2008 Tip Sheet on Community Safety Issues
Overview
Fear Factor. Children today spend considerably less time playing outdoors than their
mothers did as children, according to a 2004 report on outdoor play. And consider that in 1969, 42 percent of children 5 to 18 years of age walked or biked to school, compared to just 16 percent in 2001, according to Safe Routes to School. Still, kids may not share their parents' anxieties: The percentage of youth who feared attack at school or on the way to and from school decreased significantly between 1995 and 2005, from 12 percent in 1995 to 6 percent in 2005.
Who's at Risk? Overall, children are safer and engage in less risky behavior than ever, according to Duke University's 2007 Foundation for Child Development Index of Child Well-Being report. (Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT tracks more than 100 measures of well-being.) Between 1980 and 2003, child death rates dropped significantly: by 46 percent for infants; 51 percent for ages 1-4; 44 percent for ages 5-14, and 32 percent for teens ages 15 to 19.However, black and American Indian children had the highest death rates at every age level.
Where We Live. Socioeconomic factors affect safety, and parents' fears vary, too. About 3 out of every 10 non-Hispanic black and Hispanic children under age 18 live in neighborhoods that are never or sometimes safe, compared to less than 1 in 10 white children, parents reported. Parents of white and multiracial children are more likely to feel that their children are safe in their neighborhoods than parents of children of other racial and ethnic groups and those with higher incomes are most likely to feel that their neighborhoods are supportive.
Injuries and Fatalities. Fatal injuries have declined over the past two decades, unintentional injuries are the primary cause of death for children ages 1–4 and ages 5–14. Nearly 2,100 children younger than 15 die each year as a result of injuries sustained at home.
Having a gun in the house poses an additional risk, making it three times more likely that a family member will be injured. About 35 percent of U.S. households have at least one firearm; nearly one in four has a handgun, according to 2004 report from the Center for Gun Policy and Research at John's Hopkins University.
Meanwhile, emergency departments treat more than 200,000 children age 14 and younger for playground-related injuries. Nearly half are severe fractures, internal injuries, concussions, dislocations and amputations, the CDC says.
Child Abduction. Perhaps no safety concern generates as much attention as child abduction, though cases are exceedingly rare, according to the latest federal data (NISMART-2, 2002). Of 797,500 children reported missing in 1999, most were runaways (45 percent) or temporarily missing for benign reasons (43 percent), such as a miscommunication. Eight percent were lost or injured, 7 percent were abducted by a family member and 2 percent were deemed missing in a nonfamily abduction. The last category can include "a modest amount of forced movement or detention" the report notes -- definitions vary by state. Only 115 of abductions constituted "stereotypical kidnappings," the authors note.
Adolescents (12-17) are most likely to go missing; "the risk for younger children was significantly lower than would be expected" based on their percentage of the child population, according to the authors.
For more information on risks facing children, visit the health/development resource section.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; www.cdc.gov
The CDC, based in Atlanta, Ga., covers the spectrum of child and youth disease prevention and health issues. It provides information on birth defects; vaccinations; health and safety; nutrition, overweight and obesity; reproductive and sexual health; and disease outbreaks or threats. Its well-organized Web site breaks out information in many ways, including by life stages. It also offers state fact sheets on healthy youth and provides health tips for college student.
Among its components are:
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/
It tracks incidents, where they occur and how to avoid or minimize them. Its violence prevention division provides statistics and background on child maltreatment, youth and intimate partner violence, sexual violence and suicide.
Environmental health division; http://www.cdc.gov/Environmental/
It tracks information on childhood lead poisoning and many other hazards.
Contact: 404.639.3286; in.the.news@cdc.gov
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics; www.ChildStats.gov
A collaboration of federal agencies and departments, the forum fosters coordination in collecting and reporting federal statistics on family and social environment, economic circumstances, health and health care, physical environment and safety, behavior and education. Such data are compiled in the forum’s annual report, “America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-being,” released each July. For 2007 data, see here.
Contact: Shara Godiwalla, forum director, 301.458.4256; sgodiwalla@cdc.gov. Or, reach agency representatives via the Childstats contact page.
National Center for Safe Routes to School; http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/
Established in 2006, the center assists communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bike to school. It’s maintained by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.
Contact: Katy Jones, 919.843.7007; jones@hsrc.unc.edu
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; http://www.niehs.nih.gov/
The federal agency, based at North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, aims to understand how the environment influences human health and how to reduce illness and disability. Its research addresses reproductive health, air pollution and child lung development, autism, lead, mold, pesticides and much more. Its Web site includes a section devoted to child health. Contact Robin Mackar, news director, 919.541.0073; rmackar@niehs.nih.gov
National Institute of Mental Health, www.nimh.nih.gov
Part of the National Institutes of Health, NIMH devotes considerable research and support to child and adolescent mental health. Its Web site provides background on mental health, disorders (such as autism and depression) and treatments. It provides information on coping with violence and traumatic events, and it links to current research and reports. NIMH also produces “The Numbers Count,” a fact sheet on the prevalence of mental disorders.
Contact: 301.443.4536; nimhpress@mail.nih.gov
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/search/SearchResults.asp?ti=13&si=64&p=topic
OJJDP, a component of the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, supports states, local communities and tribal jurisdictions in their efforts to develop and implement effective programs to prevent and reduce the impact of family and community violence on young children and their families. One such program is the Crimes Against Children Research Center, based at the University of New Hampshire, which provides research and statistics to the public, policymakers and child welfare practitioners. The center focuses on children and adolescents who have been victimized, both within and outside the family.
Contact: Earl Appleby, Communications Unit; 202-616-3554; earl.appleby@usdoj.gov
Annie E. Casey Foundation; www.aecf.org
The nonprofit foundation, based in Baltimore, aims to foster public policies, human-service reforms and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today’s vulnerable children and families. Its Kids Count Data Center, an outgrowth of the child well-being report it releases each summer, contains state- and city-level data for over 100 measures of child well-being, including health.
Contact: Laura Beavers, research associate, 410.223.2975; lbeavers@aecf.org
Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence; http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/
The University of Colorado at Boulder research program was founded in 1992 to enhance the understanding and prevention of violence, particularly adolescent violence. Along with conducting research, the center provides technical assistance in evaluating and developing prevention and intervention programs. It’s doing research on crisis planning for the federal Homeland Security in Schools program. Its Web site has extensive links, by topic, to other resources.
Contact: Susan Lineberry, communications director, 303.492.1032; lineberry@colorado.edu
The Children & Nature Network (C&NN); http://www.cnaturenet.org/
C&NN was created to encourage those working to reconnect children with nature. C&NN provides access to news and research in the field and a peer-to-peer network of researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being.
Contact: info@cnaturenet.org
Children’s Environmental Health Network; www.cehn.org
The national organization aims to protect the fetus and child from environmental health hazards and to promote a healthy environment. It works to safeguard children from harmful substances, whether pesticide residue in food, air pollutants that can cause asthma, or plastic additives that can distort hormones. It provides training to health care providers, religious leaders and others; supports and disseminates research; and advocates on behalf of children’s environmental health.
Contact: Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, executive director, 202.543.4033, Ext. 14; noot@cehn.org
Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research; http://www.jhsph.edu/gunpolicy/
Part of the Baltimore university’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, the center promotes research and public policy efforts to reduce gun-related injuries and deaths. It studies the public health effects of guns in society, led by co-directors Jon Vernick and Daniel Webster. Its Separating Kids and Guns program looked at adolescent development and risk assessment. Contact: Vernick, 410.955.7982; jvernick@jhsph.edu
National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety; research.marshfieldclinic.org/children/
The center strives to improve the health of children and youths living in rural areas and working in agricultural environments. It supports research and promotes issues such as safe-play areas on farms, avoiding youth tractor crashes, and establishing the National Agricultural Safety Database’s child safety section.
Contact: Scott Heiberger, communications specialist, 715.389.7541 or 800.662.6900, Ext. 7; heiberger.scott@mcrf.mfldclin.edu
National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education; http://nrc.uchsc.edu/
The center – based at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver – promotes health and safety in out-of-home child care settings nationwide. It’s funded by the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
Contact: 800.598.KIDS (5437); natl.child.res.ctr@uchsc.edu
