- The ARC - California Edition -

SAFE KIDS and Injury Prevention
A Big Winner

On the fifth of May 1998, the national SAFE KIDS Campaign celebrated the completion of a decade of effort as an Injury Prevention program. The SAFE KIDS organization has earned the right to be celebrating, because during the past decade the number of children dying in car wrecks, bike crashes, and other injury incidents has been reduced by 26%.

In 1987, the overall death rate from unintentional injuries was 15.56 per 100,000 children 14 and under. By 1995, that figure had fallen to 11.45 per 100,000.

Injury prevention is only one component of the challenge to prevent disability being caused by brain damage. However, injury prevention is clearly a mature and proven strategy that works and does make our world a safer place to grow up unharmed.

There are a number of state and local chapters of "The Arc" who also have earned the right to be celebrating the success of this decade of injury prevention. These are the same chapters which have recognized that "health promotion and disability prevention" starts at home, and have gotten involved and are taking action to reduce the risk of injury to their clients, their staffs, and other residents living in their communities.

Such success in reducing the potention for injury to ourselves and those around us requires the efforts of countless people. Injury prevention should be part of every Arc chapters mission to make our own worlds a safer (and healthier) place.

Your editor — Peter Leibert