Hold on CIPN website

The Californina Injury Prevention Network (CIPN) is in the process of transition this summer. Unfortunately, that means that we cannot respond to member inquiries and no new members can be added. However, the blog will continue to be active and members can communicate by posting or responding to posts. Expect to see the CIPN site back up and running by Fall 2007 with lots of new updates and information. Thank you for your patience during this tranisition period.

Kids' Plate RFA Now Available Online!

If you are interested in pursuing Kids' Plates funding for child/adolescent unintentional injury prevention efforts, please go to http://www.cippp.org to review and download the new RFA. The grants are bigger and the funding period is longer.

Job Opportunity: Project Coordinator

Job Title: Project Coordinator
Employer: The California Center for Physical Activity
Job Description: This person will coordinate and/or develop and expand four dynamic projects aimed at increasing physical activity among children and their families. In addition, incumbent will write grant proposals, negotiate budgets, monitor and evaluate work plan activities, prepare project reports, develop issue briefs and white papers, present at state and national professional meetings and conferences, and develop expertise in innovative project areas.
Location: Sacramento, CA
Requirements: Bachelors degree in Public Health, Urban Planning or a related field and three years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience; Background in community design, education and community capacity-building helpful; Excellent written and verbal communication skills required; Masters degree highly preferred.

For more information, individuals can apply at: http://ucsfhr.ucsf.edu/careers/ The req number is 23168BR and job code and title is 7236: Analyst III.

Job Opportunity: Project Coordinator

The Kids' Plates program is looking for a full time staff member to work as a Project Coordinator based in Sacramento, CA. Job responsibilities include Identification, networking, and collaboration with new and existing partners and funders to increase and build upon the local, regional, and statewide capacity of child and adolescent injury control, for current and potential Kids' Plates grantees; Identification of new and emerging Kids' Plates program needs. Research and development of innovative IP programs, issues and resources; and coordination and dissemination of current and upcoming information relevant child and adolescent injury prevention through the statewide injury prevention website.

If you are interested in the position or want to find out more, go to: https://jobsfoundation.sdsu.edu/ then click on "search jobs" and go to job 070120 Project Coordinator at the Center for Injury Prevention Policy and Practice.

Healthy You-Keeping Kids Safe on the Road

In the June/July issue of APHA's newsletter, "The Nation's Health," the Healthy You section is all about easy steps to keep children safe on the road. The article stresses the importnace of seat belt use, talking to teens about driving and safe behaviors, and tire tips to keep your car running safely. You can download free copies of Healthy You every month. (May have to wait for updates on the site)

Click here to see this month's Healthy You

Drug Overdose Deaths

In April, New Mexico enacted a law that would protect thosewho contact emergency services for a friend or family member experiencing drug overdoses. This law was made to decrease the death rate of those experiencing drug overdoses. By not charging or prosecuting those people in possession of illegal substances, New Mexico hopes that more people will be willing to call in a drug overdose so that the number of preventable deaths due to overdoses decreases.

To read more about this law, visit the APHA's newsletter, "The Nation's Health"

Familicide

Familicide is the term used to describe the killing of one's entire family and oneself. The majority of US familicides are committed by the father and it is usually triggered by financial hardship. Mothers that commit familicides usually only kill the children and not the spouse because they believe that the husband can cope and move on but that the children would be left in a cruel world so that it would be better for her to take them with her. Familicide is seen as an extended suicide of the perpetrator. although familicides are infrequent, the majority of mass suicides (the killing of 4 or more people in less than a 24 hour period) committed in the US are familicides.

To read more about familicides, click here

Parents, Kids, and Media Content

The Kaiser Family Foundation has just released a report on parents and their control over sex and violence in the media. The study involved 1,008 parents of children ages 2-17 years old. The study found that two-thirds of parents are concerned about the amount of sex and violence in the media today but only 20% of parents think it is their problem. The majority of parents believe that they are doing a good job of controlling the amount of sex and violence their kids are exposed to at home. They do so buy blocking certain channels, closely monitoring Internet use, and by talking to clerks at video game stores about ratings and appropriateness. However, parents are concerned about their children once they step outside the house and away from their watchful eyes.

Two-thirds of parents want stricter government policies on TV content but say that the educational programing on TV is a positive factor in the development of their child. The majority of parents also believe that despite the negativity of the dangers of the Internet, they believe that it is largely a positive force in the education of their children.


To read more about the study, click here.

Ten Road Commandments

The Vatican has released the Ten Road Commandments which are aimed at promoting safer driving practices. This release comes from the office for migrants and itinerant people. The head of the office, Cardinal Renato Martino, felt like this was neccessary because driving has become such a large part of daily life. The ten Road Commandments are as follows:

1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.

To read more about the Ten Road Commandments, click here.

Free Playground Training in Los Angeles

Play (WE Play!) Training

Los Angeles, CA

July 18, 2007

This free workshop is hosted by KaBOOM! The training will prepare you to build great playspaces such as playgrounds, skateparks, sports fields and ice rinks in your community. Here are a few topics you'll master at WE Play!

* Using the community-build approach that both reduces cost and engages your community
* Safety considerations and choosing the right playground equipment
* Planning effective fundraising events and writing successful grant proposals
* Evaluating and selecting equipment vendors

Registration is free but space is limited.

Click here to register and to find out more information.

Summer is the Most Dangerous Time for Kids Playing In and Around Cars

According to the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), summer is the most dangerous time of the year for children playing in and around cars. This is because the children are out of school and most likely outside with little or no supervision. Each year hundreds of children suffer injuries or death from vehicles backing out of driveways, being trapped in hot vehicles or in car trunks, being strangled by power windows, or in vehicles inadvertently put in motion by children moving the shift lever.

ACTS has compiled the results of a survey done on over 900 parents with children 12 years and under about parenting behavior and supervision of their children in and around cars. Here are some of the results.

- On average, parents normally hold a child's hand in a parking lot until the child is at least 7 1/2 years old.
- Most parents require their children to be in a safety seat or booster seat until age 6 1/2.
- 9 out of 10 parents say they have never left a child under 5 alone in a car.
- Two thirds of parents thought it unlikely or very unlikely that a child in their neighborhood might die from the heat after being left alone in a car.
- Less than half (46%) thought it was likely that a child in their neighborhood might be hit by a car backing out of a driveway.
- 44% of parents surveyed have known someone whose child was hit by a car.

To read the full survey results and to visit the new and improved ACTS site, click here

Study: California's Strict Laws Decrease Illegal Firearm Purchases at Gun Shows

Injury Prevention, a peer-reviewed health journal, published a study involving field observations of gun shows across the country and the effect that California laws have on curbing illegal firearm purchases compared to other states.

The study collected data from 28 gun shows, eight each in California and Nevada, six in Arizona, four in Texas and two in Florida - between April 2005 and March 2006. California has the toughest regulations- requiring gun show promoters to be licensed whereas the others states do not have such regulations. The other states were chosen because they were the leading sources of guns used in crimes in California.

Common at the gun shows in the other states were "straw purchases," where an individual with a clean record would purchase a firearm under their name for someone with a criminal record. Also, private party sales that do not require the buyer to undergo a background check have long been suspected as a way for criminals to get guns. In the comparison states, such sales are not regulated, working under the "don't ask, don't tell policy." In California, private party sales can take place, but they must be processed by a licensed retailer, the buyer must submit to a background check, and the transaction is documented.

This study shows that regulations do work and that California, above all the other states, has the lowest number of illegal firearm transactions.

To read more about this study, click here.