{"id":12659,"date":"2018-10-02T14:51:15","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T14:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madd.org\/?p=12659"},"modified":"2022-06-13T11:11:04","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T11:11:04","slug":"madd-national-presidents-thoughts-on-child-endangerment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madd.org\/madd-national-presidents-thoughts-on-child-endangerment\/","title":{"rendered":"MADD National President&#8217;s Thoughts on Child Endangerment"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_123633\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-123633\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/madd.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/ColleenSheehey-Church-headshot.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"250\" class=\"size-full wp-image-123633\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-123633\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">MADD National President Colleen Sheehey-Church<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This time of year brings the beginning of the holidays and all the traditions that children love the most \u2014 \u00a0Halloween and its sweet treats, families gathered around the table for a Thanksgiving feast and presents stacked neatly under a decorated tree. It\u2019s a time for family and a time to remember the wonderment we all felt as children. A time to hug our children a little closer.<\/p>\n<p>Children are our most precious resource and they count on us for love and protection. Sadly, we are losing too many kids in drunk driving crashes. Drunk driving is one of the leading causes of death among our nation\u2019s children. And more than half of children killed in drunk driving crashes are killed <em>by their own drinking driver.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Children don\u2019t have a voice or a choice when riding with an adult, and they should never be in danger from drunk driving, especially by those entrusted to keep them safe.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, MADD convened a panel of experts to find ways to help stop these tragedies. I was honored to be a part of that panel, and I am proud of the results. MADD recently completed a Child Endangerment Report that can be found <a class=\"text-red\" href=\"https:\/\/madd.org\/concerned-citizen\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Among the recommendations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Adoption of New York\u2019s Leandra\u2019s Law as a model for state statutes<\/li>\n<li>Mandatory ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders<\/li>\n<li>Require prosecutors to submit a formal finding when dismissing a case<\/li>\n<li>Mandatory reporting of arrests and use of a central database<\/li>\n<li>Laws that penalize for refusing an alcohol test<\/li>\n<li>Recognize child endangerment as abuse and require Child Protective Service agency notification<\/li>\n<li>Mandatory provision in custody agreements that prohibits drunk driving endangerment with sanctions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of these recommendations were drawn from the devastating losses of children across America. Leandra\u2019s Law is named for Leandra Rosado, an 11-year-old who was killed on Oct. 11, 2009 in New York City when her friend\u2019s mother drove drunk and crashed the car in which Leandra was a passenger. The panel benefitted tremendously from fellow panel member Carl McDonald, whose only child, 5-year-old Carlie McDonald, was killed while riding as a passenger with a drunk driver on New Year\u2019s Day, 1998.<\/p>\n<p>These tragedies inspire MADD to work harder to make needed changes to protect our children. We must pass laws that add penalties for anyone who drives under the influence of alcohol or drugs with a child in the vehicle. Currently, only seven states make drunk driving with a child passenger a felony in crashes that do not involve injuries. That\u2019s not good enough.<\/p>\n<p>Child endangerment is not only unconscionable, it&#8217;s a crime. It is child abuse. Regular sanctions and treatment alone are not enough to stop this reckless behavior.<\/p>\n<p>MADD stands ready to help pass child endangerment laws in all 50 states. In order for this to happen everyone must play a role in advocating for this important change.<\/p>\n<p>We must remember \u2014 during these festivity-filled holidays and every day \u2014 that every child deserves a designated driver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This time of year brings the beginning of the holidays and all the traditions that children love the most \u2014 \u00a0Halloween and its sweet treats, families gathered around the table&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/madd.org\/madd-national-presidents-thoughts-on-child-endangerment\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">MADD National President&#8217;s Thoughts on Child Endangerment<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cat-drunk-driving","category-national-president","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - 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