LUT Member Leading the Way on Child Safety Legislation. Now, She Needs Our Help!

Teachers are often referred to as heroes for the positive difference they make in the lives of their students.

Some teachers are not only heroes inside their schools, but outside of them as well.  MacArthur High School’s Michele Deluise-Witte is one of those teachers.

Following the tragic loss of her infant son, Tyler, in 1997, Michele has been on a mission to make sure that what happened in her family can never happen again.

As a result of Michele’s efforts, and those of passionate advocates like herself, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission voted in the summer of 2010 to enforce wide-ranging regulations to improve crib safety.

The regulations addressed issues such as faulty hardware, dangerous gaps from mattress support failure, and poor wood quality that could cause crib slats to be broken easily.  The regulations also sought to eliminate gaps where babies could become entrapped and suffocate, and drop down cribs that could allow babies to fall out.

Without question, child safety standards have improved in recent years.  However, more can and should be done.

Michele is determined to make that happen and she needs our help to do so.

Recently, our State Assembly passed “Tyler’s Law.”  The law will mandate that hospitals report to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) any serious injury or death that may have been caused by a children’s product or durable juvenile product.

Advocates for the law maintain that providing the CPSC with unbiased, accurate records will make it easier and faster for the CSPC to identify and report on hazardous products.  Hopefully, accurate, early reporting can get hazardous products pulled from the shelves of stores before they cause any additional harm.

State Senator, John E. Brooks, has recently introduced Tyler’s Law in the State Senate.  Passage in the senate is the next hurdle for this bill to become law in New York State.

Please click here to show your support for Tyler’s Law, and consider contacting your state senator directly to show your support for improved child safety laws in our state. 

To find the senator in your district, please click here.

Michele McNarama-Witte is a hero both inside and outside of the classroom.  Let’s make sure LUT joins with her to make Tyler’s Law the law of the land!