Scarlett’s Sunshine Act

Scarlett’s Sunshine Act (H.R. 2271/S. 1130) strengthens efforts to better understand SUID and SUDC, facilitate data collection and analysis to improve prevention efforts, and support children and families.

Scarlett’s Sunshine Act takes the following critical steps:

• Establishes a grant program for states to engage in activities to address sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexpected death in childhood, including:
  • Supporting state fetal and infant mortality and child death review programs.
  • Improving data collection related to unexpected infant and child deaths by improving the completion of comprehensive death scene investigations and autopsies, and training death scene investigators.
  • Identifying, developing and implementing best practices to reduce or prevent these unexpected deaths.
  • Increasing participation in registries for the purposes of conducting research into sudden unexpected infant and child deaths.
  • Disseminating information and materials to health care professionals and the public on risk factors for unexpected death, including sleep-related risk factors.
• Directs the Secretary to encourage the use of the Sudden Unexplained Infant Death Investigation Reporting Form (which is used to ensure consistency of data collected on infant deaths) and assess whether it needs to be updated; it also directs the Secretary to encourage the use of a new form recently developed in collaboration with CDC to report sudden unexpected death in childhood.
• Requires annual reports to the Senate HELP and House E&C Committees to include the absolute number and incidence of sudden unexpected deaths in infants and children, actions undertaken, and any new recommendations.

Funding allocations are subject to the federal FY2022 appropriations process.