Urging the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to enact House Bill No. 611 which makes filing false claims of child abuse a misdemeanor and commends Representative Ronald Waters and all of the representatives who have co-sponsored this bill and taken a leadership role in this matter.

WHEREAS, House Bill No. 611 is currently being considered for recommendation by the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee; and

WHEREAS, House Bill No. 611 would amend Title 23 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes that govern child custody by adding a section defining false reports of child abuse and declaring it a misdemeanor; and

WHEREAS, According to the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare, in 2005 eight-one (81) percent of reports of suspected child and student abuse were proven unsubstantiated; and

WHEREAS, False claims of child abuse bring severe emotional damage to the accused and their families; and

WHEREAS, False claims of child abuse trivialize true incidents; and

WHEREAS, By criminalizing false claims of child abuse, such claims would diminish significantly; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania would be a national leader by outlawing false claims of child abuse; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council urges the members of the General Assembly to enact Bill No. 611 and commends Representative Ronald Waters and all of the representatives who have co-sponsored this bill and taken a leadership role in this matter.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Carol Bangura

for her hard work and dedication, as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.

End