The Tioga County Public Health Department is pleased to announce that it has recently been awarded two grants, one by the Community Foundation of South Central New York and one by the Floyd Hooker Foundation. These grants will allow them to continue and expand their Child Passenger Safety Program (CPS) program to Tioga County residents. The CPS program currently operates three permanent fitting stations – one at the health department, one at Owego Police Department and one at Waverly Police Department. The Tioga County Sheriff’s Department will become a new fitting station under the health department’s administration starting in October.
First and foremost, the Tioga County Public Health Department would like to thank their funders for the opportunity to continue our CPS program; their sponsors during the year, such as the Treadway and McDonalds, their referral sources: WIC, PACT, Physician offices and the many others who support the work they do; as well as all of the Technicians for their dedication and sweat to keep children safe. They also thank the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee for continued support.
Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children age one to 13 in the U.S.A. Many times deaths and injuries can be prevented by proper use of car seats, boosters and seat belts. In 2013, 637 children under age 13 in the U.S. could have lived if all of these children had been buckled. From 2006-2009 1,420 people were injured or killed by motor vehicle accidents in Tioga county; 25 were children. From Oct. 1, 2014 to Sept. 31, 2015, of the 180 child restraints (car seats) that were checked for proper installation by the health department’s (CPS) program, less than five percent were installed correctly.
The CPS program provides free child restraints to families in need of car seats that meet the criteria (on some form of public assistance), education and installation; however, anyone can have their seat checked for proper installation, by appointment. Several factors determine if a car seat is appropriate for a child, i.e. selection of the right seat for the child’s age, height and weight. Other factors to be checked include: the harness location, tightness, proper belt path, system of installation and angle of the seat. There are ten nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians that are available to serve Tioga County. These Technicians are the people who complete the installations and work with families to ensure they understand the car seat is properly installed.
Of the seats that were installed incorrectly in Tioga County, nearly all of them were considered “loose” or in a non-locked position, nearly 20 percent of families were using the wrong type of seat for their child, 15 percent were expired, 10 percent had issues with the harness and remaining issues included wrong belt paths, recline angles and use of after-market products. Similar percentages hold true for inspections completed in the program since 2011, indicating that children in Tioga County are not properly restrained in a child seat and parents / caregivers are unaware of the importance of proper use and installation.
Statistics continue to indicate that child restraints save lives. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2012, 212 children (age four and younger) were saved by child restraints. If you are in need of a free car seat, or would like yours checked for proper installation, call Heather at 687-8637.
