Having just celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission again has allotted money for grants to state and local governments that enact laws for drowning- and entrapment prevention.
The first federal pool and spa safety law is known mostly for requiring entrapment-proof drain covers. But it also created a fund to encourage states to write their own drowning- and entrapment- prevention laws. The grants were meant to help with education, training and enforcement of the laws. CPSC later opened the grant program to local governments.
For this go-round, CPSC expects to provide $1.1 million in two-year grants. It will accept applications for the Pool Safely Grant Program (PSGP) for 90 days, or until April 2. To qualify, the governing bodies must have enacted or amended laws that require certain entrapment- and drowning prevention measures outlined in the VGB Act.