Dear Partners,

The new school year is rapidly approaching, and it has never been more important to support children, families, and teachers through this transition. Prioritizing mental health as students return to schools will help ensure students have a safe and healthy school year.

Change is difficult for students, families, and teachers and changes are not just limited to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also natural disasters and changes in family circumstances that continue into this year. Teachers and families can work together to ease the stress of change by:

For more information on how to support children and families as they return to school, review resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Applications are now open for the third cohort of the Child Safety Learning Collaborative! The third cohort will begin in November 2021 and continue for 18 months to April 2023. Learn more about the CSLC and how to apply to this national initiative to reduce fatal and serious injuries among infants, children, and adolescents here. We have extended the application deadline to September 10^th.

Throughout this newsletter, you will find resources from our Children's Safety Now Alliance partners highlighted in purple.

Kindly,

Jennifer Leonardo, PhD

Children’s Safety Network Director

The Child Safety Learning Collaborative is an unprecedented opportunity for states and jurisdictions to collaborate to advance evidence-based policies, programs, and practices at the state and local levels to reduce fatal and serious injuries among infants, children, and adolescents.

Title V agencies share the common goal of child safety and injury prevention while implementing unique approaches shaped by state priorities and context. CSN’s most recent webinar archive, Child Safety Learning Collaborative: Together We Are Stronger, highlights how CSLC participating states use quality improvement tools and peer support to share unique approaches and find common ground navigating this challenging year.

The webinar archive highlights stories and lessons learned from CSLC participants that can be used and adapted by other injury prevention programs. Some pivots CSLC states made during the pandemic are:

Apply to join Cohort 3 of the Child Safety Learning Collaborative. Learn more here! Application deadline extended to September 10^th.

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Child and Adolescent Injury and Violence Prevention Resource Centers Cooperative Agreement (U49MC28422) for $5,000,000 with 0 percent financed with non-governmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.