Full Text of SR0043 97th General Assembly
SR0043 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The month of April has been designated "National | 3 | | Child Abuse Prevention Month" as an annual tradition that was | 4 | | initiated in 1979 by former President Jimmy Carter; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The most recent National Child Abuse and Neglect | 6 | | Data System (NCANDS) figures show that almost 900,000 children | 7 | | were victims of abuse and neglect in the United States in 2004, | 8 | | causing unspeakable pain and suffering to our most vulnerable | 9 | | citizens; among the children who are victims of abuse and | 10 | | neglect, nearly four children die each day in this country; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Children age one and younger accounted for 45 | 12 | | percent of child abuse and neglect fatalities in 2004, and | 13 | | children age three and younger accounted for 81 percent of all | 14 | | child abuse and neglect fatalities in 2004; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Abusive head trauma, including the trauma known as | 16 | | Shaken Baby Syndrome, is recognized as the leading cause of | 17 | | death of physically abused children; Shaken Baby Syndrome is a | 18 | | totally preventable form of child abuse, caused by a caregiver | 19 | | losing control and shaking a baby that is usually less than one | 20 | | year in age; it can result in loss of vision, brain damage, | 21 | | paralysis, seizures, or death; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, A 2003 report in the Journal of the American | 2 | | Medical Association estimates that, in the United States, an | 3 | | average of 300 children will die each year, and 600 to 1,200 | 4 | | more will be injured, of whom two-thirds will be babies or | 5 | | infants under one year in age, as a result of Shaken Baby | 6 | | Syndrome, with many cases resulting in severe and permanent | 7 | | disabilities; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Medical professionals believe that thousands of | 9 | | additional cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome are being misdiagnosed | 10 | | or not detected; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Shaken Baby Syndrome often results in permanent, | 12 | | irreparable brain damage or death to an infant and may result | 13 | | in more than $1,000,000 in medical costs to care for a single, | 14 | | disabled child in just the first few years of life; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, The most effective solution for ending Shaken Baby | 16 | | Syndrome is to prevent such abuse, and it is clear that the | 17 | | minimal costs of education and prevention programs may prevent | 18 | | enormous medical and disability costs and untold grief for many | 19 | | families; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Prevention programs have demonstrated that | 21 | | educating new parents about the danger of shaking young | 22 | | children and how they can help protect their child from injury |
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| 1 | | can bring about a significant reduction in the number of cases | 2 | | of Shaken Baby Syndrome; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Education programs have been shown to raise | 4 | | awareness and provide critically important information about | 5 | | Shaken Baby Syndrome to parents, caregivers, daycare workers, | 6 | | child protection employees, law enforcement personnel, health | 7 | | care professionals, and legal representatives; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Efforts to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome are | 9 | | supported by advocacy groups across the United States that were | 10 | | formed by parents and relatives of children who have been | 11 | | killed or injured by shaking, such as the National Shaken Baby | 12 | | Coalition, the Shaken Baby Association, the SKIPPER (Shaking | 13 | | Kills: Instead Parents Please Educate and Remember) | 14 | | Initiative, the Shaken Baby Alliance, Shaken Baby Prevention, | 15 | | Inc., A Voice for Gabbi, Don't Shake Jake, the Kierra Harrison | 16 | | Foundation, the Cynthia Gibbs Foundation, Reagan's Rescue, the | 17 | | Hannah Rose Foundation, and the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation, | 18 | | whose mission is to educate the general public and | 19 | | professionals about Shaken Baby Syndrome and to increase | 20 | | support for victims and victims' families in the health care | 21 | | and criminal justice systems; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Child abuse prevention programs and "National | 23 | | Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week" are supported by the |
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| 1 | | National Shaken Baby Coalition, the National Center on Shaken | 2 | | Baby Syndrome, the Children's Defense Fund, the American | 3 | | Academy of Pediatrics, the Child Welfare League of America, | 4 | | Prevent Child Abuse America, the National Child Abuse | 5 | | Coalition, the National Exchange Club Foundation, the American | 6 | | Humane Association, the American Professional Society on the | 7 | | Abuse of Children, the Arc of the United States, the | 8 | | Association of University Centers on Disabilities, Children's | 9 | | Healthcare is a Legal Duty, Family Partnership, Family Voices, | 10 | | National Alliance of Children's Trust and Prevention Funds, | 11 | | United Cerebral Palsy, the National Association of Children's | 12 | | Hospitals and related institutions, Never Shake a Baby | 13 | | Arizona/Prevent Child Abuse Arizona, the Center for Child | 14 | | Protection and Family Support, and many other organizations; | 15 | | therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 17 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that in honor of survivors | 18 | | of Shaken Baby Syndrome like Kristina Simmons of Decatur, | 19 | | non-survivors like Taylor Nicole (Pinkas) Rogers of | 20 | | Edwardsville, Reagan Williams of Danville, Gabriella Manzardo | 21 | | of Naperville, Brynden Tyler Gibson of Herrin, Xavier Delgado | 22 | | of Sterling, and Ben Fitton of Paxton, and in honor of all the | 23 | | other precious children that did or did not survive, we hereby | 24 | | designate April 18-24, 2011, as "Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness | 25 | | Week" in the State of Illinois; and be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That we commend those hospitals, child care | 2 | | councils, schools, and other organizations that are working to | 3 | | increase awareness of the danger of shaking young children and | 4 | | educate parents and caregivers as to how they can help protect | 5 | | children from such injuries; and be it further | 6 | | RESOLVED, That we encourage the people of Illinois to | 7 | | remember the victims of Shaken Baby Syndrome and to participate | 8 | | in educational programs to help prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome; | 9 | | and be it further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 11 | | presented to the National Shaken Baby Coalition.
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