,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bjgf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #c1 #bjai,ms4 ,schrier 7for herself and ,mr4 ,stivers7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor ,a ,,bill ,to establish a demonstration program to explore effective practices to improve early detection and management of injuries indicative of potential abuse in infants under the age of #g months1 in order to prevent future cases of child abuse and related fatalities4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,early ,detection to ,stop ,infant ,abuse and ,prevent ,fatalities ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds as follows3 7#a7 ,according to the ,national ,child ,abuse and ,neglect ,data ,system1 an estimated #a1gbj children died from abuse or neglect in the ,united ,states in fiscal year #bjag4 ,seventy-two percent of child fatalities involved children younger than #c years1 and #ej percent involved infants younger than #a year4 7#b7 ,according to the ,commission to ,eliminate ,child ,abuse and ,neglect ,fatalities1 infants and toddlers are at high risk of an abuse or neglect fatality compared to other age groups and require special attention4 ,because these young children are seen by health care professionals1 the ,commission recommended coordinated1 cross-system approaches to prevention4 7#c7 ,multiple studies have found that relatively minor1 visible injuries in young infants1 including bruising and intraoral injuries1 are often indicators of abuse4 ,such injuries are commonly overlooked by medical providers1 caregivers1 and child welfare professionals because they seem trivial4 ,without early intervention1 physical abuse can escalate1 resulting in severe injuries or even fatalities4 ,many child abuse professionals refer to such injuries as sentinel injuries in young infants because of their importance as early warning signs of abuse4 7#d7 ,research conducted in ,wisconsin showed that previous sentinel injuries were identified in #bg4e percent of abused infants and #cj percent of infants who suffer abusive head trauma but were rare in infants who had not been abused4 ,other studies have demonstrated similar rates of missed opportunities to identify abuse in young infants4 7#e7 ,proper identification of1 and response to1 such suspicious injuries provides an opportunity for early recognition and intervention to protect vulnerable children and prevent many cases of abuse and related fatalities1 as well as an opportunity to detect medical conditions that require urgent treatment4 7#f7 ,early detection of such injuries and effective evaluation and intervention requires education of caregivers of young infants1 child protective workers1 and medical professionals about the significance of such injuries in young infants4 7#g7 ,best practices and protocols need to be developed to ensure an effective response by medical professionals1 child protective services1 and other professionals when sentinel injuries are detected4 #c4 ,demonstration program 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services 7referred to in this section as the ,secretary7 shall establish a demonstration program to award grants to eligible entities in order to test effective practices to improve early detection and management of injuries indicative of potential abuse in infants under the age of #g months to prevent future cases of child abuse and related fatalities4 7b7 ,activities ,recipients of grants under this section-- 7#a7 shall use such award to-- 7,a7 develop1 implement1 or expand training and best practices to assist medical professionals in identifying1 assessing1 and responding to injuries indicative of potential abuse in infants under the age of #g months1 particularly bruising and oral injuries2 7,b7 develop protocols and policies that improve communication and coordination between mandatory reporters and child protective services when such reporters identify such injuries2 and 7,c7 conduct the evaluation under subsection 7e72 and 7#b7 may use such award-- 7,a7 to raise awareness regarding the significance of such injuries by mandatory reporters1 health professionals1 the public1 professionals caring for children1 home visitors1 child care workers1 and child protective services staff2 and 7,b7 for other purposes1 as the ,secretary determines appropriate1 including using the approaches described in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,c7 of paragraph 7#a7 to address injuries indicative of potential abuse in children aged #g months and older4 7c7 ,eligible entities 7#a7 ,in general ,to be eligible to receive a grant under this section1 an entity shall-- 7,a7 demonstrate knowledge and experience providing health services to children and identifying and responding to child maltreatment2 and 7,b7 submit to the ,secretary an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require1 including-- 7i7 a description of the entity's planned activities1 including-- 7,i7 plans to reduce child re-victimization and child fatalities2 and 7,,ii7 plans to evaluate success1 including pertinent data sources that will be developed or utilized2 and 7ii7 entities with whom the applicant will collaborate in carrying out the activities under the grant4 7#b7 ,multidiscliplinary partnerships ,an eligible entity shall be a multidisciplinary partnership of stakeholders with knowledge and experience providing health services to children and identifying and responding to child maltreatment1 which may include nonprofit organizations1 community-based organizations1 administrators of any programs funded under the ,child ,abuse ,prevention and ,treatment ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #eaja et seq471 children's health care providers1 board-certified child abuse pediatricians1 child protective services1 child advocates1 ,state child death review boards1 child advocacy centers1 ,state department of justice officials1 children's hospitals1 disability organizations1 and mental health and social services providers4 7d7 ,grant period ,grants awarded under this section are for a #c-year period4 7e7 ,evaluations ,the ,secretary shall require each recipient of a grant under this section to-- 7#a7 evaluate and assess-- 7,a7 the efficacy of the projects carried out with grant funds2 and 7,b7 the extent to which such projects reduced re-victimization of children and child fatalities2 and 7#b7 submit a report on such evaluation and pertinent data to the ,secretary4 7f7 ,report to ,congress ,not later than #a year after the conclusion of the demonstration program under this section and the submission of the report and data under subsection 7e77#a71 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report that includes-- 7#a7 an analysis of the strengths and opportunities of the program2 7#b7 barriers or challenges for implementing or replicating best practices under the program2 7#c7 the feasibility of a national educational campaign on injuries indicative of potential abuse in infants under the age of #g months2 and 7#d7 areas for further research or evaluation to improve early detection of such injuries4 7g7 ,authorization of appropriations ,to carry out this section1 there is authorized to be appropriated #aj1jjj1jjj for the period of #bjbj through #bjbb4