Article Text
Abstract
Background In Israel, unintentional injuries are the primary cause of death and injury among children age 1–17. Consequently, Israel joined a global initiative led by the European Child Safety Alliance (ECSA) to promote a National Child Safety Action Plan (CSAP). On February 19th, 2012 the Government of Israel passed a resolution to plan a national perennial CSAP in Israel.
Description of the problem There is a gap between theory and experience in the field of national programs and child safety focused national programs and the knowledge and tools necessary to plan CSAP in Israel. Efforts were made to take advantage of knowledge in the field of child safety, the ECSA model, global CSAP experiences, and local experience in Israel developing national programs in other areas. However, these experiences did not meet the needs that arose during the CSAP planning process in light of the unique characteristics of the Israeli government and policy.
Results To bridge the gap between existing knowledge and the policymaking needs in Israel, specialised tools were formulated to map and plan child safety policies tailored to the national partners participating in the program. Responsibilities were distributed based on the government roles rather than child safety traditional classification. In addition, a specialised working model was developed, based on local history of government instability and prevailing decision making processes, that resulted in an NGO integrated as a specialist to lead the CSAP design and planning process.
Conclusions Planning and policy processes in the framework of a national partnership are influenced by the unique qualities of the state. In order for the policy-making process to be effective and applicable the methods and tools need to be tailored specifically for the partnership. Israel’s unique experience may serve as a useful theoretical model for governments with similar policy and organisational patterns.
- Child Safety
- National Action Plan
- Partnership
- Policy