PA Girl's Death Prompts Numerous Proposed Child Protection Laws

HARRISBURG, PA — Numerous proposed child protection laws are about to be introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature following the recent death of a Pittsburgh-area girl.

Charity Grimm Krupa, a Fayette County Republican, has told colleagues she plans to introduce a series of bills designed to ensure the protection of children in foster or kinship care.

The measures will come after a 9-year-old Fayette County turned up dead last week partially submerged in the Youghiogheny River in Westmoreland County.

Kourtney Eutsey and Sarah Shipley have been charged in connection with the death of Renesmay Eutsey.

Shipley, 35, and Eutsey, 31, have been charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, child endangerment and corruption of minors.

"Renesmay weighed just 45 pounds and her body was discarded like trash," Krupa wrote in a memo to fellow House members. "Her siblings were also found malnourished and abused."

Here is what Krupa is proposing:

• A bill to make it an aggravating factor in child abuse cases in which the abuser is a parent, guardian, or caregiver. That would enable prosecutors to seek tougher penalties "where the violation of trust is most severe."

• A bill that would require all foster parent applicants to undergo psychological screening prior to approval and placement.

• A bill that would require that all children in foster or kinship care placements be enrolled in and attend either a public school or a licensed private school. These children may not be homeschooled except in the rare circumstance where a judge finds that homeschooling is in the child’s best interest and authorizes it.

• A bill that would create a state Office Child Welfare Ombudsman empowered to receive and investigate complaints from children, families, and providers and access records and facilities necessary to conduct impartial investigations.