INScompanies Blog

Mississippi First State To Implement

New York, November 8, 2006 — The National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) in partnership with State Farm® has undertaken a major new national initiative to improve the economic and financial literacy of the nation’s youth. Mississippi will be the first state to implement the program for all K-12 public schools.

The Mississippi initiative was unveiled today at the U.S. Senator Thad Cochran Forum on American Enterprise, hosted by the Mississippi Council on Economic Education (MCEE) in Jackson, MS. Mississippi leaders Senator Cochran, Governor Haley Barbour and State Superintendent of Education Dr. Hank Bounds participated in the event.

Economic and financial literacy is a front-page issue. “Our nation’s young people stand to inherit a complex and rapidly changing economy and yet too many are unprepared for the challenges ahead,” said Robert Duvall, President and CEO of the NCEE. “How can we talk meaningfully about an ‘ownership society’ and the good old-fashioned American virtues of self-reliance and individual responsibility if people don’t have a basic framework for making sound economic and financial decisions in their lives?”

The multi-year effort will combine professional development for teachers (centered around NCEE’s Virtual Economics® CD-ROM program) and advocacy efforts for greater emphasis on economic education and financial literacy in K-12 education nationwide. Over the course of the three-year initiative, the NCEE will offer professional development for more than 14,000 K-12 teachers in seven states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi and Texas. These teachers will reach more than 1.2 million students annually. In Mississippi alone, more than 6,000 teachers will receive training and reach more than 400,000 students annually.

Mississippi was selected by NCEE and State Farm as the pilot for a statewide rollout for several reasons. Last year, the Virtual Economics program was brought to the attention of Dr. Hank Bounds during MCEE-conducted professional development training programs. Dr. Bounds quickly recognized the potential of this resource and pledged to work with MCEE to help bring it to more Mississippi schools.

The MCEE and the teachers it trained used Virtual Economics to show students how understanding economics can help empower them to improve their own lives – a lesson that took on all too real world consequences in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“I used the lessons in Virtual Economics to help my students understand such issues as using FEMA debit cards wisely, making decisions about temporary housing, helping rebuild the family finances, and understanding the connection between poverty and the specific troubles the hurricane brought to their world,” said Mississippi teacher Pam Carrubba.

“Hard-hit by Katrina, yet striving for education reform, Mississippi will be a showcase for reaching our nation’s young people,” said NCEE’s Duvall. ”Through their teachers, we are giving them the skills they need for success in the real world.”

Pamela P. Smith, President of MCEE said, “Launching this program throughout Mississippi is a terrific opportunity for those of us committed to improving financial literacy through economic education. Mississippi teachers who have been able to use the Virtual Economics CD are excelling and this program will enable us to level the playing field so that this state-of-the-art resource is available statewide.”

For more than 25 years, State Farm has supported NCEE’s work to bring economic education into the nation’s classrooms. “Our support helps NCEE provide quality materials and professional development for K-12 teachers,” said Barbara Cowden, Executive Vice President of State Farm and member of the NCEE Board of Directors. “We are pleased to provide educators the tools and resources needed to help them meet the economic education standards set forth in the ‘No Child Left Behind’ legislation.”

About NCEE

The NCEE is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to improving economic and financial literacy. Both directly and through its unique nationwide network of State Councils and more than 200 university-based Centers for Economic Education, NCEE’s programs reach over 150,000 K-12 teachers and more than 15 million students in more than 70,000 schools each year.

About State Farm

State Farm® insures more cars than any other insurer in North America and is the leading U.S. home insurer. State Farm’s 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve over 74 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.8 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No.22 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca™. 

The first Partners for Child Passenger Safety Fact and Trend Report, released today, presents recent child passenger safety findings from an ongoing research collaboration between The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Companies®. The report, based on confidential interviews provided by State Farm customers, unearths a startling fact: most motor vehicle crashes that involve children happen where parents feel safest — during everyday routines on local roads.

“Everyone has seen horrific highway crashes on the local evening news, but few may consider the simple fact that the majority of crashes involving children occur on local roads and in parking lots,” states Flaura Winston, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator of the Children’s Hospital/State Farm report. “Parents must remain vigilant about child passenger safety at all times, using age-appropriate seating and restraints for children 12 and younger. No one is immune from a car crash.”

Crash Course on Auto Accidents Involving Children

Motor vehicle crashes can happen to anyone, any time, anywhere. Tapping into the largest source of data on children in motor vehicle crashes, the PCPS Fact and Trend Report identifies characteristics of crashes involving children. Did you know:

- Eighty percent of crashes took place 20 minutes or less from home
- Nearly three out of four crashes (73 percent) happen between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
- More than half of crashes occur at speeds less than 45 MPH
- Only 35 percent of crashes took place at an intersection

While motor vehicle crashes are the leading killer of children older than age one in the United States, parents can take precautionary, life-saving measures to ensure safe transport of their children. Following the guidelines for age- and size-appropriate restraint can reduce the risk of serious injury by more than three times, according to previously published research from PCPS. And, the combination of rear seating (children age 12 and younger) and restraint use reduces the risk of injury to less than two percent.

“The PCPS Fact and Trend Report serves as a stark reminder that motor vehicle crashes do happen under common and familiar conditions, giving us reasons to constantly put into practice our knowledge of age-appropriate seating and restraints,” says Susan Hood, vice president of claims, State Farm. “Parents must act daily to protect their child, meaning it’s their responsibility to guarantee their child’s safety for every car ride. It could save a child’s life. It could save their child’s life.”

To learn more about protecting children in crashes, visit www.chop.edu/carseat. And to download the complete Partners for Child Passenger Safety Fact and Trend Report, visit www.traumalink.chop.edu.

About Partners for Child Passenger Safety

Partners for Child Passenger Safety is a research collaboration between The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm. As of February 2005, PCPS has created a database containing information on more than 377,000 crashes involving more than 557,000 children from birth through age 15 years. It is the largest source of data on children in motor vehicle crashes.

About State Farm®

State Farm® insures more cars than any other insurer in North America and is the leading U.S. home insurer. State Farm’s 17,000 agents and 76,000 employees serve nearly 73 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada. State Farm also offers financial services products. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 18 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or Canada ,statefarm.ca.

About The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation’s first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric health care professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children’s Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking second in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 430-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit www.chop.edu.

Contacts:
State Farm
One State Farm Plaza
Bloomington, IL 61710
Xochitl Yañez
1-309-766-0625
statefarm.com® Allison Gerber
GolinHarris
1-312-729-4237
agerber@golinharris.com Suzanne Hill
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
1-267-426-6067
hillsu@email.chop.edu  

The arrival of fall marks the beginning of a new football season, a new holiday season and the start of another deer season. The migrating and mating season for deer across the United States usually runs from October through December - a season that proves deadly for many deer and motorists alike every year.

Some states experience more collisions with deer than others. According to claim statistics from State Farm - which insures more vehicles than any other company in the United States - the states with the highest number of accidents involving deer between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005 were:

Pennsylvania
Michigan
Illinois
Ohio
Georgia
Minnesota
Virginia
Indiana
Texas
Wisconsin

Drivers in these states, and all others, who heed some helpful tips, can avoid becoming involved in one of the estimated 1.5 million vehicle-deer collisions that take place across the United States each year. These alarming numbers of accidents kill more than 150 motorists each year and result in more than $1.1 billion in vehicle damage. A recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report recently revealed that vehicle-animal collisions rose 24 percent in 2000-01 when compared with 1992-93 (NHTSA does not make distinctions on the type of animal).

Even more alarming are recent studies that show the deer population is growing exponentially across the United States. This means deer, many of which are being displaced by urban sprawl, are left wandering as they seek a mate and flee hunters, often leading them on to busy roads.

Several remedies have been proposed and studied to help mitigate the dangers of vehicle-deer collisions. One such study included the use of radar to detect deer movement near roads, and when a deer was detected, an active deer crossing sign was illuminated. Other studies have focused on keeping deer out of the roadway through long runs of eight-foot-tall chain link fencing that keep deer confined and out of the roadway.

“While research has revealed several innovative ways to deter deer from entering the roadways and alerting drivers to the dangers of deer in the area, there will always remain a constant danger of vehicle-deer collisions,” said John Nepomuceno, Research Administrator for State Farm. “Undoubtedly, the best way to avoid deer-vehicle collisions is through attentive driving behavior.”

Driver’s wishing to avoid vehicle-deer collisions should:

Remain aware of posted deer crossing signs. These signs are placed in known active deer crossing areas.

Be aware that deer are most active during the early evening.

At night, use high-beam headlamps as much as possible to illuminate the sides of the road where deer can linger.

Be aware that deer often move in packs - if you see one deer, there is a good chance several more are just a few yards behind.

Do not rely on car-mounted “deer whistles.” Studies have shown deer are not affected by this deterrence method.

If a collision with a deer seems inevitable, it may be best not to swerve. The risk of personal injury is greatly increased by swerving which can place you in the path of oncoming vehicles or may cause you to lose control of your vehicle.

By following these simple steps, motorists may avoid becoming involved in deer-vehicle collisions this fall.

About State Farm
State Farm® insures more cars than any other insurer in North America and is the leading U.S. home insurer. State Farm’s 17,000 agents and 69,000 employees serve nearly 73 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada . State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No.19 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca.