RI is trying hard to teach disadvantaged kids how to swim. Here's its second attempt.

PROVIDENCE − The state Department of Environmental Management is taking a different approach in its effort to provide swim lessons to more children from households of modest means after a previous attempt failed.

The DEM is offering $65,000 in grants to established swim programs so they can provide scholarships to children from low-income homes this summer, the agency announced this week.

The DEM had previously sought vendors to offer swim lessons this summer to children ages 5 to 12 at Lincoln Woods State Park in Lincoln, Goddard Memorial State Park in Warwick and Roger Wheeler State Beach in Narragansett.

When the DEM received no bids for that offer, the agency came up with a new plan, "which is still aimed at making swimming lessons more accessible and helping save lives," according to Evan LaCross, a DEM spokesman.

The funding must be used to provide scholarships, covering 100% of lesson costs, for children and teens under 18 who come from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, the DEM says.

The money comes from an $85,000 line item in the state's fiscal year 2024 budget. The other $20,000 is being spent on lifesaving equipment, such as life rings, at many of DEM’s properties and a paddle-craft safety program, according to LaCross.

Drowning deaths increasing in the US

Drowning deaths in the U.S. are increasing, the DEM said, citing a new report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 4,500 died by drowning each year from 2020 to 2022, which is 500 more per year than in 2019, the DEM noted.

The CDC report found that more than half of adults in the United States have never taken a formal swimming lesson, according to the DEM. The report also shows disparities by race and ethnicity, with two out of three Black adults and three out of four Hispanic adults reporting never having taken a swimming lesson, the DEM said.

Seventy Rhode Islanders drowned between 2019 and 2023 with nine drowning in 2023, the DEM said, citing Rhode Island Department of Health statistics.

DEM Director Terry Gray said, "Our focused goal with the Water Safety Grant Programs is to save lives. We want swimming to be accessible to more Rhode Islanders, and that starts with safety training."

The DEM will accept applications for grants of a minimum of $5,000 and up to $65,000, and the funding will be issued by June 30. Applications will be open until 4 p.m. June 7. For full information on eligibility criteria, details about the program, and to apply, visit dem.ri.gov/swimgrants.