Safe Kids Maryland State Coalition  

Mission:

Safe Kids Maryland (formerly known as the Maryland SAFE KIDS Coalition) is a statewide coalition which exists for the purpose of reducing childhood disabilities and deaths due to unintentional injuries.

Safe Kids Maryland State Coalition is a non-profit, statewide, umbrella organization seeking to coordinate the efforts of childhood injury prevention agencies, organizations, and advocates.

The Problem:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than six million unintentional injuries to children ages 0 to 14 in 2007 that required care in an emergency room. This translates into 12 injuries per minute – nearly all of which are preventable. Although the childhood injury death rate in the U.S. has dropped by 45 percent in the 22 years Safe Kids has been in operation, unintentional injury remains the leading cause of death and disability in children ages 1 to 14 in the U.S.

Children primarily are at risk of unintentional injury-related death from: motor vehicle injuries which include children as occupants, pedestrians, and bicyclists; fire and burns; drowning; suffocation; choking; unintentional firearm injuries; falls; and poisonings.

The Goal:

Safe Kids Maryland State Coalition, in conjunction with Safe Kids Worldwide and Safe Kids USA have built a grassroots coalition to implement childhood injury prevention strategies in each of Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore City.

These strategies are targeted to raise awareness among adults, especially parents and caregivers, that injuries are the leading health threat facing children today and that they are not random events but are preventable through behavioral, environmental, and legislative interventions.

These strategies also educate adults and children about specific injury prevention techniques and appropriate emergency responses when an injury occurs.

History & Action Plan:Action Plan:

In January, 1991, the Maryland SAFE KIDS Coalition (now Safe Kids Maryland) was established as an umbrella organization to serve as a clearinghouse and a resource center for unintentional childhood injury prevention agencies, organizations,advocates, and local Safe Kids coalitions. Lead by Barbara Beckett for 18 years, the coalition was located at the Maryland Highway Safety Office.

In 2008, the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems became the lead organization for Safe Kids Maryland continuing the tradition of interagency and interdisciplinary collaboration focused on children and families. With a membership reaching almost 700 Marylanders, Safe Kids Maryland holds quarterly state coalition meetings and has developed a website of resources and contacts for each local coalition.

More information is available at www.safekidsmd.org or by calling 410-706-1758.

 

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