The Safe Life Project For Children With Disabilities was funded by the U.S. Department of Education to develop and implement an effective personal safety, abuse awareness, and reporting training program for students with developmental disabilities. The goal of the Safe Life Project is to reduce the risk of victimization and re-victimization of students with developmental disabilities. The project developed age-appropriate curricula and educational products while providing students with lessons on personal safety and abuse awareness. Students were tested in their daily environments to see if they applied skills that they had learned. The project curricula includes a component for disseminating information to families through newsletters. In collaboration with Safe Life Coalition, trainings and workshops are available to educators, agencies, families, and students with developmental disabilities.

Two special education teachers from the Sacramento City Unified School District and one professor from San Jose State University directed the Safe Life Project. The Project Directors believe that schools can have a significant effect in reducing the risk of victimization and re-victimization of individuals with developmental disabilities. The Project Directors utilized Participatory Action Research, a process which involves working together with culturally diverse groups, including students with disabilities, families, school personnel, service providers, and other stakeholders, in order to obtain suggestions and feedback throughout the development of the project.  The Safe Life Project has national and regional consultants that include students with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, persons from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and persons with expertise in many different areas. The Project Directors are interested in what individuals with disabilities, families, and other significant people have to say about personal safety, abuse awareness, and reporting abuse for students with developmental disabilities.