State Partners Promoting Young Worker Health and Safety

There are agencies and organizations in many states, and on the national level, that play a role in protecting and educating working teens. They often have materials and information available. Check the links below for contacts in your state.

Your state's Department of Labor (wage and hour, workers' compensation, and occupational safety and health divisions) enforces state child labor laws and state health and safety regulations. Most can provide information on the laws, data on injuries and labor law violations, and sometimes funding for special projects.

• To locate your state's Department of Labor contacts, go to the U. S. Department of Labor website at http://www.dol.gov/esa/contacts/state_of.htm
  
  
• Child labor law factsheets for many states are available at http://www.youthrules.dol.gov/states.htm
  
  
• To locate your state's OSHA plan (in 23 states), or the federal OSHA regional office that covers your state, go to http://www.osha.gov/fso/osp/index.html/
  
  
• To locate teen safety initiatives in many state Departments of Labor, go to federal OSHA's new teen website at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/teenworkers/links.html

Your state's Department of Education may oversee school-based work experience programs, vocational and technical education programs, and the issuing of work permits. Most can provide information to teachers, schools, and students.

• To locate your state vocational education office, go to http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/resource/statelink_txt.html
  
  
• To locate state contacts for school-to-career or transition programs, go to http://www.ncset.org/stateresources
  
  
• State Departments of Education are listed at http://www.nasdse.org/state_departments_of_education.htm

Your state's Department of Health (injury prevention, maternal and child health, and occupational health programs) may have surveillance data on work injuries, information about medical care, and educational materials on health and safety issues.

• To find a list of child and adolescent injury prevention and adolescent health promotion contacts for your state and region, go to http://research.marshfieldclinic.org/children/Resources/states/default.asp
  
  
• For a list of state occupational safety and health contacts, go to http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/statosh.html

Workforce Investment Boards oversee job development and training programs funded under the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), including programs targeted for youth from low-income families.

• For contacts and information on your state's workforce investment board, go to http://www.subnet.nga.org/workforcecouncilchairs/Links/StateWDC.asp
  
  

Jobs for America's Graduates assists states in creating dropout prevention and school-to-career transition systems for at-risk youth, including job training. JAG currently has affiliate programs in 27 states.

• For a list of affiliates, go to www.jag.org/affiliates.htm

National Safety Council chapters may have information for employers, and many have conferences, workshops, and newsletters. Local safety councils may also be able to provide funds and other resources.

• To locate chapters in your state, go to www.nsc.org/chaptop.htm

The Young Worker Health and Safety Network, a subcommittee of the American Public Health Association, has members throughout the U. S. who are health and safety researchers, educators, and advocates.

• Contact information for network members is listed at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/teenworkers/networkmembers.html#mission

Committees for Occupational Safety and Health (COSHs) may also be a resource or advocate for young worker health and safety.

• For a list of COSH organizations nationwide, go to http://www.coshnetwork.org/cosh_groups_list.htm

Unions may be especially valuable for addressing safety in particular industries. While not every union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, it is a good national resource for locating unions in your area.

• To locate local unions, go to http://www.aflcio.org/aboutunions/unioncities/
  

For more information about the Young Worker Safety Resource Center, contact one of our two offices:

Diane Bush,
Project Coordinator
Labor Occupational Health Program
University of California, Berkeley
2223 Fulton St., 4th Floor
Berkeley, CA 94720-5120
510-643-2424
dbush@uclink4.berkeley.edu

Christine Miara,
EDC Project Coordinator
Education Development Center, Inc.
55 Chapel St.
Newton, MA 02458
617-618-2238
cmiara@edc.org