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The mission of the Division of Injury and Violence Prevention (DIVP) is to prevent and reduce the occurrence of injury and violence that impacts the quality of life in South Carolina.

To achieve this mission the Division collaborates with a wide variety of public and private partners. By providing consultation, injury prevention activities and program development, communities can focus on education, enforcement, engineering and economic incentives through these collaborations. Currently the Division houses the following Injury and Violence Prevention and Surveillance programs and resources:

Injury Prevention Programs

• Child Passenger Safety - provides education and instruction to parents and caregivers on the proper use and installation of child passenger seats and assists at car safety seat check-up events.
• Residential Fire Injury Prevention Program - provides education and installation of smoke alarms to targeted groups in partnership with local fire departments, State Fire Marshall's office, and DHEC regional health offices.
• Disabilities and Health Project - focuses on disability issues, most notably the prevention/reduction of barriers to access, and partners with numerous advocacy groups, individuals with disabilities, and representatives from other state agencies and organizations.
• Injury Prevention Resource - provides information on bicycle, playground and other safety issues and lists the divisions community partners.

Injury Surveillance Program

• Seeks to improve knowledge about the magnitude of the problem of injuries statewide, their causes, and the risk factors.
• Publishes "The Status of Injury in South Carolina Data Book" which addresses the total burden of injuries affecting South Carolinians.
• Addresses the traumatic brain injury problem in South Carolina.

South Carolina Violent Death Reporting System

• This system allows for the collection of violent death data in South Carolina as part of the National Violent Death Reporting System to answer critical questions of when, where, and how violent deaths occur.
• Includes a Child Fatality Review Module to incorporate the findings of child death review teams. Child death review teams are a multi-agency, multidisciplinary team of local, regional and key state professionals established to examine each case of child death, issue rulings, and develop more effective community esponses to prevent child deaths.

State Child Fatality Review Advisory Committee

• The State Child Fatality Advisory Committee (SCFAC) examines each case of unexpected and unexplained child death in South Carolina. Motor vehicle crashes are not reviewed as they are investigated by the the South Carolina Department of Public Safety. By reviewing the circumstances and actions surrounding a child's death, effective community responses to the prevention of child fatalities may be determined. The SCFAC program coordinator is housed in the Division of Injury and Violence Prevention.

For additional information contact:
Lou-Ann Carter, Director
Division of Injury and Violence Prevention
Bureau of Community Health and Chronic Disease Prevention
SC DHEC
PO Box 101106
Columbia, SC 29211
Phone: 803.898.0281
Fax: 803.253.4001