CPSC Awards More than $1.3 Million in Pool Safely Grants to Five State and Local Governments to Combat Pool and Spa Drownings and Drain Entrapments

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) announced today five awardees of a grant program aimed at preventing pool and spa drownings, as well as drain entrapments. The state and local governments were selected by CPSC to receive more than $1.3 million in Pool Safely Grant Program (PSGP) grant funds. This funding will provide state and local governments with assistance for education, training, and enforcement of pool safety requirements that are intended to save lives and prevent serious injuries.

FY 2022 Pool Safely Grant Program Awards

"Drowning remains the number one cause of death for children ages one to four," said CPSC Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric. "These grant funds are an essential element in our work to protect children, by providing lifesaving safety information to communities, and helping these communities enforce pool safety requirements."

"I have long been a passionate advocate for pool and spa safety, and that will not stop. We must do more to stop these preventable tragedies, and these grants are one of the key steps we can take to help save more children's lives," said Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz. "My goal is to reduce child drownings across the country, and we can do it by teaching children to swim, ensuring pools have the right safety equipment, and educating parents on the critical importance of supervising children in and near the water."

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB Act), which Rep. Wasserman Schultz authored and led, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush in December 2007. The VGB Act authorizes the PSGP, which provides state and local governments with assistance for education, training, and enforcement of pool safety requirements.

CPSC's website www.PoolSafely.gov has more information on the Pool Safely Grant program and the VGB Act as well as free, downloadable educational materials available to the public.

About the U.S. CPSC
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of injuries associated with consumer products for nearly 50 years.

Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

For lifesaving information:
- Visit CPSC.gov.
- Sign up to receive our e-mail alerts.
- Follow us on Facebook, Instagram @USCPSC and Twitter @USCPSC. 
- Report a dangerous product or a product-related injury on www.SaferProducts.gov.
- Call CPSC's Hotline at 800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054).
- Contact a media specialist. 

Release Number: 22-041

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SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission