About CSN

CSN Mission

The Children’s Safety Network works with state and jurisdiction Maternal & Child Health and Injury & Violence prevention programs to create an environment in which all infants, children, and youth are safe and healthy. Our goal is to equip states and jurisdictions to strengthen their capacity, utilize data and implement effective strategies to make reductions in injury-related deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency department visits.

What we do

• The Children’s Safety Network, in cooperation with the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) is implementing a child safety learning collaborative for state and jurisdiction health departments. 
• In partnership with HRSA MCHB, CSN facilitates a national Children’s Safety Now Alliance, with participation by leaders and experts representing national organizations, federal agencies, universities, and states with a commitment to child safety. The Alliance is guided by a Steering Committee, which works to create new synergy among public and private stakeholders and to support the activities of the CS CoIIN strategy teams. 
• CSN provides training and technical assistance and resources on injury and violence prevention planning, programs, and evidence-based practices to state and jurisdiction health departments and health and safety services and systems.

CSN strengthens state and jurisdiction health department infrastructure for child safety promotion by:

• Helping states to address their injury-related MCH Performance Measures
• Integrating injury prevention activities into MCH services
• Building partnerships among MCH, IVP, and other relevant programs at the national, state, and local levels
• Providing technical assistance on the implementation and spread of proven strategies to prevent a wide variety of injuries affecting children and youth in a broad range of settings, including injuries related to motor vehicles, violence, and recreational activities, and injuries sustained in homes and schools
• Assisting states and jurisdictions in applying a public health approach to injury and violence prevention: define the problem using data, identify risk and protective factors, develop and test evidence-driven prevention strategies, and ensure widespread adoption of strategies
• Training and educating MCH and other public health professionals on injury and violence prevention

Achieving Health Equity

In the United States, structural discrimination and inequitable access to health care has long led to worse injury and violence-related health outcomes for people from racial and ethnic minority groups, LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, households with lower incomes, and rural communities. Evidence of this is all around us. It includes higher rates of infant mortality for Black children and higher rates of suicide for American Indian/Alaska Native youth.

The staff of Children’s Safety Network views these inequities as a deeply rooted challenge to public health in our country. For all infants, children and adolescents to be safe and healthy, we must commit to building programs, services, and systems that are more equitable and that  address the impact of historic and present discrimination and exclusion among marginalized populations.

Children’s Safety Network:

• Leads and participates in national panels and workgroups to examine the impact of racism and discrimination on public health.
• Provides technical assistance to Title V agencies on identifying inequities in access to services, adapting programs and resources for diverse populations, and advancing health equity in their communities.
• Supports Title V agencies in implementing evidence-based programs and interventions that promote child safety and wellbeing for priority populations.

The journey towards true health equity—the ability of every parent, child, and family to achieve their full health potential without discrimination or barrier—will be a long one. We are committed to achieving equity so that infants, children, and adolescents can reach their full potential.

CSN and EDC, Inc.

The Children’s Safety Network is a project of Education Development Center, Inc (EDC). CSN is part of a group of projects at EDC working on Behavioral Health and suicide, violence, and injury prevention programs.

CSN is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).