- § 300c-11. Addressing sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood
- § 300c-12. Sudden infant death syndrome research
- § 300c-13. Continuing activities related to stillbirth, sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexplained death in childhood
- § 300c-14. Report to Congress
§ 300c–11. Addressing sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood
(a) In generalThe Secretary may develop, support, or maintain programs or activities to address sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood, including by—
(1) continuing to support the Sudden Unexpected Infant Death and Sudden Death in the Young Case Registry of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other fatality case reporting systems that include data pertaining to sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood, as appropriate, including such systems supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration, in order to—
(A) increase the number of States and jurisdictions participating in such registries or systems; and
(B) improve the utility of such registries or systems, which may include—
(i) making summary data available to the public in a timely manner on the internet website of the Department of Health and Human Services, in a manner that, at a minimum, protects personal privacy to the extent required by applicable Federal and State law; and
(ii) making the data submitted to such registries or systems available to researchers, in a manner that, at a minimum, protects personal privacy to the extent required by applicable Federal and State law; and
(2) awarding grants or cooperative agreements to States, Indian Tribes, and Tribal organizations for purposes of—
(A) supporting fetal and infant mortality and child death review programs for sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood, including by establishing such programs at the local level;
(B) improving data collection related to sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood, including by—
(i) improving the completion of death scene investigations and comprehensive autopsies that include a review of clinical history and circumstances of death with appropriate ancillary testing; and
(ii) training medical examiners, coroners, death scene investigators, law enforcement personnel, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, emergency department personnel, and others who perform death scene investigations with respect to the deaths of infants and children, as appropriate;
(C) identifying, developing, and implementing best practices to reduce or prevent sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood, including practices to reduce sleep-related infant deaths;
(D) increasing the voluntary inclusion, in registries established for the purpose of conducting research on sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood, of samples of tissues or genetic materials from autopsies that have been collected pursuant to Federal or State law and for which the parent or guardian has provided informed consent for inclusion in such registries;
(E) disseminating information and materials to health care professionals and the public on risk factors that contribute to sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood, which may include information on risk factors that contribute to sleep-related sudden unexpected infant death or sudden unexpected death in childhood; or
(F) providing information, referrals, or peer or follow-up support services to families who have experienced sudden unexpected infant death or sudden unexpected death in childhood.
(b) Application
(c) Technical assistance
(d) Reporting forms
(1) In general
(2) Update of forms
(e) DefinitionsIn this section:
(1) Sudden infant death syndrome
(2) Sudden unexpected infant death
(3) Sudden unexpected death in childhood
(4) Sudden unexplained death in childhood
(f) Authorization of appropriations
(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title XI, § 1121, as added Pub. L. 116–273, § 2(2), Dec. 31, 2020, 134 Stat. 3352.)
§ 300c–12. Sudden infant death syndrome research
From the sums appropriated to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Secretary shall assure that there are applied to research of the type described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (b)(1) 1
1 See References in Text note below.
of this section such amounts each year as will be adequate, given the leads and findings then available from such research, in order to make maximum feasible progress toward identification of infants at risk of sudden infant death syndrome and prevention of sudden infant death syndrome.(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title XI, § 1122, as added Pub. L. 96–142, title II, § 202, Dec. 12, 1979, 93 Stat. 1072; amended Pub. L. 99–158, § 3(a)(6), Nov. 20, 1985, 99 Stat. 879; Pub. L. 103–437, § 15(a)(1), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4591; Pub. L. 109–482, title I, § 104(b)(2)(B), Jan. 15, 2007, 120 Stat. 3693; Pub. L. 110–154, § 1(b)(10), Dec. 21, 2007, 121 Stat. 1827.)
§ 300c–13. Continuing activities related to stillbirth, sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexplained death in childhood
(a) In general
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall continue activities related to still birth, sudden unexpected infant death, and sudden unexplained death in childhood, including, as appropriate—
(1) collecting information, such as socio-demographic, death scene investigation, clinical history, and autopsy information, on stillbirth, sudden unexpected infant death, and sudden unexplained death in childhood through the utilization of existing surveillance systems and collaborating with States to improve the quality, consistency, and collection of such data;
(2) disseminating information to educate the public, health care providers, and other stakeholders on stillbirth, sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexplained death in childhood; and
(3) collaborating with the Attorney General, State and local departments of health, and other experts, as appropriate, to provide consistent information for medical examiners and coroners, law enforcement personnel, and health care providers related to death scene investigations and autopsies for sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexplained death in childhood, in order to improve the quality and consistency of the data collected at such death scenes and to promote consistent reporting on the cause of death after autopsy to inform prevention, intervention, and other activities.
(b) Report to Congress
(Pub. L. 113–236, § 2, Dec. 18, 2014, 128 Stat. 2831.)
§ 300c–14. Report to Congress
(a) In generalNot later than 2 years after December 31, 2020, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report that contains, with respect to the reporting period—
(1) information regarding the incidence and number of sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood (including the number of such infant and child deaths that remain unexplained after investigation), including, to the extent practicable—
(A) a summary of such information by racial and ethnic group, and by State;
(B) aggregate information obtained from death scene investigations and autopsies; and
(C) recommendations for reducing the incidence of sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood;
(2) an assessment of the extent to which various approaches of reducing and preventing sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood have been effective; and
(3) a description of the activities carried out under section 300c–11 of this title.
(b) Definitions
(Pub. L. 116–273, § 3, Dec. 31, 2020, 134 Stat. 3354.)