The Iowa Department of Public Health has won a $98,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study violence prevention among kids. Binne LeHew, the Violence Prevention Coordinator for the Public Health Department, says this grant is for a two-year project and in the first year they hope to assess what is currently being done by state agencies and local agencies to address the risk and prevention factors in youth violence. She says this involves everything from suicide to bullying. LeHew says the information they gather in the first year will lead to the next stage. She says they hope to develop a report card on how the state is doing, and then develope a plan for helping the state prevent youth violence. LeHew says this is an attempt to get the Public Health Department more involved. She says they’ve recognized that they’ve not done much to address the issue from the public health side. She says they recognize suicide as a public health problem, and they recognize injury and violence as a public health problem. LeHew says they want to be sure all agencies are working together on the issue. She says they know law enforcement, social services, mental health agencies and education have done a good job, but she says they want a collaboration across agencies. To learn more about Iowa’s violence prevention efforts visit www.idph.state.ia.us
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