EDC Receives $6.8 million to Continue, Expand Efforts to Prevent Injury, Violence, and Suicide

WALTHAM, MA | EDC’s nationally known programs to reduce injury, violence, and suicide have been recognized by two federal agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with combined first-year awards of nearly $7 million.

EDC will continue to operate the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) with a grant of $5.6 million for each of the next five years from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The funding will enable SPRC to continue supporting the suicide prevention efforts of health and mental health systems, state and community suicide prevention programs, and others dedicated to reducing the toll of suicide.

SPRC will also continue to build effective national partnerships and promote the use of data and proven practices to achieve the goals of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. To help meet these objectives, SPRC will serve practitioners, organizations, and systems via consultation, online and in-person training, virtual events, and Web-based resources.

EDC’s work to prevent childhood injuries will expand with an award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau. This award—$1.2 million for each of the next three years—will fund the EDC-based Children’s Safety Network (CSN) to produce measureable improvements in child safety.

CSN aims to reduce fatal and serious injuries by 100,000 over the next three years. Components of the new work include:

• Creating a Collaborative Innovation and Improvement Network, or CoIIN, to work with states to test specific injury prevention strategies and replicate those that are successful
• Developing a national initiative for child safety
• Building the capacity of state health departments to adopt evidence-based policies and practices that keep infants, children, and youth safe from injuries

“The new awards speak not only to our deep understanding of these issues in the public health arena, but also to our record of effectiveness in delivering high-quality services,” said EDC Vice President Jerry Reed. “With our national, state, and local partners, I am convinced that we can and will reduce the burden of injuries, violence, and suicide in our communities.”

EDC designs, implements, and evaluates programs to improve education, health, and economic opportunity worldwide. Visit www.edc.org.