For parents, ensuring their children’s safety is often easier said than done. Through the incredible work of Keeping Babies Safe, parents have free access to resources to be aware and stay vigilant.
What is Keeping Babies Safe?
Keeping Babies Safe (KBS) is a nonprofit that provides education and advocacy that keeps babies protected from preventable tragedies involving unsafe cribs and sleep environments.
KBS was founded by Joyce Davis, after she lost her four-month-old son, Garret, due to a supplemental mattress that was advertised as safe. Joyce was determined to make sure other families would be educated on crib and sleep safety to prevent tragedy.
KBS has been instrumental in the passage of national crib safety regulations, through partnerships with manufacturers, retailers, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban dangerous supplemental mattresses.
Through its mission, KBS educates parents and the public on how to protect babies against unsafe sleep environments and injury prevention associated with unsafe cribs.
KBS Founder Joyce said, “Cribs are the most important product in your home for your baby, the only place where your child is left unattended. We supply reliable information to parents so they can be better informed to protect their babies.”
Be Smart About Safe Sleep™ Program
KBS provides key resources to parents when they first find out about their baby and before they purchase infant products, through the “Be Smart About Safe Sleep™” program.
When families are expecting, items such as cribs and mattresses are key essentials they need. KBS knows that not every product is created equally, and works with sponsors to provide print, video, and training materials.
The materials are distributed to parents through multiple outlets:
- Hospitals
- Doctors
- Retailers
- Manufacturers
- State Governments
- State Health and Human Services Departments
- Professional Caregivers
A Safe Sleep postcard is given to parents, with 6 essential facts on safe sleep, in either English or Spanish. Families are also shown a video that explains the importance of sleep safety for babies.
Project Safe Crib
KBS also provides families with proper cribs through Project Safe Crib, a crib-donation program.
KBS is working with University Hospital in Newark, Newark Beth Israel Hospital, and the Newark Community Health Center to help distribute cribs and educational materials.
Many families are often unable to afford a safe crib, which can lead to unsafe sleep habits. KBS’ Project Safe Crib provides the hospital or agency with the cribs, which are then given to the families who need them. Families also receive educational materials on safe sleep habits.
The families may receive the crib onsite, or it is brought to the family’s house by agency staff members. This provides families with both a necessity and proper resources to ensure their child is safe.
Through Project Safe Crib, more than 11,000 new, safe cribs have been donated since 2006.
What Sets KBS Apart?
KBS’ incredible work has helped families learn more about safe sleep and gain access to cribs, as well as led to significant legislative actions to protect children.
These legislative acts include:
- The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act: Passed on June 24, 2011, this law “ensures that new cribs comply with the strongest crib laws our country has ever seen.”
- New York State, A.356/S.6730: Passed in November 2016, this law gives new parents required reading on crib safety from hospitals and birthing centers. It also requires hospital staff to ask whether the families have a new crib for their newborn.
- National Hospital Discharge Legislation: Working on efforts to “make it mandatory for all hospital and birthing facilities in the U.S. to educate new parents on crib safety upon discharge.”
- New Jersey State, A.1355/S.2963: Passed in January 2016, this law requires the Department of Health to “provide information on crib safety to hospitals and birthing centers at the time of discharge.”
Through Joyce Davis’ leadership, KBS’ instructional video is currently shown in 1,200 hospitals across the country and KBS has provided safe sleep information for over 3 million births.
The Turrell Fund is a proud supporter of KBS and its mission to ensure all families with newborns are educated on safe sleep practices.
