A proposed state law, named for a missing child with local ties, aims to bring day care providers into the fight against child abduction.
“Trenton’s Law” — named for Trenton Duckett, son of Lockport native Melinda Duckett — would require parents and guardians to produce original birth certificates when enrolling their children in any day care facility.
The bill, introduced last month by state Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, is meant to help law enforcement work with day care centers to potentially find children who have been reported missing.
“It’s another tool for law enforcement to try to locate missing children,” Maziarz said.
Two-year-old Trenton was reported missing Aug. 27, 2006, in Leesburg, Fla. Melinda Duckett, who attended Lockport High School, told police that she put Trenton in his crib that evening. She said when she checked in on him after watching a movie, she found an empty crib and a 10-inch cut in the window screen.
Investigators in Florida have named Melinda the prime suspect in Trenton’s disappearance.
Melinda committed suicide in September 2006 after taping a volitile interview with CNN’s Nancy Grace. The search for Trenton continues.
Maziarz said the birth certificate requirement may help find some of the over 22,000 children reported missing every day in the U.S.
If passed, the law would be an amendment to the state’s existing social services law.
If an original certificate can not be provided upon enrollment in a day care facility, the director or operator of the facility would contact the statewide missing children registry. If the child appears to match one reported missing, the day care provider would be required to contact local law enforcement.
The law excludes day care providers from civil or criminal liability that could arise from carrying out these requirements.
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