Public Act 094-0228
 		





SB0506 Enrolled
LRB094 06274 DRJ 36345 b






    AN ACT concerning children.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:

 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Shaken 
Baby Prevention Act.
 
    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
    "Director" means the Director of Public Health.
    "Parent" means a biological mother or father, 
foster-mother or father, adoptive mother or father, or 
step-mother or step-father.
    "Primary caregiver" means any person who is not a parent, 
but who provides temporary care to an infant or child, 
including but not limited to, a babysitter, child care 
provider, extended family member, nanny, or custodian.
    
    "Shaken baby" means the vigorous shaking of an infant or a 
young child that may result in bleeding inside the head and 
cause one or more of the following conditions: irreversible 
brain damage; blindness, retinal hemorrhage, or eye damage; 
cerebral palsy; hearing loss; spinal cord injury, including 
paralysis; seizures; learning disability; central nervous 
system injury; closed head injury; rib fracture; subdural 
hematoma; or death.                                                         
 
    Section 10. Shaken Baby Prevention Program. Subject to 
appropriation, the Director shall establish a statewide Shaken 
Baby Prevention Program to educate parents and primary 
caregivers about the dangers of shaken baby and to provide 
alternative techniques to venting anger and frustration.  The 
program shall allow for voluntary participation and use 
multimedia educational vehicles, such as a video recording, to 
target the parents and primary caregivers of babies from birth 
through 3 years of age. Parents of newborns may choose to sign 
a participation form and fill out an evaluation form to record 
their participation in the program after viewing the multimedia 
educational materials. The Director, or the Director's 
designee, shall develop companion written materials, a program 
participation form, and an evaluation form. The Director shall 
designate and enter into contracts with experts, health care 
providers, and other State agencies to design and implement the 
program in all hospitals and child care facilities.
 
    Section 15. Local health departments. Local health 
departments shall assist the Director in implementing and 
administering the Shaken Baby Prevention Program in local 
hospitals and child care facilities. Local health departments' 
specific duties  may include,  but  are  not  limited to, 
distributing the multimedia program materials and assisting in  
the  collection  of  the  data  on  program  participation  and  the  
program evaluation forms for the Department's  annual report 
required under Section 30.                                                          
 
    Section 20. Responsibilities of hospitals, health care 
providers, and child care providers. 
    (a) Every hospital, maternal or pediatric health  care  
provider, and  child care provider shall encourage parents and 
primary  caregivers  to  participate  in  the  voluntary  Shaken   Baby 
Prevention  Program  by:  
        (1)  informing parents of all newborn children about the 
    program;
 
        (2) making available to parents the shaken  baby 
    awareness  and  prevention  multimedia materials provided by 
    the Department;
        (3) making program participation forms developed by 
    the Department  available  for signing by parents after 
    viewing the multimedia materials; and 
        (4) keeping all program participation forms  and  
    evaluation forms on file.    
    (b) Hospitals shall report to the Department by no later 
than the first of November of  each  year: (i)  the  total  number  
of births  that  occurred at the hospital that year; (ii) the 
total number of viewings of the shaken baby multimedia 
educational materials; and (iii) the total number  of  Shaken  
Baby  Prevention Program participation  forms signed at the 
hospital.  All  evaluation  forms  filled  out  during  the  year shall 
be forwarded to the Department with that data.                                               
 
    Section 25. Parent support service. The Department may 
establish and operate a voluntary support service for parents 
who struggle with infant crying. The support service may 
include, but need not be limited to, telephone consultation and 
referrals to appropriate professional assistance.
 
    Section 30. Annual report. The  Department  shall make an 
annual report to the General Assembly of its findings and 
recommendations concerning  the  effectiveness,  impact, and  
benefits  derived  from  the  Shaken  Baby Prevention Program. The 
report shall contain evaluations of the program and 
recommendations for legislation deemed necessary and proper. 
The Department shall submit the report on or before the first 
day of January, beginning in 2007.
 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 
1, 2006.