO COMMEND THE HOSPITALS, CHILD CARE COUNCILS, SCHOOLS, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT EDUCATE PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS ON HOW TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM ABUSE.
Whereas, the month of April is "National Child Abuse Prevention Month", which has been annually recognized since it was established in 1979 by former President Jimmy Carter; and
Whereas, according to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, almost 700,000 children were victims of abuse and neglect in the United States in 2011. Nearly five of these children die in the United States each day, and eighty percent are under the age of four; and
Whereas, abusive head trauma, including the trauma known as shaken baby syndrome, is recognized as the leading cause of death of physically abused children; and
Whereas, shaken baby syndrome can result in severe and permanent disabilities, including loss of vision, brain damage, paralysis, seizures, or death; and
Whereas, a 2003 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimated that, as a result of shaken baby syndrome, an average of 300 children in the United States die each year, and 600 to 1,200 more are injured, of whom two-thirds are babies or infants under one year of age; and
Whereas, medical professionals believe that thousands of additional cases of shaken baby syndrome are misdiagnosed or left undetected; and
Whereas, shaken baby syndrome may result in more than $1,000,000 in medical costs for the care of a single disabled child in just the first few years of life; and
Whereas, the most effective solution for ending shaken baby syndrome is prevention, and it is clear that the minimal costs of education and prevention programs may put a stop to enormous medical and disability costs and immeasurable amounts of grief for many families; and
Whereas, education and prevention programs have proven to raise awareness and significantly reduce the number of cases of shaken baby syndrome by providing critically important information to parents, caregivers, daycare workers, child protection employees, law enforcement personnel, health care professionals, and legal representatives; and
Whereas, efforts to prevent shaken baby syndrome are supported by advocacy groups across the United States that were formed by parents and relatives of children who have been killed or injured by shaking; and
Whereas, child abuse prevention programs and "National Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week" are supported by a number of national, state, and local organizations. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize the third full week of April 2018 as "Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week".
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