HSAWT - University of Washington

Thursday August 21, 2008



	Our Mission
	Program History
	Funding
	Contact Information

The Health and Safety Awareness for Working Teens program is operated by the Department of Environmental Health at the University of Washington in Seattle. The program grew out of the School to Work (STW) Opportunities Act of 1994. The goal of that legislation is to develop systems that coordinate all activities in state and local programs that address the career development and work preparation needs of all students.

The University of Washington's STW program addresses the integration of school-to-work (STW) and occupational safety and health (OSH) concepts and curricula into K-12 classrooms and teacher training programs. Our goal is to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses and their consequences by educating students about workplace health and safety and by promoting an attitude of occupational injury and illness prevention. Program staff work with local educators on their STW classroom needs, organize STW workshops for K-12 teachers on safety and health, and develop K-12 occupational safety and health curriculum material.

To date, we have compiled a list of available STW curricula and classroom resources which are summarized and cataloged in our teacher loan library. We collaborate with local, regional, and national agencies on STW-OSH issues. We are involved with the Young Worker Health and Safety Network, a national group which meets annually. In Washington state we have partnered with groups such as Washington Department of Labor and Industries, Governor's School to Work Task Force, STW-OSH Steering Committee, K-12 STW Education Subcommittee, Alliance for Education, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Washington Parent Teachers Association, Washington Association for Career and Technical Education, Washington Association of Diversified Occupations Teachers, Washington State Work-based Learning Center, South King County STW Consortium, and STW Labor Liaisons (Worker Center, AFL-CIO).

We also work closely with other organizations who have developed STW-OSH curriculum such as University of California at Berkeley, UCLA, Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia, New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health, Maine Bureau of Labor Standards, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, University of Minnesota Extension Service, among others.

Our curriculum, Health and Safety Awareness for Working Teens , consists primarily of activities along with resources and materials on OSH for students. Basic health and safety information is presented to students while building academic skills in all subject areas. Students are given skills to identify potential hazards in the workplace so they can make informed choices that prevent injury to themselves and others. The units also include information on child labor laws, information about rest breaks, hours young people can work, prohibited employment, rights as a worker, etc. Workshops are offered periodically to train educators in the curriculum.

For information on upcoming trainings, contact Darren Linker at dlinker@u.washington.edu.

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