Table of Contents

Educating Parents

Parent fact sheet (New Hampshire)

Parents have substantial control over the work lives of their children. Teens usually require parental permission to work—if not legally, at least within the family. Parents need to be aware of the dangers their children might face on the job—dangers not only to their health, but also to their academic performance (and, thus, their future). Parents need to learn about safety issues that may not have been in the public consciousness during their youth, such as repetitive motion injuries. Parents also need to know that laws are in place to protect their children on the job. And parents need to understand the ways in which they can help protect their children. Because parents are also employers, educators, health providers, government officials, and voters, educating parents can help build public and political support for young worker safety.

One way in which State teams reach parents is through booklets and fact sheets. For example, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, in collaboration with EDC, developed Protecting Your Working Teen: A Guide for Parents. With assistance from EDC, the Maine State team adapted this booklet for that State’s laws and resources. These booklets are sent home with schoolchildren, distributed at malls, health fairs, neighborhood festivals, health care facilities, and during school open-houses and parent-teacher conferences.

In another example, the New Hampshire State team used the information in Massachusetts’ Protecting Your Working Teen to create Working Teens: A Guide for Parents. This fact sheet contains data, child labor law information, and contacts specific to New Hampshire. It was designed to be photocopied on two sides of a single letter-size piece of paper and is thus less expensive to duplicate than the original booklet.

Working with Employers

Employer workshop materials (Massachusetts)

Employers do not want young people to be injured in their workplaces. In addition to their concern for the health of the teens they employ, injuries are bad business. Minimally, an injured employee cannot work—or cannot work to full capacity. Injuries can provoke conflicts with parents, insurance companies, OSHA, and State labor departments and may result in fines, lawsuits, increased workers compensation premiums, and bad publicity. State teams have worked with local employers, franchises, regional corporate offices, and organizations to which employers belong such as retail, business, or trade associations, chambers of commerce, or Rotary Clubs. A number of methods have helped turn employers into allies:

• Focus groups: The Maine Department of Labor held focus groups for representatives of companies that employ young people to learn about the types of jobs young people do, whether they are given safety training on the job, and what the department can do to help employers prevent injuries to young workers. Some interesting findings emerged, including the following:
  (1) employers do not have in-depth knowledge of the child labor laws, (2) teen workers are given the same training as adults, and (3) employers need activity-based training and would welcome resources and collaboration.
  
  
• Workshops and training: The Massachusetts State team and its mini-grant project at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell held a workshop for employers. The participants were primarily from retail stores and restaurants. Topics included the child labor laws, industry-specific safety hazards, the work permit system, and how teens differ from adults in ways that affect their safety on the job. Employers also had the opportunity to present their questions and concerns to representatives of the State team and to participate in a hazard-mapping exercise to enhance their ability to identify health risks in the workplace.
  
  The Massachusetts State team and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell also facilitated a session on young worker safety as part of a breakfast series hosted by the local Council on Regional Economic Development. Inviting leaders from youth-serving organizations (such as the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA) helped connect the issues of economic development and youth development.
  
  Massachusetts data revealed that burn injuries to teen workers were a special problem in some retail food establishments. Many of these burns were associated with coffee makers. Members of the Massachusetts State team then held training for 450 retail bakery franchise owners and managers. Presentations were made on child labor laws, injuries to young workers, and prevention strategies. The brew baskets of the coffee makers are being redesigned to reduce burn injuries.
  
  
• Employer conferences and meetings: Members of the Maine, New Jersey, and New Hampshire State teams present and exhibit information about teen worker safety at the annual safety and health conferences in their States.
  
  
• Training and educational materials for employers: The Maine Department of Labor used funds from a child labor violation settlement to create SAFETEEN, a kit that helps employers teach their teenage employees about workplace safety. Each SAFETEEN kit includes a book of safety training exercises that employers can use to teach teens about workplace safety, a booklet for employers about workplace safety and child labor laws, multiple copies of a booklet for teens about workplace safety, wallet cards, posters, and information about obtaining Starting Safely, Maine’s young worker safety curriculum. The kit was sent to employers under a cover letter signed by Maine’s governor and is distributed through Maine’s Career Center network. Maine is currently evaluating this effort.
  
  The Massachusetts Department of Public Health published Young Worker Health and Safety and the Child Labor Laws: Massachusetts Employers’ Guide, a brochure/poster summarizing State and Federal laws for employers and explaining how employers can take action to prevent injuries to teens in their workplaces.
  
  
• Job fairs: The University of Massachusetts at Lowell mini-grant project distributed workplace safety information to employers participating in a youth “hiring hall”—a job fair for young people seeking summer jobs (and employers seeking summer help). The project also distributed material to youths, ensuring that both employers and youths received consistent and accurate information.
  
  
• Small business development centers: The Massachusetts State team partners with the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network to reach small business owners and managers who come into the centers for information about child labor laws. Every State has a similar network designed to provide technical assistance to small businesses.

Employer kit (Maine)	Employer guide (Massachusetts)

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Educating Health Care Providers

Health care provider guide (Massachusetts)

Health care providers, who are concerned with the health and safety of young people, as well as the costs of health care, can be especially useful in reaching business and industry groups. The teams in the northeastern States identified several opportunities to work with health care providers.

Massachusetts developed and disseminates to physicians and nurses Protecting Working Teens: A Guide for Health Care Providers. This brochure helps health care providers learn about the risks faced by young people in the workplace and gives them guidance on counseling their young working patients.

With assistance from EDC, this publication was adapted for use in Connecticut. The Connecticut team is concentrating its outreach on school-based health centers.

Using Data

State-wide or industry-specific occupational injury data is a powerful way of demonstrating the risks faced by young workers to teens, educators, parents, health care providers, and policymakers in your State. Collecting this data is often easier than it might appear, especially since some members of the State team have access to data collected by their agencies on a regular basis. Once collected and analyzed, this information can be used to customize curricula, brochures, fact sheets, and other educational material or to produce reports and press releases. It also is useful in evaluating the effect of policy or regulatory changes on injury rates. Many types of data are potentially available:

• Hospital Data: The State team member from New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services Injury Prevention Program searched hospital inpatient and emergency department data for injuries to teenagers whose expected payer source was the workers’ compensation program. The data was included in an Injury Prevention Program report in order to focus the attention of the public and policymakers on the problem. The data was also examined to determine long-term trends, including the effect of eliminating work permits on injuries to teens in the workplace.
  
  
• Employer’s First Report of Occupational Injury or Disease: The State team member from the New Hampshire Department of Labor’s Safety and Training Division asked the State Workers’ Compensation Division to send her copies of all Employer’s First Report of Occupational Injury or Disease forms documenting injuries involving teenagers. This information is entered into a database and will be combined with hospital data collected by the Injury Prevention Program (see previous page).
  
  
• Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS): YRBS, a national survey coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, includes a sample of high school students in grades 9–12. States can add a limited number of questions to the survey used in their State. Several of the Northeastern States are hoping to add occupational safety questions to their State’s survey. The YRBS can generate data from a large sample with a rigorous methodology. It also has an established credibility with public health professionals, educators, and journalists.
  
  
• Surveillance System for Occupational Injuries to Youth: The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Teens at Work Injury Surveillance and Prevention Project uses multiple data sources to identify work-related injuries in youths. These include workers’ compensation and emergency department data, hospital discharge reports, reports from individual physicians (in Massachusetts, hospitals and physicians are required to report occupational injuries to people under the age of 18), Massachusetts Burn Registry data, and data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation. Cases that have sustained serious injuries or are indicative of broader problems are designated for follow up interviews. Project staff conducts these interviews to learn about workplace hazards, safety training, adult supervision at work, and the impact injuries have on teens. Cases may be referred to other agencies if it appears that safety and health or child labor laws have been violated. The Department of Public Health may also conduct its own research-oriented investigation of workplaces to learn more about how teens are injured at work and to target interventions. Summary data from the surveillance system are used to identify high-risk industries and occupations for broader-based prevention efforts. With funding from NIOSH, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is creating a “how-to” guide for other States interested in strengthening or expanding data collection systems.

Young worker injury report (New Hampshire)	Young worker injury report (Massachusetts)	Teen worker's compensation guide (Massachusetts)

Providing Information about the Law

State and Federal laws and regulations govern the conditions of child labor. They restrict the types of jobs young people can hold, the kinds of machinery and materials they can use, the tasks in which they can engage, and the number of hours and times of day they can work. When Federal and State laws differ, the more restrictive law takes precedence.

State team members who are able to do so are involved in several types of information activities about laws:

• Providing information to States about laws, such as the fact that there are no Federal regulations about the hours 16 and 17 year olds are allowed to work
  
  
• Providing information about occupations and tasks that are now recognized as hazardous (e.g., using chemicals) or that have become more common for young people (e.g., repetitive motions)
  
  
• Promoting enforcement of existing laws

Examples of team activities include the following:

• Tracking legislation: Two bills introduced in the Connecticut legislature would have expanded the types of industries in which younger teens and preteens could be employed, as well as the times of year and hours they could work. Without the participation of the Connecticut Department of Labor, whose government relations staff track bills submitted to the legislature, the State team might not have been aware of this effort to change the law.
  
  
• Responding to changes in the law: The New Hampshire legislature abolished that State’s work permit system with little warning or fanfare during the summer, when schools were not in session. Many educators, public health professionals, and occupational injury experts learned about this legislative action after it had been accomplished. Team members prepared information materials about the change.
  
  
• Upgrading laws: With prompting from the National Child Labor Coalition, the Maine Department of Labor updated that State’s child labor laws. The list of occupations in which minors cannot work was expanded to include all occupations in Maine that are prohibited to minors under Federal law and a number of additional occupations, including those involving exposure to pesticides. The law was also strengthened in other ways, for example, by prohibiting those under the age of 18 from driving on the job or working alone in a cash business (in which there is a substantial risk of robbery).

In 1999, a bill enhancing the protection of young workers under State labor laws was submitted to the Massachusetts legislature. Only opponents testified at the legislative hearing, and the bill did not pass. It was then resubmitted in the next legislative session. The Massachusetts State team provided expertise on specific provisions of the bill to legislators and the public. The chair of the Accident Prevention and Poison Control Committee of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (MCAAP) arranged to have members of the team brief the MCAAP about the bill.

Evaluation and Program Monitoring

Evaluation can provide an indication of a State team’s impact and help the team refine its efforts and become more effective. The primary goal of a team is to increase the safety of teen workers. The most direct evidence of success in meeting this goal would be a reduction in occupational injury rates. However, identifying such a trend can be difficult. The availability, quality, and timeliness of data vary among States. And the number of detectable injuries emerging in the data systems of States with small populations could be relatively small, making it difficult to assess trends over a short time span. In fact, the increasing attention paid to occupational injuries to teens as a result of the work of the State teams could improve reporting of such incidents and result in an apparent increase in the injury rate.

A more realistic measure of success is the extent to which teams implement activities that are likely to promote young worker safety. Such activities might include educating teens, parents, educators, and employers; collecting and analyzing data on injuries and labor law violations; strengthening child labor laws; and improving the safety of workplaces. This publication highlights many of these successes.

State teams also investigated the impact of activities. For example:

• Pre- and post-tests were given to students as part of occupational safety classes to evaluate the overall increase in their knowledge and attitudes about occupational health and safety. When necessary, the names of students were removed from the forms before such analysis to preserve confidentiality.
  
  
• Evaluations completed by participants in employer, health care provider, parent, and educator symposiums were used to assess their reactions to the symposium, assess their needs, and plan future events.
  
  
• Pre- and post-tests for teachers trained in the use of a curriculum were used to measure both the knowledge gained from the training and their overall satisfaction with the training.
  
  
• State team activity logs are used to track a team’s process and impact. (An activity log is a list of meetings, presentations, training, and other events; team members involved; the nature and size of the audience, and other information useful in assessing the team’s value. Logs are also used to create capability statements for funding opportunities and justifying members’ participation to their agencies.)

Systematic Reform

While the Massachusetts State team was far ahead of many States in looking at young worker injury data and defining research-based solutions to its injury problems, the team members came to the conclusion that they needed to institutionalize their efforts if they wanted to have a permanent impact on young worker safety in that State. In Massachusetts, the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health, as well as the Attorney General’s Office, had some responsibility for the safety of young workers. But no established infrastructure was responsible for this issue. The demand for materials, information, training, and other resources by employers, schools, health care providers, parents, and youth was rising—yet no central office or agency could provide these services.

The Massachusetts State team modeled its efforts on work done in California. Guided by the recommendations developed by the California Study Group on Young Workers’ Health and Safety, and using planning meetings based on the model developed in California, the Massachusetts State team evolved into the Massachusetts Young Worker Initiative (MYWI) and identified five goals for itself:

• Developing a systematic approach to educating teens, parents, employers, educators, and other professionals who work with youth about the labor laws and workplace health and safety
  
  
• Creating a central body to coordinate this educational effort and collect data on teen occupational safety and health
  
  
• Providing information about the Commonwealth’s child labor laws
  
  
• Enhancing coordination among government agencies around this issue
  
  
• Fostering research on young workers, with an emphasis on occupational safety and health

Team representatives from MassCOSH, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and the Northeast Young Worker Resource Center provided essential logistical support. MYWI’s first step was to expand its membership to include a wider range of stakeholders, including representatives from unions, health care organizations, businesses, and youth development organizations.

The members of MYWI realized that child labors laws alone could not protect young workers. Thus, they decided to focus on three additional areas needed to provide the State with a comprehensive young worker safety strategy:

• School-based strategies, including health and safety training for teens, involving school administrators and staff, and better using the work permit process to protect teen workers
  
  
• Work-based strategies, including on-the-job training for youth, improving the work environment, facilitating employer sharing of best practices, and providing information about child labor laws to employers
  
  
• Public information and community-based initiatives, including efforts involving health care providers, parent groups, and youth-serving agencies, media campaigns, and integrating occupational safety into community job training programs

MYWI working groups are developing recommendations in all of these areas for presentation to the legislature and the constituencies addressed in the report. They are also taking preliminary steps to create a young worker safety resource center as a single point of information and resources on this issue. Although this effort is still relatively new, its combination of using data and research, involving a broad coalition of public and private partners, developing a comprehensive State-wide strategy, and focusing on coordinating and institutionalizing young worker safety efforts may be a model of effecting permanent improvements in this area.

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