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The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) and the Elijah-Alavi Foundation (EAF) worked together in 2022 to release the “Child Care Policies for Food Allergy: Elijah’s Law Report for the U.S. States and Territories.” Kids with Food Allergies (KFA) is the food allergy division of AAFA.

Our report looks at state and U.S. territory child care licensing regulations against 9 policy standards. The standards aim to protect children with food allergies in child care settings. The report also includes an advocacy toolkit to help you advocate for Elijah’s Law in your home state.

Elijah’s Law is a bill named in memory of Elijah Silvera. On Nov. 3, 2017, 3-year-old Elijah died after a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis at his child care center. Elijah’s parents, Thomas and Dina Silvera, set out to ensure protections are in place in all child care centers. Working with their state lawmakers in New York, the Silvera’s drafted the first Elijah’s Law. The bill ensures child care centers take steps to manage food allergies for the children in their care.



So far, Elijah’s Law has passed in 4 states: Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Virginia. It has also been introduced in 6 states this year: California, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.

If you live in one of these states, you can use our simple tool to contact your state legislators and ask for their support of Elijah’s Law by clicking on your state below.


In Maryland, Elijah’s Law was signed by Governor Moore on April 25, 2024. If you live in Maryland, you can thank him for signing the bill into law.



CALIFORNIA

KANSAS

MICHIGAN

MISSOURI

PENNSYLVANIA



Don’t worry if you don’t live in one of those 6 states. You can still take action! We encourage you to use our toolkit to advocate for Elijah’s Law in your state. The advocacy toolkit includes:

  • Tips on how to find and communicate with your state and federal lawmakers
  • A sample letter you can send to your state law makers in support of Elijah’s Law
  • Elijah’s Law fact sheet
  • Sample social media posts to help amplify your advocacy
  • Sample bill language for Elijah’s Law

Together we can make sure that children with food allergies in all states have safe environments to learn and grow.

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