Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus
09/10/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/10/2025 10:37
Grimm Krupa Introducing Legislative Package to Protect Children, Hold Abusers Accountable, Improve Oversight of Child Welfare Agencies
Sep. 10, 2025
SMITHFIELD - Following a series of horrific cases of child abuse reported in Fayette County, Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa (R-Fayette) announced she will be introducing a package of legislation that would protect youth, stiffen penalties for child abuse and establish a more effective watchdog for child welfare agencies.
Grimm Krupa issued the following statement regarding the introduction of her legislation:
"In Fayette County, we've seen the worst of what horrors children can suffer at the hands of the very people who are supposed to love them the most:
• Nine-year-old Renesmay Eutsey, starved, burned with cigarettes, and left dead in the Youghiogheny River.
• Five children in Redstone Township, locked in a filthy boarded-up room described by troopers as a "dungeon."
• Little Star Lynn was found last year confined in a cage inside her own home.
• Maggie Nunn of Menallen Township was severely abused for days by her mother's fiancé before dying last October.
"These children suffered unimaginable cruelty at the hands of the people who should have been first in line to protect them. They should have been safe.
"Our community is rightfully outraged. And while we can't undo the atrocities that were committed upon these innocent children, we can act to make sure these horrors do not happen again."
"I'm proposing four specific bills aimed at protecting kids, holding abusers accountable and bringing real oversight to our child welfare system."
1. Protecting Our Youth: Mental Health Screening for Foster and Kinship Care.
"Before we place children in a home, we need to know that the adults there are mentally healthy and stable. This bill requires psychological screenings and a doctor's sign-off to make sure no child is placed in a dangerous situation."
Read the memo here.
2. Protecting Foster and Kinship Children Through Safe School Enrollment.
"Foster and kinship children deserve the structure and accountability of a real classroom, not isolation or neglect. This bill requires them to attend public or licensed private schools, unless a judge rules that homeschooling is truly in their best interest."
Read the memo here.
3. Stronger Sentences for the Worst Betrayal - Child Abuse by Parents, Guardians and Caregivers.
"Abuse is always evil. But when it's done by a parent, guardian or caregiver, it's also a betrayal of trust. This bill makes that betrayal an aggravating factor in sentencing, so abusers face the harshest possible punishment."
Read the memo here.
4. Ending Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) Conflict of Interest: Establishing a True Watchdog for Pennsylvania's Children.
"Right now, the same agency that runs child welfare also investigates complaints against itself. That's like letting the fox guard the henhouse. This bill creates an independent watchdog to make sure families' concerns are heard and children don't fall through the cracks."
Read the memo here.
"These proposals are just the beginning, the tip of the iceberg. We owe it to Renesmay, the children in Redstone, Star Lynn and every child across Pennsylvania who needs someone to stand up for them.
"These tragedies will not be forgotten. But remembrance is not enough. It's time to act. I'm asking all my colleagues to co-sponsor these bills so together we can make sure Pennsylvania's children are finally safe."
Representative Charity Grimm Krupa
51st District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: 724-438-6100
RepGrimmKrupa.com / Facebook.com/RepGrimmKrupa
Grimm Krupa issued the following statement regarding the introduction of her legislation:
"In Fayette County, we've seen the worst of what horrors children can suffer at the hands of the very people who are supposed to love them the most:
• Nine-year-old Renesmay Eutsey, starved, burned with cigarettes, and left dead in the Youghiogheny River.
• Five children in Redstone Township, locked in a filthy boarded-up room described by troopers as a "dungeon."
• Little Star Lynn was found last year confined in a cage inside her own home.
• Maggie Nunn of Menallen Township was severely abused for days by her mother's fiancé before dying last October.
"These children suffered unimaginable cruelty at the hands of the people who should have been first in line to protect them. They should have been safe.
"Our community is rightfully outraged. And while we can't undo the atrocities that were committed upon these innocent children, we can act to make sure these horrors do not happen again."
"I'm proposing four specific bills aimed at protecting kids, holding abusers accountable and bringing real oversight to our child welfare system."
1. Protecting Our Youth: Mental Health Screening for Foster and Kinship Care.
"Before we place children in a home, we need to know that the adults there are mentally healthy and stable. This bill requires psychological screenings and a doctor's sign-off to make sure no child is placed in a dangerous situation."
Read the memo here.
2. Protecting Foster and Kinship Children Through Safe School Enrollment.
"Foster and kinship children deserve the structure and accountability of a real classroom, not isolation or neglect. This bill requires them to attend public or licensed private schools, unless a judge rules that homeschooling is truly in their best interest."
Read the memo here.
3. Stronger Sentences for the Worst Betrayal - Child Abuse by Parents, Guardians and Caregivers.
"Abuse is always evil. But when it's done by a parent, guardian or caregiver, it's also a betrayal of trust. This bill makes that betrayal an aggravating factor in sentencing, so abusers face the harshest possible punishment."
Read the memo here.
4. Ending Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) Conflict of Interest: Establishing a True Watchdog for Pennsylvania's Children.
"Right now, the same agency that runs child welfare also investigates complaints against itself. That's like letting the fox guard the henhouse. This bill creates an independent watchdog to make sure families' concerns are heard and children don't fall through the cracks."
Read the memo here.
"These proposals are just the beginning, the tip of the iceberg. We owe it to Renesmay, the children in Redstone, Star Lynn and every child across Pennsylvania who needs someone to stand up for them.
"These tragedies will not be forgotten. But remembrance is not enough. It's time to act. I'm asking all my colleagues to co-sponsor these bills so together we can make sure Pennsylvania's children are finally safe."
Representative Charity Grimm Krupa
51st District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: 724-438-6100
RepGrimmKrupa.com / Facebook.com/RepGrimmKrupa
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