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The Injury Free Coalition for Kids (IFCK) Hartford, a project of the Injury Prevention Center at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, expanded in 2007 to serve residents citywide. In 2007 the program strengthened existing community partnerships and built new relationships to enable the delivery of safety and prevention education citywide. IFCK of Hartford serves the community by providing safety and injury prevention information and activities in the following areas: pedestrian safety, bike helmet use, booster and car seats, home safety, fire safety, fall prevention, and child discipline techniques.

Our goal is to decrease childhood injury by altering the manner in which residents in City of Hartford neighborhoods think about and approach child safety.

• Increase Use of Bicycle Helmets by Children and Adolescents: Injuries due to bicycles occur with high frequency in some of the neighborhoods of Hartford. We will collaborate with local community groups in our efforts to bring helmet safety education and promotion down to the street level. We will implement a neighborhood-based comprehensive bicycle safety and helmet promotion campaign. Program materials will be bi-cultural and bi-lingual (English/Spanish).
   
• Increase Use of Booster Seats and Increase the Rate of Properly Installed Car Seats: Injury rates due to motor vehicle crashes are also high across all age groups in Hartford. Pilot data in one neighborhood demonstrated a 60% non-use and 90% misuse rate of child restraint devices. We will raise awareness of motor vehicle occupant safety via educational presentations at family centers, schools, churches, and local businesses. Utilizing in-kind contributions of car seats from the Connecticut Elks and others we will schedule a series of car seat check events to improve occupant safety in the neighborhood. A car seat promotion campaign will be instituted within the IFCK partnership institutions to distribute car seats to families in need. Finally, child passenger safety topics will be incorporated into neighborhood adult education classes. All program materials will be bi-cultural and bi-lingual (English/Spanish). Successful programs such as “Buckle Up Faithfully” implemented at neighborhood churches will be continued and expanded.
   
• Increase the use of home smoke/CO detectors: House-fires are one of the several injuries that occur among young children in the residential setting. We propose a systematic intervention program to address the problem of absent or non-working smoke/CO detectors. Working with community youth groups in the South End and North End we will collaboratively design a youth-led smoke/CO detector promotion campaign. Partners in this project will include local fire stations. These youth-led projects will be managed and run by community agencies. Youth will be expected to conduct a pre-intervention survey, an intervention component, and a post-survey. This project could take place in a neighborhood, a city block, or even a single street.
   
• Increase the use of stairway gates and window guards: Falls from a height are a major source of injury for young children. The use of ‘gates’ in bedroom doorways and/or at the top and bottom of stairs can prevent unattended children from sustaining injury due to a fall. A bedroom doorway gate has the added benefit of restricting a child’s movement to a “safe” area during hours of sleep. Youth-led fire safety campaigns will include inquiries around children in the home and the use of gates and/or window guards (see objective 5 above). As needed, IFCK will provide gates and or window guards.
   
• Build Parents’ Capacity for Praise in the Context of Child Discipline and Increase Feelings of Self-Worth: The IPC through its pilot were very interested in the use of “praise” as a tool in discipline. IFCK will use the American Academy of Pediatrics Connected Kids curriculum (bilingual) that has an emphasis on praise, offering this tool for use through its partnership with the Community Renewal Team Headstart/Daycare centers.
   
• Engage the Community in a Playground Build with the support of the Allstate Foundation: Working with the City of Hartford and Community Residents, IFCK of Hartford will apply for a grant of $60,000 to build a new playground in the city, making a safe place to play for children using the latest in playground design.
   
• Reduce the Risk to Teen Drivers of having a fatal accident: Working through the Allstate Foundation supported Connecticut Teen Driving Safety Partnership, we are providing safety education materials to pediatric and family practice doctor’s offices throughout the state to increase the ability of doctors to effectively counsel teens and their parents on driving safety. Other partners include the Department of Motor Vehicles, Mourning Parents Act!, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Connecticut Academy of Family Physicians.
   

2007 Community Partners: Camp Courant, Boys & Girls Club of Asylum Hill, Community Renewal Team (CRT), Hartford Public Schools, YWCA, Hartford Public Library, Billings Forge Community Center, My Sister’s Place, MiCasa Family Services, Community Health Services, Charter Oak Health Center, Paraiso Infantil, University of Hartford Magnet School, Family Life Education, Trust House, Y/US, Grandparents Program at Burgdorf Clinic.

The Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Hartford appreciates the generous support provided by its sponsors. Support by these sponsors allows IFCK of Hartford to make a difference in preventing injuries to children in the City of Hartford and throughout the state: