Congress Passes Legislation to Prevent Child Fatalities

Yesterday, the Senate passed by unanimous consent the Protect Our Kids Act (HR 6655) which establishes a Presidential Commission to study child deaths. The legislation directs the President and Congressional leaders to appoint a commission composed of 12 stakeholders with various expertise in related fields including, social work, health, law, and education. The commission is charged with studying pertinent topics including the incidence of child fatalities, data collection, best practices, and resource limitations. At its conclusion, the commission is to develop recommendations to reduce child fatalities from maltreatment, including a comprehensive national strategy to that end. The recommendations are due within three years and the legislation reserves $2 million of the TANF contingency fund to meet associated expenses.