Background
KID was founded in 1998 by two Chicago parents who are professors at the University of Chicago after their son Danny was killed by a crib that had been recalled five years previously. Danny's parents resolved to take action and founded KID. Congressman Bobby L. Rush and Senator Dick Durbin, both of Illinois, held hearings on the topic of dangerous children's toys in June, 2007 at which KID's Executive Director Nancy Cowles testified along with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and others.
In 2005, Illinois passed legislation that required the Illinois Department of Public Health to place children's product recalls on its website as well as to link to the CPSC site
In September, 2007, the head of the CPSC testified on product safety in Congress and one report noted "After years of sparsely attended congressional hearings, Nancy A. Nord, acting chairman of the CPSC, was greeted by a standing-room-only crowd at her September appearance before a Senate subcommittee. By then, retailers had begun retesting their inventory and recalls of lead-laced toys became almost daily events."
KID has won many awards such as the Allstate Safety Leadership Award in 1998, the Civil Justice Leadership Award in 1999, and the Parenting Leaders award in 2003. The founders of KID received the President's Service Award in 2000 for their volunteer service to help solve critical national problems.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission began to act on lead in children's toys in January, 2008. KID's Cowles observed that quicker action in this area "would have made safer products available sooner".
Read more about this topic: Kids In Danger
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