Full Text of SR0049 96th General Assembly
SR0049 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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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| 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
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| WHEREAS, Medical professionals believe that thousands of | 9 |
| additional cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome are being misdiagnosed | 10 |
| or not detected; and
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| 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
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| 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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| can bring about a significant reduction in the number of cases | 2 |
| of Shaken Baby Syndrome; and
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| 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
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| 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, and | 17 |
| the Hannah Rose Foundation, whose mission is to educate the | 18 |
| general public and professionals about Shaken Baby Syndrome and | 19 |
| to increase support for victims and victim's families in the | 20 |
| health care and criminal justice systems; and
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| WHEREAS, Child abuse prevention programs and "National | 22 |
| Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week" are supported by the | 23 |
| National Shaken Baby Coalition, the National Center on Shaken |
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| Baby Syndrome, the Children's Defense Fund, the American | 2 |
| Academy of Pediatrics, the Child Welfare League of America, | 3 |
| Prevent Child Abuse America, the National Child Abuse | 4 |
| Coalition, the National Exchange Club Foundation, the American | 5 |
| Humane Association, the American Professional Society on the | 6 |
| Abuse of Children, the Arc of the United States, the | 7 |
| Association of University Centers on Disabilities, Children's | 8 |
| Healthcare is a Legal Duty, Family Partnership, Family Voices, | 9 |
| National Alliance of Children's Trust and Prevention Funds, | 10 |
| United Cerebral Palsy, the National Association of Children's | 11 |
| Hospitals and related institutions, Never Shake a Baby | 12 |
| Arizona/Prevent Child Abuse Arizona, the Center for Child | 13 |
| Protection and Family Support, and many other organizations; | 14 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 16 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that in honor of survivors | 17 |
| of Shaken Baby Syndrome like Kristina Simmons of Decatur, | 18 |
| non-survivors like Taylor Nicole (Pinkas) Rogers of | 19 |
| Edwardsville and Reagan Williams of Danville, and in honor of | 20 |
| all the other precious children that did or did not survive, we | 21 |
| hereby designate April 20-26, 2009, as "Shaken Baby Syndrome | 22 |
| Awareness Week" in the State of Illinois; and be it further | 23 |
| RESOLVED, That we commend those hospitals, child care | 24 |
| councils, schools, and other organizations that are working to |
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| increase awareness of the danger of shaking young children and | 2 |
| educate parents and caregivers as to how they can help protect | 3 |
| children from such injuries; and be it further | 4 |
| RESOLVED, That we encourage the people of Illinois to | 5 |
| remember the victims of Shaken Baby Syndrome and to participate | 6 |
| in educational programs to help prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome; | 7 |
| and be it further | 8 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 |
| presented to the National Shaken Baby Coalition.
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