State Representative Ryan Warner (R-Fayette) has announced plans to introduce new legislation aimed at reforming Pennsylvania’s Children and Youth Services (CYS) system and strengthening penalties for child abuse. Warner is seeking co-sponsors for what he calls “Renesmay’s Law,” named after 9-year-old Renesmay Eutsey, who police allege was killed by her foster mother and her foster mother’s wife in Dunbar last week.
“Based on recent tragic events in Fayette County, it is painfully clear that we must do more to protect our most vulnerable citizens,” Warner said. “As parents, neighbors and legislators, we must do all we can to ensure no child slips through unnoticed when they are in danger.”
The proposed legislation would increase accountability and oversight of county CYS agencies, strengthen recordkeeping, case history, and in-home oversight, improve caseworker support and workload management, enhance training and coordination among available services, and expand reporting and response requirements.
“While no law can eliminate evil, we have a duty to ensure that the systems designed to protect children are as strong and responsive as possible,” Warner said.
Warner is also developing a bill that would expand criminal penalties for extreme cases of child abuse and child sexual abuse. The measure could include the death penalty in certain cases. He noted this builds on his previous efforts to establish the offense of child torture with corresponding penalties.
“No punishment is too harsh for people who treat precious children as if they aren’t even human beings,” Warner said. “In the tragic cases when abuse occurs, we must give our law enforcement officers all the tools they need to ensure people are held accountable for their actions and justice is served for the victims.”
Warner indicated he plans to introduce both bills soon.
