California Kids' Plates Program
The California
legislature passed a bill in 1992 for the sale of Kids' Plates specialized
vehicle license plates and the creation of the Child Health and Safety
Fund. Revenue from the sale of Kids' Plates, which contain an
embossed heart, hand, star, or plus sign, goes into the Fund and is used to
support three significant child health and safety issues in California: 1)
unintentional childhood injuries; 2) child abuse; and 3) child care
licensing and inspection.
The Safe and Active Communities
Branch’s (SACB) State and Local Injury Control (SLIC) Section oversees and
administers the portion of the Child Health and Safety Fund dedicated to
preventing unintentional childhood injuries, the leading cause of death for
California’s children from ages 1 to 18. Using funding generated by the sale of
Kids' Plates, SLIC provides funding to local entities to support and encourage
the use of best practices to address this devastating public health
issue. For a report on
appropriations received, expenditures made, and awards, please read our Kids' Plates Report FY
2011-2016.
Since 1998, SLIC has made over 700 awards throughout
California to reduce or eliminate unintentional injuries in children and youth,
focusing on areas such as:
Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety
Bicycle Safety
Fire and Burn Prevention
Drowning Prevention
Poisoning Prevention
Unintentional Firearm Injury
Fall Prevention (including playground-related falls)
Sudden Infant Death
August 2016 Request for Application (RFA)
Most recently, through a Request for Application (RFA) released in
February 2016, the Kids’ Plates Program awarded child safety equipment to
145 local non-profit organizations throughout California. Kids' Plates
distributed 1,496 child safety seats, 12,936 multi-sport helmets, 5,654 life
vests, and 6,846 smoke alarms. The goal of this RFA was to accomplish the
following:
Promote the proper use of
child passenger safety seats and support the new California law requiring
children to be secured in rear-facing car seats until the age of two;
Promote helmet use during such
activities as bicycling or skateboarding;
Promote life vest use and
water safety;
Promote proper smoke alarm use;
Disseminate these safety equipment
items at no-cost for the benefit of California children up to age 18 who are
from low income
families.
A list of awardees.
Projects Funded 2012 - 2015:
Through a RFA released in August 2012, the Kids’ Plates Program
awarded projects for 2013-15 to focus on educational interventions to address
bicycle and pedestrian safety in underserved and rural communities using the
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) evidence-based model. The projects
included:
Northern Region – WalkSacramento (working with selected elementary schools in Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yuba counties).
Northern Region – Safe Kids California (working with selected elementary schools in Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yuba counties).
Central Region – Monterey County Department of Health (working with selected elementary schools in cities of Seaside and Marina)
Southern Region – Escondido Union School District (working with selected elementary and middle schools in Escondido).
Awardees submitted a Progress Report: January 2014 , a Annual Report: June 2014, a January 2015 Progress Report Summary, and a Final Report July 2015 .
The next procurement and planning process for the
Kids' Plates Program is currently in development. Please check back soon for
more information.
For more information about the Kids' Plates Program, please contact Nancy
Bagnato, Chief, State and Local Injury Control Section, at nancy.bagnato@cdph.ca.gov