Law/Policy to Keep Our Kids Safe

Well informed parents and caregivers are the ones best poised to keep their children safe from preventable injury. But they cannot do it in a vacuum. Strong safety laws at the state and federal level have also accomplished a great deal to keep our kids safe. Safe Kids Worldwide works with its 600+ coalitions to ensure that state and federal laws help prevent child injury.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a report which tracked the state of child injury prevention over the past decade, the National Action Plan for Child Injury Prevention. It found that child injury death rates have decreased over the past decade. How did this happen? The report concluded that part of the answer was a concerted effort to pass federal and state laws on how children traveled in cars. For example, in 2001, only two U.S. states had a booster seat law to protect older child passengers. Now, 48 states and the District of Columbia have booster seat laws. (Check out the child auto safety laws in your state, as well as other highway safety laws impacting children as passengers and, later, as drivers.)

But we still have work to do. For example, each day more than 11 children ages 19 and under are killed in a motor vehicle crash.

At the national level, Safe Kids supports federal child safety legislation. For example, Safe Kids has supported legislation to make swimming pools and spas safe and to strengthen the power of the federal government to recall dangerous products. It supports a law encouraging the installation of carbon monoxide detectors as well as legislation to track infant deaths.

Safe Kids coalitions are grassroots advocates for child safety before their state and local governments. Together with related organizations, they push for key injury prevention policies, such as state and local laws requiring carbon monoxide alarms in homes or laws requiring children to wear bicycle helmets. Want to get involved in your state or local advocacy efforts to promote child safety? Find your state and local chapters here.

Learn more

Want to get involved in your state or local advocacy efforts to promote child safety? Find your state and local chapters here.

To learn about the child safety laws in your state, select your state from the drop down menu

Please note that laws and regulations are constantly updated by federal and state policymakers, so we encourage you to check this site frequently.