CASA’s Window Covering Safety Campaign

Adams & Broomfield Counties, CO – CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Adams & Broomfield Counties has teamed up with the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to urge parents and caregivers to check their window coverings for exposed or dangling cords that can pose a strangulation hazard to infants and young children, and to retrofit or replace them with today’s safer products.

The partnership stems from a deep-rooted commitment to ensure that ALL children are safe in their homes. Since CASA Volunteers visit the homes and foster homes of children they work with, the partnership is a perfect fit.

“Parents with young children should replace their corded window coverings with the cordless products available,” explained Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) Executive Director, Peter Rush.  “There are many cordless products available in different styles, colors, and sizes that will soon be easily identified with the Best for Kids label.”

All CASA Volunteers are trained to share window covering safety information with the parents, foster parents, and caregivers they come into contact with.

According to the CPSC, corded window coverings are one of the top five hidden hazards in American homes, with infants and children dying each year from accidentally strangling in window cords. Some of these incidents involve older products that are still in use but don’t have the safety devices or designs instituted in the past decade.

Window cord strangulations are one of the top hidden hazards in the home. CPSC recommends that only cordless window coverings or those with inaccessible cords be used in homes with young children.  They are available today in the marketplace and will prevent window blind strangulations. Make sure all window shades, blinds and draperies in your home do not have cords that are within the reach of a child.

In addition, the Window Covering Safety Council encourages parents and caregivers to follow these basic cord-safety precautions:

• Move all furniture, cribs, beds and climbable surfaces away from windows.
• Keep all window cords well out of the reach of children.
• Install only cordless window coverings in homes with young children.
• Make sure tasseled pull cords are as short as possible. Continuous-loop pull cords on draperies and vertical blinds should be pulled tight and anchored to the floor or wall.
• Be sure cord stops are properly installed and adjusted to limit inner-cord movement.

To learn more about window-cord safety, or to order free retrofit kits, go to the Window Covering Safety Council’s web site at www.windowcoverings.org, or phone toll-free at 1-800-506-4636.

To learn more about our partnership with the Window Covering Safety Council and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, please contact Sara Boon, Outreach & Recruitment Coordinator, at sara@casa17th.com or 303.655.3924.

CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Adams and Broomfield Counties is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that works to make sure that every child who cannot live safely at home has a caring, compassionate CASA Volunteer who will help fight for their right to be safe, ensure that they are treated with dignity, and assure their safe passage out of foster care, building a stronger community for all. Each year, in Adams and Broomfield Counties, there are nearly 1,300 children who have been physically, sexually or emotionally abused or neglected, and who are in desperate need of a caring, committed CASA Volunteer to speak up for their best interests. In Adams and Broomfield Counties, there are over 220 CASA volunteers, but we are in need of more great community members to become advocates for children. CASA conducts volunteer training classes six times a year. For more information about CASA, call 303.654.3378 or visit www.casa17th.org.