24520-24522
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 24520-24522
24520. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Shaken baby syndrome is a medically serious, sometimes fatal, matter affecting newborns and very young children. Shaking an infant or child in anger is particularly dangerous. (b) Vigorous shaking of an infant or child can result in bleeding inside the head, causing irreversible brain damage, blindness, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, spinal cord injury, seizures, learning disabilities, and even death. (c) While doctors have long recognized that shaking an infant or child can cause injuries, many adults remain unaware of how dangerous this practice can be. (d) Studies have shown that exposure to materials about the dangers of shaking a baby improved understanding of the effects of shaking an infant or child. (e) Shaken baby syndrome is preventable. Knowledge about shaken baby syndrome can be significantly raised through education and public awareness campaigns. (f) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage public and private collaboration in developing instructional materials regarding shaken baby syndrome, and to encourage that these materials be supplied to health facilities, midwives, and to the State Department of Social Services free of charge. 24521. The purpose of this article is to prevent the occurrence of injuries and deaths to infants and children as a result of shaken baby syndrome by creating a statewide public awareness education campaign. The campaign shall include the distribution of readily understandable information and instructional materials regarding shaken baby syndrome, explaining its medical effects upon infants and children and emphasizing preventive measures. 24522. (a) Information and instructional materials as described in Section 24521 shall be provided free of charge by each health facility to parents or guardians of each newborn, upon discharge from the health facility. In the event of home birth attended by a licensed midwife, the midwife shall provide the information and instructional materials to the parents or guardians of the newborn. (b) The State Department of Social Services shall provide the information and instructional materials free of charge to child care providers upon licensure and at the time of site visit. (c) The information and instructional materials provided pursuant to this section shall focus upon the serious nature of the risk to infants and young children presented by shaken baby syndrome. (d) The requirement that informational and instructional materials be provided pursuant to this section applies only when those materials have been supplied to those persons or entities that are required to provide the materials. The persons or entities required to provide these materials shall not be subject to any legal cause of action whatsoever based on the requirements of this section. (e) For persons or agencies providing these materials pursuant to this section, this section does not require the provision of duplicative or redundant informational and instructional materials.