Program Details

Practice Type:	Promising
Program Name:	Car Seat Program
Organization:	Washington County Public Health
Web site:
Overview:	The Washington County Car Seat Program began in 1996 with grant funds from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. The program started with 40 seats provided by the state and has grown to an $11,100 grant used to purchase over 200 seats each year. There are two parts to the car seat program. The first part is the Distribution program. The distribution program provides seats to low-income families living in Washington County for a donation of $10, which is used to purchase additional seats. The participants make an appointment and at that appointment are shown the parts of the seat, why it is important to use the seat correctly, how to use the seat correctly and are given a demonstration on how to do so. The participants are evaluated by demonstrating that they understand by installing the seat before they leave the appointment. The second part of the program is a Car Seat Check. The car seat check event is a community event and is open to residents and non-residents. At the check participants can drive right up and have a seat that they already own checked. The seats are checked for recalls and misuse. If the seat is found to be unsafe to use, a new seat is provided for a small donation. Before the participant leaves the check, all corrections should be made and they should install the seat correctly before leaving. Between the distribution program and the car seat checks, approximately 300 families receive instruction on proper use of the car seat. This is greatly due to the collaboration between Washington County Public Health (WCPH) and other agencies such as WIC and Head Start that work with families that have children under the age of five. Since the beginning of the car seat program in 1996, injuries due to motor vehicle crashes among children under the age of five has decreased by 30% in Washington County.
Year Submitted:	2005
Responsiveness and Innovation:	The distribution program addresses the issue of misuse. Child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% when used correctly. However, misuse reduces effectiveness. More than 90% of child safety seats are used improperly. The program addresses this issue by providing instruction and demonstration with every seat distributed and checked. The program is geared to low-income families, however we can check seats for people who already have a seat and are not low income. In this case a car seat check form records all the data of how we found the seat in the car and what was corrected before the participant leaves. If a seat is found to be unsafe to use, staff then asks for a donation to replace the unsafe seat with a new seat. The distribution program was started back in 1996, with grant funds from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. 40 Seats were provided from the State and with additional funding Public Health was able to purchase and additional 15 seats. All 55 seats were distributed by July of that same year. Since it’s inception, the program has grown from providing 55 seats to over 200 seats. When the program was introduced, the only way people really heard about the program was by word of mouth. Now the health department works closely with other agencies that serve clients with children under the age of seven.
Agency and Community Roles:	WCPH has the biggest role in the distribution program as the grant holders for the program and by contributing staff time to the program. The grant provides money for the seats themselves, but WCPH provides the in-kind staff time. The county has two car seat technicians for the program. As previously stated, the county works closely with other agencies to promote the program. WCPH works very closely with the WIC program to recruit clients for the distribution program. WIC serves clients with children under five, all of which should be in a child safety seat of some form. WIC staff refers clients who ask about car seats or who may have a child reaching a weight limit on their current seat. WCPH provides WIC with brochures on car seats that are visible on their desks. In addition, a flyer on the program is available for WIC staff to give to clients who ask about car seat information. The flyer states that four out of five car seats are not in correctly and that they may be eligible for a low cost car seat. The agency also works with the Social Services Department and Head Start Programs in a similar way. They are provided with flyers that they can give to their clients who need car seats or information regarding car seats. Staff also refers to these programs when people call for the distribution program. If they are not currently receiving WIC, some form of Social Services, or in Head Start we will refer the client to those programs. As part of the grant from the state, staff must also have 2-3 community car seat check events in which anyone from the public can drive up and have their seat inspected. In this case, the seat is inspected and the participant receives the same one on one education about their seat. Prior to leaving the event, the participant demonstrates that they understand by installing the seat themselves. With these events there is much collaboration between the agency that is hosting the event, newspapers, volunteers, etc. Agencies such as Fire Departments, local stores, or civic groups host these events. They provide a location and help with distributing advertising flyers for the event. Newspapers provide free advertising in their community calendar and some even provide a feature story on the event and importance of child passenger safety.
Costs and Expenditures:	Public Health received an $11,100 grant for 2004. This grant allows for the purchase of car seats and some equipment that may be needed for installation or for car seat check events. This grant does not allot money for staff time. Approximately, $5,000 is in-kind for staff time. The county also budgets for injury prevention materials such as car seats, bike helmets, safety materials. The injury prevention amount budgeted is $4,000, of that $4,000, approximately $2,500 is spent on additional car seats. Staff also asks the participants for a $10 donation for each seat provided. If the client does not have the money, or if a referring agency feels the client cannot afford the donation, we waive the donation. The money collected goes towards purchasing additional seats, to keep the program going.
Implementation:	The distribution program addresses the issue of misuse. Child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% when used correctly. However, misuse reduces effectiveness. More than 90% of child safety seats are used improperly. The program addresses this issue by providing instruction and demonstration with every seat distributed and checked. The program is geared to low-income families, however we can check seats for people who already have a seat and are not low income. In this case a car seat check form records all the data of how we found the seat in the car and what was corrected before the participant leaves. If a seat is found to be unsafe to use, staff then asks for a donation to replace the unsafe seat with a new seat. The distribution program was started back in 1996, with grant funds from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. 40 Seats were provided from the State and with additional funding Public Health was able to purchase and additional 15 seats. All 55 seats were distributed by July of that same year. Since it’s inception, the program has grown from providing 55 seats to over 200 seats. When the program was introduced, the only way people really heard about the program was by word of mouth. Now the health department works closely with other agencies that serve clients with children under the age of seven.
Sustainability:
Lessons Learned:

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