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HB 407

An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in assault, further providing for the offense of stalking.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Tim Briggs and 20 co-sponsors

HB 407 would require birth hospitals to educate new parents about abusive head trauma with videos, trained staff, and materials, funded at $300k and tracked by DOH.

Referred to Judiciary
0
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Bill Summary · HB 407

HB 407 — Shaken Baby Syndrome Education (summary)

Status: Action postponed indefinitely (not enacted)
Introduced: November 12, 2024
Subject areas: Children & Families; Health & Health Facilities

Main purpose / intent

To reduce abusive head trauma (AHT, commonly called “shaken baby syndrome”) by updating and expanding parent education given at birth hospitals and birthing centers across the state, implementing a statewide educational program, and establishing departmental data collection on AHT incidence.

Key provisions

  • Appropriates $300,000 (General Fund) to the Department of Health (DOH) to:
    • Collaborate with the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNM HSC) Department of Pediatrics to revise and update training and educational materials for new parents about AHT.
    • Fully implement the educational program statewide.
    • Collect and report data on the incidence of abusive head trauma to infants.
  • Requires each birth hospital and birthing center to designate and train personnel to:
    • Show an educational video and distribute printed materials to parents of newborns.
    • Demonstrate the effects of shaking using a training doll.
    • Answer parents’ questions.
  • Anticipates DOH responsibilities for developing materials, providing training guidance, potentially managing contracts, and overseeing hospital compliance and reporting.
  • Calls for a clear definition of “abusive head trauma” for meaningful data collection (per UNM recommendation).

Who would be affected

  • Primary: DOH (administration and reporting duties) and birth hospitals / birthing centers (operational/training duties).
  • Secondary: New parents and newborns statewide (recipients of education).
  • Fiscal/administrative impacts may affect UNM (as collaborator) and potentially contractors or vendors producing materials/training.

Fiscal and administrative impact

  • Appropriation: $300,000 from the General Fund (noted as largely recurring; portion for one‑time material updates is nonrecurring).
  • DOH estimated FY26 costs: roughly $164,300 (documented as largely nonrecurring), with specific DOH estimates of $91,300 for a health educator (salary, benefits, office) and $73,000 for travel/expenses in FY26.
  • Administrative burden: Hospitals would need to designate and train staff; statewide implementation would create substantial personnel time. Example: in 2023 New Mexico had ~20,600 live births — a 30‑minute training per birth equates to ~10,300 hours of instruction (hospital staff time rather than DOH).
  • Long‑term economic rationale: AHT carries high medical and societal costs (CDC estimates cited in the fiscal note — e.g., ~$48,000 medical cost over 4 years per injured child; ~$2.6 million lifetime cost for a surviving AHT victim), so prevention education may reduce these costs over time.

Performance, policy notes, and alternatives

  • UNM and DOH indicate the need for a firm statutory definition of AHT to make incidence data meaningful.
  • UNM suggested alternatives, such as using funds for a broader child abuse prevention agenda (including periodic surveys), rather than narrowly updating materials.
  • If not enacted, the fiscal note observes education would continue but likely rely on outdated materials and no standardized statewide data collection.

Timeline / effective date

  • The bill, as drafted, contained no express effective date; absent one it would take effect 90 days after adjournment (the fiscal note cites June 20, 2025 as an example). Current procedural status: action postponed indefinitely (bill withdrawn from further consideration).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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