Youth at Work
Agriculture
ranks as one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States.
Farm-related morbidity and mortality impacts rural communities in
both magnitude and severity, with a disproportionate number of children
and young workers affected (Belville et al., 1993).
Minnesota’s agricultural region is no exception (Parker
et al., 1994). From 1994 to 2001, the Minnesota
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (MN FACE) program
investigated 87 farm work-related fatalities of which, seven were
of children 10-18 years of age (see MN FACE links below). Youth
at Work (YAW) is a partnership funded by the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). This partnership
brought together teachers, administrators, public health personnel
and other individuals dedicated to making a positive impact on adolescent
work safety. During the 2001-03 school years, YAW focused its concerns
and efforts through two school-centered projects in forty-one high
schools throughout Greater Minnesota.
The Childhood Agricultural Trauma and Evaluation Survey (CATES) project designed and implemented an injury survey as an evaluation tool to determine the number of students working, types of jobs worked, hours worked, and the types of injuries they have experienced. The series of self-reported injury surveys were administered in the Fall and Spring of the 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years. Data analysis is currently underway with a final report to be available by December 2005.
The
Childhood Agricultural Safety and Health (CASH)
project created, implemented and evaluated a school-based occupational health and safety curriculum called Work Safe Work Smart (WSWS). WSWS is a nine lesson curriculum designed to teach agricultural
hazard recognition, injury prevention strategies, child labor laws
and communication skills needed to discuss agricultural and other
work related concerns. The curriculum can be added as is to existing
high school curricula or it can be taught as independent, standalone
lessons. The intent of the Work Safe Work Smart curriculum is to
provide participants the knowledge and skills for a safe and healthy
work-life now and into the future. A more detailed description of this study and the findings are described on the Childhood Agricultural Safety and Health page. The curriculum can be downloaded from the WSWS Curriculum page.
MN FACE: Child Worker Farm Work-Related Fatalities investigated 1994-2000
MN
FACE Investigation 94MN03001: Farm Youth Dies After
Being Crushed by a "run away" Chopper Wagon
- Minnesota
FACE 94MN039: Farm Youth Dies After Tractor He
was Driving Rolled Over on Him
- MN
FACE Investigation 94MN04101: Farm Youth Dies After
Tractor He was Driving Rolled Over on Him
- MN
FACE Investigation 95MN045: Farm Youth Dies After
Being Engulfed In Corn Inside A Steel Grain Bin
- MN
FACE Investigation 95MN04601: Farmer Youth Dies
After Being Struck By A Loader Bucket
- MN
FACE Investigation 97MN03801: Farmer Youth Dies
After Being Run Over By A Grass Seeder
- Minnesota FACE 00MN029: Farm Youth Dies After Falling From And Being Run Over By Tractor in Minnesota
1. Belville R, Pollack SH, Godbold JH, and Landrigan PJ. Occupatinal injuries among working adolescents in New York State. JAMA 1993; 269(21):2754-9
2. Parker DL, Carl WR, French LR, and Martin FB. Nature and incidence of self-reported adolescent work injury in Minnesota. Am J Ind Med 1994; 26(4):529-41
