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Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway Issues Warning On Drop-Side Cribs
Attorney General Jack Conway and his KY Kids Alert partners today issued another warning to Kentucky parents and child care providers about the deadly hazards of drop-side cribs. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently concluded a comprehensive review of crib-related infant fatalities and found that 32 infant and toddler suffocation and strangulation deaths and hundreds of incidents were caused by or related to drop-side detachments in cribs.
“As Kentucky’s Attorney General and as a father, I want to ensure that Kentucky parents and caregivers are aware of the deadly hazards associated with these cribs,” said General Conway. “I strongly encourage parents to check their child’s crib regularly and to make sure the crib has not been recalled due to a potential hazard.”
Last month, the CPSC announced the recall of more than 200,000 Graco-branded drop-side cribs due to entrapment and suffocation hazards. In the last five years, there have been a total of 11 recalls involving more than seven million drop-side cribs.
The CPSC has determined that drop-side cribs have a tendency to be less structurally sound than cribs with four fixed sides. Drop-side hardware is also prone to break, deform or experience other problems during normal use. More problems can also be expected with older cribs.
General Conway Unveils KY Kids Alert PSA on Web
Attorney General Conway today unveiled a new web public service announcement about the KY Kids Alert initiative he launched in coordination with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) and the CPSC. In the web PSA, General Conway talks about the importance of signing-up to receive potentially lifesaving child product recall alerts from the CPSC.
As a result of the KY Kids Alert initiative, nearly 3,000 Kentucky child care centers and certified family child care homes are now receiving child product recall alerts. The partners, which also include the Office of Inspector General and Department for Community Based Services, both agencies within CHFS, have distributed 15,000 KY Kids Alert bookmarks to local health departments, child care trainers, child care facility inspectors, school resource centers and local public libraries across Kentucky.
“Childcare providers in Kentucky now have a tool and a resource to help them look out for the safety of their children,” said Bradley Stevenson, Executive Director of the Child Care Council of Kentucky. “This is a great initiative and something all of us should take the time to sign up for.”
Consumers can sign up to receive child product recall alerts through the Attorney General’s website at www.ag.ky.gov or http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCList.aspx . You can also call the CPSC’s Recall Hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
General Conway and his Office of Consumer Protection have worked hard to address child safety issues; including participating in a multi-state investigation of and settlement with Mattel in December 2008 regarding lead in more than 1.9 million recalled toys. In 2009, CPSC announced 29 recalls of toys and children’s products for lead alone, recalling more than 1.4 million articles.
In addition, the Attorney General’s office along with the Department for Public Health and local health departments have worked to ensure that all Kentucky public pools comply with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act to protect children from potentially fatal drain entrapment.
View General Conway’s KY Kids Alert PSA: http://www.youtube.com/kyoag#p/a/u/0/Jf4vcQK6nkc .
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