What Is Jacob’s Law? Preventing Daycare Van Deaths In Texas

This month we covered the tragic story of two-year-old Sir Anthony Smith, who was left alone in a hot daycare van for hours, where he died in the stifling heat. While many think that his death was a tragic accident, they may not be aware of Jacob’s Law – a Texas law that works toward preventing these deaths and making day care centers and child care centers more aware and more responsible for these deadly mistakes.

Jacob’s Law was passed in 2009 with the help of Avonda Fox, a mom who lost her four-year-old son Jacob to a hot daycare van in the summer of 2006. In Fox’s case, the daycare that was responsible for her son tried to cover up that her son died under their care by talking about putting the child’s body in a park. The owner of the daycare spent two years in a Texas prison.

Jacob’s Law requires that all daycare workers that transport children receive an extra two hours of training that focuses on preventing similar van deaths. It has lead to many daycares in the state installing specific procedures for picking up and dropping off children each day, including head counts inside and outside of the vehicle, double-checking the van, and looking at each child’s face as they take attendance. The daycare where Sir Anthony died, however, claimed to follow this procedure.

Four children in Texas died in hot vehicles this summer alone, and about 50 children die in similar circumstances across the country each year. Although Jacob’s law is an important step, many in Texas believe that more must be done to prevent these deaths.