GA.'S FIRST LADY SPEAKS IN MACON ABOUT CHILD PROTECTION BILL

Legislation Ready To Be Signed; Mary Perdue Calls It Victory For Children

If a child endangerment law is enacted, discretion will be used in
prosecuting adults who place children in dangerous situations, said Macon
Judicial Circuit District Attorney Howard Simms.

"I don't think there is a prosecutor in the state that's looking to
prosecute what by any other name is an accident," he said.

Georgia is the only state that has no law punishing child endangerment.
Gov. Sonny Perdue has said he intends to sign the bill, which has passed
the House and Senate. "This is a huge victory for Georgia's children,"
first lady Mary Perdue told more than 300 law enforcement and child welfare
workers at a conference Tuesday in the Wilson Convention Center.

The bill would make child endangerment a felony, carrying a penalty of up
to 20 years in prison.

Simms said his office will look at incidents on a case-by-case basis.

"It would depend on the case. 'Why did you leave the baby in the car?' If
you left the baby in the car so you can smoke crack, then, yeah, (the
person would be prosecuted)," Simms said.

He said in the past his office hasn't been able to prosecute adults for
endangering children because he had to prove intent. The law requires
prosecutors to prove "a willful, wanton, or reckless disregard for the
safety of others who might reasonably be expected to be injured thereby."

Janet Oliva, director of the state Division of Family and Children
Services, said she expects the law to be a deterrent.

"When they see they're going to break the law and be punished by
imprisonment, et cetera, maybe it will deter them from placing children at
risk," she said.

The law would cover instances where children are left in hot cars, left
unsupervised and are hurt because their parent is on drugs, she said.

DFCS already has the authority to remove children from homes.

"You have the risk of losing a child plus the criminal prosecution, and
unfortunately it's sad to say, but some people may fear one more than they
fear another. So both are better than just one."

The law also would target adults who expose children to methamphetamine labs.

GBI director Vernon Keenan said at Tuesday's conference that
methamphetamine labs are a new threat and that more and more DFCS employees
and law enforcement officers are finding children being raised near the drug.

"Not long ago the GBI seized a lab where a toddler's nursery was used to
store toxic chemicals in a box left within the child's reach," Keenan said.
"These children are not just subjected to dangerous physical surroundings,
but most of the time they are neglected."