IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 376 
Expressing support for designation of the calendar year 2009 as ‘‘The Year 
of the Safe Child’’ to raise awareness and encourage the prevention 
of unintentional injuries among the Nation’s children. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 28, 2009 
Mr. ROGERS of Michigan (for himself and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for designation of the calendar year 2009 
as ‘‘The Year of the Safe Child’’ to raise awareness 
and encourage the prevention of unintentional injuries 
among the Nation’s children. 
Whereas unintentional injury is the number one killer of chil-
dren under 19 years of age; 
Whereas each year more than 5,000 children under 15 years 
of age die from unintentional injuries; 
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC) reports that unintentional injuries remain the 
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leading cause of nonfatal injuries treated in hospital 
emergency departments across the Nation; 
Whereas for children ages 14 and under, the leading causes 
of unintentional injury deaths are motor vehicle-related 
injuries, drowning, residential fires or burn injury, suffo-
cation and pedestrian injury; 
Whereas 90 percent of these injuries and deaths are prevent-
able; 
Whereas the CDC estimates that direct and indirect medical 
expenses stemming from injuries among children under 
15 years of age costs the Nation $51,000,000,000; 
Whereas, children are among our most valuable resources and 
are at greater risk for many injuries than adults; 
Whereas young children have immature physical coordination 
and cognitive abilities, and are at greater risk of falls 
from bicycles and playground equipment; 
Whereas young children’s developing bones and muscles may 
make them more susceptible to injury in car crashes if 
they are not properly restrained; 
Whereas children are particularly vulnerable to pedestrian-re-
lated motor vehicle injuries; 
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention be-
lieves that reducing the barriers to attaining safety de-
vices (such as smoke alarms, bicycle helmets, car seats 
and booster seats), increasing educational efforts directed 
toward children who are at high risk for injury, and im-
proving the overall safety of the child’s environment, are 
preventative strategies to keeping kids safe from uninten-
tional injuries; 
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Whereas these evidence-based interventions are cost-effective 
and show great potential in reducing the burden of unin-
tentional injuries among children; 
Whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) and the 
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have led the 
development of a landmark World Report on Child Injury 
Prevention, that was released in December 2008, to sum-
marize what is known about child and adolescent injuries, 
including risk factors, promising prevention practices, 
and overall recommendations for injury prevention and 
control; and 
Whereas the calender year 2009 would be appropriate to des-
ignate as ‘‘The Year of the Safe Child’’: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of ‘‘The Year of 
the Safe Child’’; 
(2) commends the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Preven-
tion and Control, the World Health Organization, 
the United Nations Children’s Fund, Safe Kids 
Worldwide, and all other supportive organizations 
for their efforts to promote awareness about pre-
venting and reducing unintentional injuries among 
children in the United States and around the globe; 
(3) encourages the private sector, the public 
health community, health care providers, advocacy 
organizations, and Federal, State, and local govern-
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ments to work together to increase education and 
awareness about the prevention of childhood injuries; 
(4) urges national and community organiza-
tions, businesses, individuals, and the media to use 
‘‘The Year of the Safe Child’’ to promote awareness 
of this important public health problem in order to 
reduce the incidence of unintentional injuries among 
children in the United States; and 
(5) urges the President to issue a proclamation 
calling upon the people of the United States to ob-
serve ‘‘The Year of the Safe Child’’ with appropriate 
activities. 
Æ 
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