It is one year since little Haile Brockington died in the sweltering heat of a day care van. Right after her death, Senator Sachs committed to passing legislation so that this tragedy would never happen again. The “Haile Brockington Act” would require that all child care vans be equiped with safety alarms to alert drivers that a child was left behind. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate, but was blocked in the Florida House. Unfortunately, another needless death has occurred that might have been prevented had the bill passed. “This bill will ensure that not another child loses his life,” said Senator Sachs. Since then, Senator Sachs has reached out to all 16,923 child care centers in Florida, asking them to voluntarily install this technology. “I am asking you to do what the Legislature could not,” said Senator Sachs. “The safety of our children must be our top priority.”
A Local Solution
Earlier this week, Senator Sachs supported the efforts of Palm Beach County Commission to require child care centers in the county to adopt additional safety measures. The Commission passed an ordinance making Palm Beach County the first of 67 counties to adopt the policy. “Children do not come as Democrats or Republicans,” said County Commissioner Burt Aaronson. “This isn’t a partisan issue.” Senator Sachs stressed the urgency of the ordinance in light of the blazing heat of the current summer months. “Every day that we wait on this is another day that a child’s life is at risk,” said Senator Sachs.
A Growing List of Needless Deaths
The Senator’s remarks came on the heels of another tragedy in South Florida: the death of 22-month-old Dominicue Andrews who was found dead of heat stroke at the Jomiba Learning Center in Homestead. The center had received Senator Sachs’ letter, yet did not installed a safety device in the van. Other needless deaths include two-year-old Zaniyah Hinson of Volusia County and three-year-old Domonique Royals of Orange County. There have been no reported deaths in states that require safety alarms for child care vans.
Getting the Word Out
In light of these events, Senator Sachs was interviewed about these 
safety measures and the prospect of Haile’s Law passing in the next legislative session by WPBF Ch. 25, NBC Miami, WPTV Ch. 5, the Palm Beach Post, and the Orlando-Sentinel. “I will introduce this bill again during the next legislative session,” said Senator Sachs. “It is time that our state government puts politics aside and focuses on public safety.” You can watch the interview on WPTV Ch. 5’s “To The Point” with Kelley Dunn this Sunday, July 24, 2011. Senator Sachs urges all parents with young children to petition their day care centers to implement safety meausres in their child care vans so that no child will be left behind.
