Tips for working with your selected sub-group:
- Spend some time learning unique needs and concerns of your sub-population
- Discover what obstacles prevent or hinder this group from using child passenger restraints
- Find where to get information that your audience needs to know
- Develop a tailored presentation or training program targeting your subgroup
- Develop or find tools and media to help get information to your audience
- How to identify resources for your subgroup to get help with installing, selecting and/or purchasing child safety seats
One tribe found that one of their high risk sub-populations was non-parent drivers. They discovered these specific obstacles non-parent drivers had with using and installing safety seats:
- Could not afford to purchase safety seats
- Parents not leaving safety seats with their children when the child is riding with someone else
- Not knowing what seat is best for each child’s size and age
- Not being able to install correctly due to lack of mobility or strength
- Not knowing the correct way to install each seat into different vehicles
- Now knowing the laws and recommendations for child passenger safety
- Not knowing where to go for help
Working with Elders: A Real Tribal Example
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
[Hi, I’m Brandy, a child passenger safety technician at the Grand Ronde Tribe. After we found out that Elders were at high risk for having children improperly restrained, I decided to spend some time working with Tribal Elders so they would be more comfortable using child safety seats. I had personally relied on my own parents to transport my children while I was working, so I had some idea of the challenges grandparents face with using child safety seats. I had previously been employed by Elder Housing, so I already knew who to talk to to get started. Before I developed my plan, I met with the Elder’s Committee to find out how I could best serve our Elders. The committee suggested educational luncheons with hands-on presentations. So, that’s what I did. I worked with Elders at the Senior Center, doing educational sessions and giving hands-on demonstrations on installing and using child safety seats. I also developed an educational powerpoint, showed videos, developed posters, billboards, and PSAs showing Elders properly securing children in child safety seats. I have so much love and respect for our Elders, and was honored to share with them my knowledge and passion for child safety.]
Things you can use to help get information out to non-parent drivers
- Have a presentation in the community, inviting all types of non-parents drivers (attach outline of a presentation) (also pictures of the props used for presentation)
- Put up posters in areas that you think non-parent drivers will see them most frequently (copy of posters attached)
- Produce a PSA video and have local TV stations and radio stations play it. (Copy of PSA video and radio attached)
- Speak with schools and other departments to have them hand out brochures, window clings and stickers to help get information out. (Copy of window clings and brochures attached)
- Have more people from different fields and departments in your organization/company or community get certified as a CPS Tech.
- Speak with the different departments and/or people to have them set up policy or a system that will allow for them to reach out to those non-parent drivers and the Parents too.
- Push for enforcement; work with the police department to make sure that child safety seat use is a priority.
- Get involved in the follow through. Talk with your local police department and see how they are cracking down and enforcing the laws of safety seats.
- Find out what they are doing with the fines they collect for the tickets and fines they are handing out for violation of the laws.
- Suggest that maybe for first time offenders they can take a course in child safety seat laws and recommendations, instead of the fine. Then with the fines they do collect maybe use a percent of the moneys to purchase seats that can be given to those in need (not just parents but non-parent drivers as well).
- Set up car seat clinics in the community. Talk with your local fire departments and police departments you can even get your social services and schools involved.
Helpful materials for Child Passenger Education events
1.Safety Training Dolls
Having the proper training tool to demonstrate how children should be properly secured in a car seat can reduce the risk of death and injury and increase the number of children’s lives saved. Handmade dolls or commercial dolls may be used if they meet car seat height requirements. Examples of commercial dolls for CPS Tech use are Huggable Images’ car seat safety training dolls http://huggableimages.com/safety-training-dolls. These dollars are specifically designed for CPS training. Other characteristics of these dolls include:
- Are a cost effective solution for Child Passenger Safety training
- Are easily transported given the largest doll weighs less than 10 lbs.
- Have a firm torso that doesn’t collapse during seat belt demonstration
- Have varied skin tones to represent diverse ethnicities
- Can be fully customized for your specific need.
2. Seat belt and latch plate demonstration kits
Demonstration kits come equipped with the varieties of safety belt types that might be in passenger vehicles. Kits typically include 3 types of belt retractors, different types of latch plates, and practice belt webbing. These kits give class participants hands on practice with the safety belt systems that might occur in different vehicles. Safety2Go, http://www.safety2go.com/products/miscellaneous/m.products/132/view/21, provides demonstration kits for CPS Techs.
3. Car seat demos
4. Paper Materials: (Find site for paper materials) Handouts
5. Growth Chart (so parents can see how tall 4’9″ looks)
6. Technician Toolkit (Facebook link): https://www.facebook.com/TheTechnicianToolKit
7. Becca’s Tips or Staff Picks:
- Handouts
- Distribution flyer (link to Distribution module)
- Actual car seats
- Cradleboard
- Vehicle/Car Seat manuals