Drowning is the second leading cause of death among children ages 1 to 14, and a serious public health issue in the United States.

Drowning disproportionately affects certain racial and ethnic groups. Black adolescent children, ages 10 to 14 years, are seven times more likely to drown than white children in public pools. Additionally, American Indian and Alaska Native populations have higher drowning death rates than white populations in natural water. Factors that increase the risk of drowning include not being able to swim, having a lack of supervision, and not wearing life jackets, among others. 

Drowning among children is a public health issue that can be prevented through learning basic swimming and water safety skills.

The YMCA of the USA is a leading organization that teaches children of all ages and backgrounds about water safety through its Safety Around Water (SAW) program, focusing on eight swim safety topics such as life jacket use, CPR, pool drain safety, among other relevant topics. YMCA of the USA contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago to evaluate the water safety component of their SAW program called Water Smarts. This project seeks to assess whether the Water Smarts component of the SAW program is achieving its intended goals of improving knowledge and self-efficacy around water safety for children ages 4-14.