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IV. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Mission ..... The mission of the CCPT program will be to establish contact with all parents in Cabarrus County, including especially parents/family members who have not been reached through methods used heretofore, with specific information regardirtg fi~,'e ~ritical infant/toddler child protection issues. This project is designed to ensure the safe, healthy development of Cabarrus County newborns and infants. Education Target ~lreas Areas of education to be targeted 'are: 1) Use of size and age appropriate child restraint devices, Consumer Product Safety approved and properly installed. 2) Provision of safe sleeping arrangements (infants will not sleep with family members but will have own bassinet, crib, or portacrib) 3) Back to sleep position for infants to lower risk of SI. DS 4) Avoidance of second hand tobacco smoke 5) Never shake a baby Goals All infants in Cabarrus County will have and use an appropriate child restraint device. Ali infants will have and use a crib that meets appropriate safety standards. Ail infants will be placed on backs or sides to sleep. No infants will be subjected to second hand tobacco smoke. No infants will be shaken. Program ~lctivities The project will have four components: a research/planning phase; a media campaign; printed materials; and provision of equipment 1) Research & Planning While this grant proposal expresses the best available knowledge of the CCPT and Lawrimore Communications Inc.(LCI), that knowledge includes a humbling awareness of the challenge of reaching unreached parents of infants. Often lower-income, lower-educated people do not read newspapers or watch local television (news or public access) programming. They may believe that they have the best intentions for the care of their infants and deny that they are placing their children at risk with inadequate safety precautions. They may be resistant to "hand-outs" from established agencies and their staffs. They behavior maybe shaped by implicit social mores which make them especially resistant to any efforts to influence their behavior on the part of those outside of their social/family circle. For these and other good-practice reasons, this project will begin with primary research involving focus groups and interviews of the target population or with people closest to them, such as child care and church leaders in low- income communities. Once this research has been completed, a careful plan will be developed to maximize the success of the remainder of the project. At that time the grant recipients would welcome the opportunity to share the research and planning results so the grantors can approve the details of the implementation. Before conducting this research, it is believed the implementation will include but not be limited to the following additional components. The information and insights obtained during this research and planning will be applicable in other ways and for other projects after this project has been completed. The issue of making and maintaining meaningful contact with parents and family caregivers is one that is shared by many agencies and organizations, including the health department and both school systems. 2) Media Campaign A four week media campaign will take place in early fall, focusing on the five target areas. The media project will be carried out by a professionaI public relations agency, Lawrimore Communications, Inc., a firm that has developed expertise in identifying and utilizing the media to reach families who do not typically