"So, what's actually going to change?
"Most critical is the legal definition what actually constitutes child abuse.
"Under current law, the level of injury and the degree of pain a child has to experience in order for the incident to be considered abuse is high, explained Ms. Palm.
The proposed changes would lower the threshold for abuse from "serious bodily injury" to "bodily injury."...
"A parent will still have the prerogative to use reasonable corporal punishment," she said. "No one is going to be brought before anyone if you spanked your child."
"She added, "We are talking about kids with broken bones, with burns, with lacerations, that were not falling within the definition of child abuse."
Sad to see Pennsylvania isn't considering the dangers of emotional abuse:
"Members of the public shouldn't take lightly the potential effects of emotional abuse in childhood or in any life stage," said Heilig. "Just because there may not be visible physical scars does not mean that no lasting damage has been done." --Markus Heilig, Clinical Director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)...." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-03/ace-cte030812.php
See also:
In a year of booze and highways, Sandusky-related child protections take slow road in Pennsylvania Legislature (Jun 20, 2013).
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