A new survey finds Jacksonville is lacking in safety features for our youngest population. Men’s Health Magazine finds, among 100 cities, that Jacksonville ranked last as a safe city for children. Considered were accidental deaths, car-seat inspection locations, abused children protection and the number of sex offenders.
One of the factors that may be skewing this survey is the massive size of Jacksonville. We are the largest city by land mass within the U.S. Not to make excuses, but the larger the city, the more problems you are likely to find.
John Harrell, who is a spokesman for the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) takes exception to the survey.
“The fact of the matter is the New York Times, the National Public Radio have praised the many innovations taking place in child welfare in Jacksonville,” said John Harrell to News4Jax.
“We were honored by Prevent Child Abuse America as being the first pinwheel city in the country for our child abuse prevention efforts. Forget being last in the country. Prevent Child Abuse America says that Jacksonville’s No. 1.”
Harrell says when DCF contacted the magazine to ask how the survey was conducted; the magazine would not say when or how the data was collected.
Child Safety
While data and surveys are debatable, one thing is not. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children under the age of 14. Child safety seats, whether an infant seat, car seat or booster seat, when properly installed, reduce the risk of fatal injury by 80 percent. Florida auto accident attorneys would like to remind you to please keep your children safe when they ride in a motor vehicle.
