In a bid to reduce firearm-related injuries, deaths and suicides among children, child welfare agencies across New York are now distributing gun locks to families in their local communities.
Firearm-related injuries remain the leading cause of death for children in the United States, prompting the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to do what it can to bring down the number of these fatalities. The agency launched a pilot program in 2024 and completed its second phase this summer. It has now supplied almost 9,500 locks to local Departments of Social Services, according to state officials.
“The gun lock initiative is a simple and effective way to keep firearms out of the hands of children,” office spokesperson Jennifer Whitson said in an emailed statement. “Access to firearms by children is extremely dangerous, especially for those who are experiencing suicidal ideation.”
Whitson added that to date, her agency has received positive feedback from child protective specialists — frontline workers who conduct investigations in family homes and must check whether guns are safely stored.
To date, 12 child fatality review teams and 51 counties including Broome, Genesee, and Schenectady have received these free shipments of 18-inch cable-style gun locks from the state agency, which used funding from the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Schenectady County’s Department of Social Services spokesperson, Erin Laiacona, said the initiative is a “critical resource” to reduce the risk of firearm-related accidents. Her county received 150 gun locks.
“While no locks have been distributed yet since their arrival over the summer, our team is ready to provide them to families as needed to enhance safety in our community,” Laiacona said over email.
Child Protective Specialist Ed Guidry praised the design of the locks — guns have to be unloaded while the lock is secured, which reduces the chance of accidental injuries.
“We hope that caseworkers will identify when there is a child at risk of suicide, ask if there are any guns in the home, and distribute the locks if parents refuse to store the guns at another location until the crisis is over,” Guidry, who works in child fatality prevention, stated in an agency newsletter.
The state has made other strides to reduce firearm-related deaths as well. For the second time this year, state lawmakers have introduced legislation that would track deaths of minors due to guns and establish violations for neglecting to safely store rifles, shotguns and firearms in homes with minors.
And last year, the Office of Children and Family Services sent an informational letter detailing suicide reduction strategies to local child welfare agencies. The letter highlighted vulnerable populations that were at heightened risk of suicide — Black, LGBTQ+ and homeless youth. A supply of free gun locks is especially valuable for rural counties in the state, Whitson said. That view is shared by social services staff in Clinton County and Essex County, where hunting and firearm ownership are prevalent.
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