Ten years after the brutal killing of 14-year-old Grace Packer, child-safety advocates and members of her family are again turning up the heat on Harrisburg, urging lawmakers to finally pass a package of reforms known as "Grace's Law." The proposal aims to overhaul how counties share and retain child-welfare records, changes supporters say could have surfaced Grace's history sooner. Versions of the bills have floated through three legislative sessions, and advocates say the fixes are long past due.
As reported by NBC10 Philadelphia, Grace was 14 when she was kidnapped, raped and killed in July 2016. Prosecutors said her adoptive mother, Sara Packer, and Packer's boyfriend, Jacob Sullivan, plotted the murder. Hunters later discovered her dismembered remains on Oct. 31, 2016, near the Francis E. Walter Dam in Luzerne County, according to authorities.
Sara Packer pleaded guilty and received a life sentence in March 2019. Sullivan was convicted and sentenced to death the same month. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Sullivan died in state custody in April 2020 from a ruptured aortic aneurysm.
What supporters are asking for
At the heart of the proposed reforms is a single statewide child-welfare case-management system that would let all 67 counties see a child's full history, paired with longer retention periods for both founded and unfounded reports. Supporters also want clearer statutory definitions so general protective-services entries cannot be quietly wiped away, arguing those records might have helped investigators connect earlier abuse in Grace's case. As reported by Patch, the package combines a technical database upgrade with changes to record-keeping rules and key legal definitions.
Harrisburg progress stalled
Lawmakers first introduced related measures in 2021. The language resurfaced as HB 321 in the 2023-24 session and then again as HB 1368 in 2025. HB 321 was reported from committee as amended in April 2024, and the latest version, HB 1368, was sent to the House Children & Youth Committee on May 1, 2025, where it still sits, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
"We haven't done right by her," said Cathleen Palm, founder of the Center for Children's Justice, referring to Grace's case in comments advocates often repeat when they lobby lawmakers for action, as reported by NBC10 Philadelphia. Palm and other child-safety advocates point to a 2019 state review and an ongoing inspector general investigation as evidence that the system missed multiple warning signs before Grace's death.
What comes next
Advocates say they plan to keep pushing for committee hearings, public testimony and accountability while the bills remain bottled up. Sponsors argue the proposals are largely administrative changes centered on a shared database and longer record retention, but they acknowledge it would require lawmakers to overhaul how counties collect and store child-welfare information. Local reporting and Harrisburg bill trackers lay out the measures' winding history and current roadblocks, and advocates say they intend to keep the spotlight on Grace's Law until the legislature finally acts.
