MCN’s Amy K. Liebman, MPA, MA co-authored a report aimed at outlining goals and strategies for reducing injuries and deaths among children on farms. The Blueprint for Protecting Children in Agriculture: The 2012 National Action Plan is the product of a multi-year process involving top researchers in childhood agricultural safety, agriculture industry stakeholders and the general public.
Published in April by the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, the Blueprint outlines goals to improve and expand efforts in the collection of injury, disease and death data for children in agriculture, health and safety interventions for children in agriculture and research activities related to childhood agricultural health and safety.
The 2012 Blueprint offers an updated approach to ensure the safety of children who live on, visit and work on farms which reflects the changing agricultural industry and environment.
To accompany to release of the Blueprint, the Journal of Agromedicine published a dedicated issue on childhood agricultural health and safety. MCN’s Jennie A. McLaurin, MD, MPH and Liebman authored the article "Unique Agricultural Safety and Health Issues of Migrant and Immigrant Children" which appears in the dedicated issue of the journal.
According to the National Farm Medicine Center's 2011 Childhood Agricultural Injuries Fact Sheet, agriculture has the second highest fatality rate among youth workers with 21.3 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers, compared to an average 3.6 deaths per 100,000 youth workers in all other industries. About 100 youth die each year on farms.
To receive a print copy of the 2012 Blueprint document, contact the National Children’s Center, nccrahs@mcrf.mfldclin.edu or 1-800-662-6900. The Blueprint for Protecting Children in Agriculture: The 2012 National Action Plan is available on the MCN website at http://www.migrantclinician.org/toolsource/resource/blueprint-protecting-children-agriculture-2012-national-action-plan.html