CU SAFE

Contact Name: Kim E. Alexander
Director, CU Safe Program

Names of additional program supervisors: Elli Walters
Anderson County Program Coordinator

College/Department: College of Health, Education, and Human Development
Department of Family & Youth Development

Address: Clemson University
D-141 Poole Agriculture Center
Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0753

Phone: (864) 656-0664 Fax: (864) 656-1444 Email: kalxndr@clemson.edu

Name of Program: CU Safe Program

Age Group of program participants: Birth through Grade 6

Is this program __X___ in school, and/or __X___ non-formal

Brief description of program:
Please include: program purpose(s); goals and objectives; internal and external partners; intended outcomes; accomplishments; and funding source(s)

CU Safe: Child Passenger Safety Program

Program Purpose: The central aim of the CU Safe: Child Passenger Safety Program is to stop the deaths of infants and small children on our highways by instilling in our families a “lifestyle of safety and health,” and to establish a permanent child passenger safety fitting stations.

Goals and Objectives: The goal of the CU Safe Program is the delivery of educational programming and certification to parents, educators and other caregivers to train them in the use and proper installation of child safety seat restraints. Furthermore, the fitting station will provide actual inspections of child passenger safety restraints by a nationally certified technician.

Internal and External Partners: Our partners include faculty specialists and University personnel in a collaboration of all Public Service Activities and the five colleges of Clemson University through a focus on the overlap of teaching, research and service in a unified program of safety and healthy lifestyles research and education.

External partners involve public and private partnerships including: The South Carolina Department of Transportation, The South Carolina Department of Public Safety, Anderson County SAFE KIDS Coalition, Anderson County Safe Communities, Anderson Area Medical Center, and Anderson County Health Department.

Intended Outcome: The intended outcome for the CU Safe Program is to develop in parents, educators and other caregivers a “lifestyle of safety and health.” The National Transportation Safety Board issued a recommendation to all the states that they consider establishing permanent fitting stations modeled along similar lines. As a result, Clemson University’s CU Safe: Child Passenger Safety Program has risen to the task of prevention, and will be the first of its kind in the U.S., which will provide life-long learning in child passenger safety from the standpoint of teaching, research and outreach.

Accomplishments: The following are some of the organizations that have collaborated with the CU Safe Program:

Greenville Easter Seals
Anderson County Health Department/DHEC Appalachia Health District
The City of Anderson Fire Department
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, WIC Program
Anderson County SAFE KIDS Coalition
Anderson Chamber of Commerce
Clemson University Health Sciences Internship Program
Boost America
Foot Hills United Way
Greenville United Way
United Ministries
SHARE Head Start
Anderson Regional Airport
Iva Town Hall (Inspection Site)
Honea Path Town Hall (Inspection Site)
Belton First Baptist Family Life Center (Inspection Site)
Pelzer Wesleyan Church (Inspection Site)

Funding Sources:

South Carolina Department of Transportation, Safety Office