Safe Kids Nebraska

Safe Kids Nebraska, coordinated through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Division, was established in 1993 to take in hand in preventing the number one threat to children: unintentional injuries.

Safe Kids Nebraska is part of Safe Kids Worldwide founded by the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. to prevent the number one killer of children ages 14 and under: unintentional injuries.  Since the inception of Safe Kids Worldwide in 1987, the accidental childhood injury death rate has declined 45 percent.

The goals of Safe Kids are to address major areas of unintentional injuries to children 14 and under by raising awareness among adults and children, by building long-term grass roots coalitions, and by making childhood injury a public priority.  The major causes of accidental injuries addressed are: 

*          Traffic incidents (including children as occupants, pedestrians and bicyclists)
*          Fires and burns
*          Drownings and near-drownings
*          Falls
*          Poisonings
*          Choking/suffocation/strangulation
*          Sports and recreation injury

At the heart of Safe Kids Nebraska are local Coalitions and Chapters that work to make their community safer for children.  In Nebraska, local coalitions and chapters are located in Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, Lincoln, O’Neill, Superior, Scottsbluff/Gering, Seward, York, Ogallala, Papillion, Omaha, Auburn, Winnebago, and Albion.   They promote safety through public safety education and awareness campaigns, community programming, distribution of safety devices and local events.

Jason Kerkman
Nebraska Safe Kids Coordinator
Nebraska Health and Human Services
301 Centennial Mall South, PO Box: 95026
Lincoln, NE 68509-5026
Phone: 402-471-8749
Fax: 402-471-6446
jason.kerkman@nebraska.gov

Scott Eveland
SafeKidsNebraska.org webmaster