The Safe States Alliance recently received an award for their exceptional support of the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) at the NVDRS National Conference in Milwaukee, WI. The award, called the “NVDRS Partner Award,” recognized the Alliance’s efforts to develop and improve the NVDRS as a valuable resource for collecting data on violent deaths. Paul Bonta, Senior Policy Consultant for Safe States, accepted the award on behalf of the Alliance and its members.
Richard Hamburg, Executive Director for Safe States, expressed gratitude for the award and stated that the Alliance’s work is far from over. Safe States will continue to collaborate with national partners and create a workgroup focused on securing more resources for program infrastructure, growth, and innovation.
The NVDRS is a state-based surveillance system that collects data from multiple sources, including death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, law enforcement reports, and toxicology reports, to create a comprehensive picture of the circumstances surrounding violent deaths. This system provides valuable information about violent deaths, including relationship problems, mental health conditions and treatment, toxicology results, and life stressors. Quality data is critical to developing prevention programs and initiatives at a time when instances of violence are on the rise.
For the past decade, Safe States has been a crucial partner in the implementation and expansion of the NVDRS, which is now operational in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Safe States has been instrumental in educating policymakers on the need for continued and expanded funding and developing resources to ensure states have the necessary tools to maintain a robust program. This evidence-based approach informs the design and implementation of state-based violence prevention programs.
Highlighting collective lessons learned, Safe States published, “NVDRS Following Nationwide Implementation – A Review of the History, Successes and Challenges” in 2020.”
