Senate Supports National Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week

On April 15, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution (S. Res. 112) designating the third week of April as “National Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week.”

Sponsored by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

• According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, nearly 900,000 children in the United States were victims of abuse and neglect in 2002;
• Children under the age of one accounted for 41.2 percent of child abuse and neglect fatalities in 2002, and children under the age of four accounted for 76.1 percent of all child abuse and neglect fatalities;
• The Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that 300 children will die each year as a result of Shaken Baby Syndrome;
• Shaken Baby Syndrome often results in permanent, irreparable brain damage or death to an infant, and care for a single disabled child could cost up to $1 million in just the first few years of life; and
• Education programs have been shown to raise awareness and provide critically important information about Shaken Baby Syndrome to parents, caregivers, daycare providers, child protection employees, law enforcement personnel, health care professionals, and legal representatives.