Caylee's Law

We are connected,
My child and I, by
An invisible cord
Not seen by the eye. (author unknown)

I can’t even begin to imagine why a parent or any child caregiver who has discovered that his or her child is missing would delay reporting the fact to police. To fail to do so is not only neglect, but criminally suspect.

A parent chapter in my book, What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers, advises parents that, if they cannot find their child, not to panic. The chapter in the book suggests first searching the home, and then checking with neighbor’s and the child’s friends. The parent chapter in What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers then recommends that, if the child still cannot be found, parents should call the police immediately. There isn’t a waiting period for reporting a child as missing. Therefore, no parent should wait to do so.

In 2008, Casey Anthony's 2-year-old daughter, Caylee , was last seen at her Orlando home. The mother, Casey, did not report her child missing for a month. Ultimately, Caylee’s grandmother called authorities when Casey was unable to explain where Caylee was.

Outraged over Casey Anthony's acquittal from charges of murdering her daughter, lawmakers in Florida and a dozen additional states have proposed a law they call, Caylee’s Law.

The proposed law would make it a felony for a parent or any child caregiver to fail to report a child under the age of 12 who has been missing for 48 hours. The proposed law would also make it a felony to neglect reporting a child's death or the location of the child’s body to police within two hours of the child’s death.

These new proposals were partially motivated by an online petition. You can sign the petition at Change.org: “Create Caylee’s Law” http://www.change.org/petitions/create-caylees-law.