At Issue & In Focus

Massachusetts teens speak up about ‘Safe Jobs for Youth’ – Pass it on!

This April and May have been packed with events around making workplaces safer for Massachusetts teens.

• DPH’s Teens at Work project released it’s annual surveillance report on work-related injuries to teens;
• Our community partner, the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health (MassCOSH), held its annual three-day LEAPS academy to help build leadership skills in youth around workplace health and safety;
• This year marks the 5-year anniversary of child labor reform in Massachusetts.
• And, the Massachusetts Governor proclaimed May 2012 to be Young Worker Safety Month, an important reminder that everyone has a role to play in keeping our youth safe on the job. 

But most exciting, the Massachusetts Youth Employment & Safety Team (YES Team), which includes AGO, and MassCOSH once again teamed together to sponsor the second annual Safe Jobs for Youth Poster Contest. We called on teens from across the state to design posters that stress the importance of safety on the job for young people. 

In addition to being blown away by the amount of creativity and talent here in the Commonwealth, we always learn so much from hearing (and seeing) what teens have to say about this important issue. So we were thrilled to receive 120 contest entries. From those, we took 12 finalist posters on the road to another 70 youth across the state and asked them to help us judge the winners. Judging groups included the JAG Network in Milford, the Brockton Mayor’s Youth Council, LEAD in Holyoke, Design & Visual Communications at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School, STARs at Cambridge Rindge & Latin, and the MassCOSH Teens Lead at Work (TL@W) Peer Leaders in Boston. An extra special thanks to these groups for participating!

The contest winners were announced at an awards ceremony on April 26, during MassCOSH’s LEAPS academy. We were honored to have State Senator Patricia Jehlen, sponsor to the 2007 Massachusetts child labor reform, join us as the keynote speaker and present the contest winners with their awards.

Photo by MassCOSH: Winners, TL@W organizers and State Senator Jehlen showcase three of the winning posters.

So please, take a moment to see what Massachusetts teens have to say about “Safe Jobs for Youth”:

• Check out the winning posters online;
• Keep your eyes out for the winning poster on MBTA and PVTA public transportation.

And then, especially with the summer jobs season nearly here, help us to spread the word about keeping MA teens safe on the job. As you can see, it’s definitely something to speak out about!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of race, sexual orientation, or gender and the effects can impact many aspects of someone’s well-being. The consequences of this violence bring forth concerns for victims with regards to their health, homes, and financial security when they try to leave their abuser.

Help is available. Our office can provide assistance for victims with many of these issues.   For general concerns please contact our Office at (617) 727-2200.

For specific health insurance concerns, the Insurance & Health Care Consumer Helpline is (888) 830-6277

To receive assistance with consumer issues, our Public Inquiry & Assistance Center Hotline number is (617) 727-8400. Operators are available from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Alternatively you may file consumer complaints via email any day at any time by completing our Consumer Complaint form 

For information about our Victim Compensation and Assistance Division please click here or call (617) 727-2200 ext.2160

From September 2010 through August 2011 our Office responded to 206 domestic violence victim compensation claims and provided over $658,410.71 in compensation to victims.

If you or someone you know needs immediate help, please contact SafeLink at 1-877-785-2020. SafeLink is a 24-hour, free and multi-lingual hotline for programs in Massachusetts. An advocate can talk with you about your needs and help you identify appropriate resources.

Love Shouldn’t Hurt

As we honor the 16^th anniversary of Teen Dating Awareness Month, it has become apparent that it is more important than ever to organize and get the word out that love shouldn’t hurt. 

According to the National Resource Center for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, one in 10 teens have been physically harmed by their boyfriend or girlfriend and twenty-five percent of sixth grade students (average age of 11 or 12) think it is okay to hit their girlfriend. One in five female college students will be sexually assaulted by the person they are in a romantic relationship with. 

Many teens stay in abusive relationships because they are afraid to speak up. To learn more about organizing a local information group, joining a support group or for information on how to enlist your school in this campaign against violence, visit www.teendvmonth.org.

World AIDS Day

Today, December 1st, marks the 22nd observation of World AIDS Day. Recent headlines focusing on the global financial meltdown may have decreased the news coverage, however the research on HIV/AIDS continues on. New discoveries may lead to vaccines and the drug trials are showing signs of effectiveness.

In Massachusetts, over 30,000 residents have been diagnosed with HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. Over half of the 30,000 are living with AIDS. HIV/AIDS is no longer the death sentence that it once was. The Attorney General’s Office has used funds from a series of multistate settlements with pharmaceutical companies to fund the Prescription Drug Assistance Grant, through which over $1 Million was distributed to 14 nonprofit community health centers throughout the Commonwealth. These organizations have assisted more than 500 individuals living with HIV/AIDS. The assistance goes beyond prescribing medication as it includes case management as well as providing counseling services.

While World AIDS Day is only one day in which the world is reminded of the deadly disease, new medicines being tested and scientific breakthroughs are occurring much more frequently. For more information about HIV/AIDS in Massachusetts, visit Health and Human Services’ Office of HIV/AIDS.

Empowering Teens to Say YES to Health

The  Attorney General’s Office Project YES grantees have had a busy year. Employing teens to run health and wellness programs across the Commonwealth, the sixteen grantees have had a very successful first half of 2010. So far, over 4,700 children and adults have received health and fitness education and have participated in the activities being run by the 161 employed teens, and the positive effect of the programs continues to be felt community wide.

The program staff at the Caring Health Center in Springfield determined that “the youth needed to first get out in the community and learn to engage with community members in order to identify their health needs. They developed a pilot research project, which was a short community health assessment.  They assisted in the design of a survey, which included demographic questions and some health measures. After finalizing the survey, the youth went out and administered the survey to a random sample of the Springfield community.”

The Haverhill Community Violence Prevention Coalition hosted Respect-Protect-Connect, a community wide event led by the Project YES youth. The event included a March for Peace and fitness activities that introduced the community at large to both Zumba and Yoga. 

The grantees are also noticing the program’s impact on the teen workers. At UTEC, “One of our teen members was coming for case management and education services.  He and his family relied heavily on food pantry items and hot meals from (UTEC’s) Fresh Roots (program).  He began attending UTEC every day to take advantage of the available food, and during this month, he applied for a job with Fresh Roots and began training as a chef.”

The Attorney General’s Office continues to find creative ways to both protect and defend the well-being of the citizen’s of the Commonwealth. For more information on other AGO grant programs, visit the AGO website.

Buyer Beware: Know Your Pesticides Before You Spray

Mosquitoes are inescapable at this time of year and sometimes bug repellant just doesn’t cut it.

Many who want to enjoy the great outdoors during the summer months and reduce their exposure to mosquitoes to prevent mosquito-borne viruses, like Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV), are opting to go beyond just applying bug repellant and are tackling the issue with the use of pesticides in their backyards.

This week, AG Coakley entered into agreements with two companies that sell backyard mosquito misting devices in Massachusetts. The settlement addressed alleged misleading claims the companies made about the safety and efficacy of the pesticides used in the misters. 

Under the terms of the agreement reached with BuzzOFF Mosquito, LLC, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and BuzzOFF of Central Massachusetts, LLC, the companies are now required to educate consumers who are considering purchasing the misting system about non-chemical alternatives and to post signs to notify neighbors and passersby that the system is being used there.

If you are considering pest control methods, the AG’s Office offers the following information about residential pest control:

• Massachusetts law requires that anyone who commercially applies pesticides have a currently valid license to do so. The license indicates that the operator has been trained and is knowledgeable about pesticide applications.
• Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, describes pest control practices that stress prudence and minimization of chemical use when responding to pest problems. IPM practices include closely monitoring the need for pest control, improving sanitation, installing physical barriers where appropriate, using natural pest enemies, and, when appropriate, judiciously using the lowest-risk pesticides capable of addressing the need.
• A cornerstone of proper pest management, either in your home or your yard, is to correctly identify the sources of your pest problems so you can treat them. When it comes to mosquitoes, standing water in your yard (such as in blocked rain gutters, planters, wheelbarrows, and debris like old tires) provide an environment for mosquitoes to breed, and a good first step in addressing a mosquito problem is to remove these sources of standing water.
• Before hiring, make sure that the pest controller can demonstrate to you a working knowledge of current methods of integrated pest management.
• For more information on integrated pest management, you can access the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Program website: www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides.  

The Attorney General’s Office enforces environmental laws that protect our air and water, preserve our wetlands, tidelands, and public open space, require the cleanup of contaminated sites, and govern the use of pesticides and the handling and disposal of solid and hazardous waste.

To learn more about the Buzz Off settlement, please view the press release announcing the agreement.

Lead in Toys

In December of 2008, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, along with 38 other states, reached a settlement with the Mattel Company and its subsidiary, Fisher Price, for the excessive use of lead paint in select toys. The investigation and ultimate settlement came as a result of a voluntary recall of the toys. However, as strong as enforcement efforts are, not every dangerous toy is detected and prevented from entering the market.

Small children find non-conventional uses for toys, and they often spend as much time in a baby’s mouth as they do in the toy box. Law enforcement can prevent certain toys from ending up on the shelves of your local toy store and local consumer organizations can provide education and testing, but it is ultimately up to the parents to keep them out of young mouths. USPIRG has developed a tool to make this easier for parents. They released a web and mobile tool to help parents protect their children from the various dangers that toys can cause to small children, including lead poisoning. The tool provides information on the harm lead paint can cause to children as well as links to current toy recalls and a tool for reporting unsafe toys.

For more information on childhood lead poisoning, check out the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. For more information about the childhood lead prevention programs funded through the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, visit our website.

Underage Drinking Prevention Campaign

April is Alcohol Awareness Month

40% of children report that they have tried alcohol by the time they reach eighth grade. The campaign “Talk EARLY. Talk OFTEN. Get Others INVOLVED.”, was recently launched by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in partnership with the Ad Council, to encourage parents to speak with their children about underage drinking.

Alcohol is the most widely used substance of abuse among America’s youth and contributes to the three leading causes of death among 12-20-year-olds (unintentional injury, homicide and suicide).

To learn more about the campaign, which includes PSAs and brochures in English and Spanish, visit the SAMHSA website.

Prescription Drug Misuse and Safe Disposal of Medications

Prescription drug misuse is the fastest growing category of drug abuse nationally among teens. Because of this, it is important that all of us safeguard all needed medications at home and think carefully about how we dispose of unused medications.

At one time, flushing was believed to be the safest way to dispose of medicine because it was thought to protect children and pets from accidental ingestion of unused medication and to decrease the chance of the medication being misused. 
 
Studies have now shown that outdated or unusable drugs that are disposed of by flushing or pouring down a sink enter the environment because wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to remove them.
 
So, how should one dispose of unused medications safely?
 
Do Not Flush! Do Not Pour! The SMARxT Disposal website, sponsored by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the American Pharmacists Association, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, suggests these steps:
 

1. Check with your police department or local board of health to see if your community has a drug collection program.
2. Check to see if your community household hazardous waste program collects medications (they must have law enforcement officials present)
3. If no collection options exist, you can follow these steps:
   a) Remove all personal identification from prescription bottles;  
   b) Mix all unused drugs with coffee grounds, kitty litter, or another undesirable substance, and/or  
   c) Place this mixture in a sealed container before disposing in the trash.

Gloucester Event – May 12th:

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is sponsoring a Northeast Regional Health Dialogue on Medication Drug Disposal Programs on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 in Gloucester.  The Gloucester's Medication Drug Disposal Program, which was funded by a grant from the AGO, will be highlighted. To learn more, please contact Laura Innis at DPH at laura.innis@state.ma.us or 617-624-6021.

The Great Outdoors

Are you still trying to live up to your New Year’s resolution to get in shape in 2010, but having a hard time getting motivated? Springtime in Massachusetts provides a wealth of inexpensive opportunities for individuals and families to get some exercise and enjoy the outdoors. Whether you prefer the land or the sea, the beach or the hills, you can find plenty of opportunities for a workout outdoors.

You will not only find this beneficial for your health, but your wallet as well. You can avoid the costs associated with a health club or even expensive family entertainment. Spending free time outdoors also allows you the opportunity to turn off the television and the computer and cut back on your personal energy usage. Leave the car keys at home and save on gas. You can find suitable entertainment within biking distance of almost anywhere, or maybe your bike ride is the entertainment.

To learn more about what is happening in Massachusetts Great Outdoors, you can also check out the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.