8.2 Identify Existing Car Seat Programs in Your Community

Before you develop a child safety seat distribution program of your own, be sure to determine if there are already distribution programs in your area. You may not want to duplicate a service that is already being provided. Your community may be eligible to receive services from an existing program.  To find these programs, first, look for local CPS technicians working in your community. Second, make inquiries at various local organizations.
First Step: Locate a CPS Tech in Your Area

Since child safety seat distribution programs should be operated by CPS techs, contacting a local Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPS tech) is a good place to start. To find a CPS tech in your area, visit the Safe Kids website at http://www.safekids.org.  At the bottom of the page, under Resources, click on the “CPS Certification” link. From there, you will need to click the link “Find a tech” and specify a search area such as a city, county, or zip code.  You will be taken to a page that provides names and contact information for CPS technicians in the area you specified. If no CPS technicians come up in your search, you may want to broaden your search area. CPS tech instructors update this when new graduates become techs, so you may want to re-check this periodically.

Another option for searching out what is being offered to your community is to look for car seat inspection sites on the Parent Central website http://www.safercar.gov/cpsApp/cps/index.htm. Locate the section on Car Seats and then look for “get your seat inspected”. This section allows for you to search for inspection sites in your area.

Second Step: Additional Places to Contact

If your search for CPS techs is not fruitful, you can contact places that may host or partner with existing distribution programs. Even if you do not find an existing distribution program, contacting these organizations is an opportunity to feel out potential partnerships if you end up creating your own distribution program.

Places to contact about existing child safety seat distribution programs include:

  • Tribal clinic
  • WIC/MCH
  • Police department
  • The county
  • Fire department
  • Hospitals
  • Health departments
  • State transportation departments
  • The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Schools
  • Head Start
  • Day care

Here is a sample script that you can use or modify to contact a partner organization.

Sample script for contacting additional places“Hi, I’m ___ ________from the ___[tribe or organization]_______. We’re looking to partner with a child safety seat distribution program. Does your organization currently work with a child passenger safety technician or host a distribution program? …”

 

Alternatively, you can use a  letter  and mail or email potential partner organizations or use the letter as script for a phone conversation.

[Letter]