Dear Partners,
In recognition of National Child Safety and Protection Month, at the Children's Safety Network (CSN), we worked with our EDC colleagues to create the following article,
Child Safety and Protection Month: Make Safety a Reality for All Young People. We are also collaborating with state and jurisdiction Title V agencies to adapt child injury and violence prevention work as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt our normal processes.
- The Tennessee Department of Health shifted their suicide and self-harm prevention gatekeeper trainings to a virtual environment. Between January and August 2020, 143 Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) trainings were held, with 3,821 youth impactors trained across the state. This was a 150% increase in the number of trainings held and approximately 100% increase in the number of youth impactors trained over the same time period in 2019.
- Children’s Wisconsin evolved and expanded their child passenger safety work, connecting their child passenger safety technicians (CPSTs) across the state and offering child safety seat inspections and installations through virtual and socially distant means. Using a quality improvement approach, they achieved improvements the way parents and caregivers make appointments and arrive at curbside car seat services. This work began in July 2020 and resulted in a 100% show rate for parents in the month of July, compared to a 35% show rate prior to implementing these changes.
At the November CSLC Learning Session, states continued to share that the use of technology has allowed for the continuation or expansion of some areas of work. States also shared that there are still some limitations in reaching select populations and geographic regions. CSN is providing technical assistance to states and jurisdictions to evaluate these adaptations using real-time data. We look forward to continuing to share promising innovative approaches with you.
Jennifer Leonardo, PhD
Children’s Safety Network Director
