After more deaths, Sen. Linda Stewart tries again for alarms on child-care vehicles

Orlando Sentinel - 8/3/2019

Aug. 2--Following the deaths of four Florida children left behind in hot cars this year -- including a 2-year-old this week -- state Sen. Linda Stewart on Friday announced she is trying again to pass a law requiring alarms on day-care vehicles to alert drivers when a child is left behind.

Stewart, D-Orlando, has made three previous attempts to pass such legislation, but says it will be her top priority this year. "This is unacceptable, knowing how high the temperatures reach during the summer months in Florida," Stewart said.

The bill, SB 88, would require vehicles that transport children to be equipped with alarms approved by the Department of Children and Families.

On Monday, the body of 2-year-old Noah Sneed was found in an unattended transport van parked at Ceressa's Daycare & Preschool in Oakland Park in South Florida. Noah appeared to have died amid the heat; temperatures that day were in the 90s and potentially much higher inside the van itself.

The facility has been temporarily shut down while the Broward Sheriff's Office investigates.

Florida's day-care centers, licensed by the state Department of Children and Families, are already required to keep vehicle passenger logs with each child's name, the date, time of departure and time of arrival. A second staff member must also sign the log, verifying that all children have left the vehicle.

"These methods are ineffective and have resulted in four deaths already," Stewart said. "We need these alarms installed to end the continual oversight that has resulted in preventable loss of lives. The death of a single child is one too many, and no price is too high to ensure their safety."

There are 1,490 child-care facilities that transport children in Florida, Stewart said. The cost to install an alarm varies widely, from $64 to $600.

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"This legislation will go a long way in protecting and ensuring the safety of our transported children and work towards saving countless lives," said Stewart. Currently, facilities use a paper checklist requiring another person to check that no one is left behind in the vehicle.

In 2011, a South Florida lawmaker introduced the Haile Brockington Act, named after the 2-year-old Delray Beach toddler who died after being forgotten in a hot day-care van for nearly six hours. The bill failed that session and was reintroduced in 2016, when it failed again for lack of a companion bill in the state House of Representatives.

Palm Beach County has since passed its own safety-alarm ordinance, as has Broward County.

ksantich@orlandosentinel.com

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