SHELBY (Safety, Health, Education and Land Use decisions on Behalf of children and Youth) is a Web-based application for researching, drafting, sharing, and publishing/distributing child impact statements. This tool, first designed in 2008 and redesigned and developed in 09-10, takes the user through the process of considering impacts, alternatives, and mitigating measures of proposed (ex ante) local policies. This tool does not, however, follow more widely accepted CRIA guidelines found in this knowledge base. Still, the writing tools, information features, guided thought process, and broad technical capabilities of the software offer useful insights for those developing CRIA tools, templates or guides for use by multiple agencies or with users whose knowledge about children’s rights and child impact determinants is limited.
SHELBY was used by the governments of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, USA, to draft approximately 150 child impact statements from 2009 to 2014, when Shelby County reversed its decision to require child impact statements on proposed resolutions and ordinances. The project went largely unfunded by the local governments from 2012 to 2014. The site was moved to a “bare bones” hosting platform in 2015, where it resides more or less in storage. Some technical glitches may therefore exist, and the data contents are dated, but you can still access the site by going to https://cma-shelbychildimpact.herokuapp.com/
For more information on SHELBY, contact Michael Schmidt at mschmidt@memphis.edu
Keywords: Template or tool,