| | | | | | | | | | Last-Minute Reminder: Lifesavers CPST Thank You Stop by the Certification table at the Safe Kids Worldwide booth at the Lifesavers Traffic Safety Conference in Tampa and show us your current wallet card (on paper or on your phone/tablet) and you can pick up a limited-edition pin.  Safe travels! Submitted by Kerry Chausmer, Stephanie Heitsch and Debbie Landoskey, Safe Kids Worldwide Team Cert (Washington, D.C., Port Orange, Fla. and Ormond Beach, Fla.) | | | | | | CPST Mission: Protecting Children! As Child Passenger Safety Technicians, we have all been given the privilege to serve families and caregivers, and to be a part of the mission to protect children in and around vehicles. Along with this privilege come responsibilities of being nationally certified. Responsibilities include adhering to policies and procedures, understanding and respecting caregiver choices, and providing technically correct information in a respectful and professional manner. The National Child Passenger Safety Board established the Code of Conduct for Technicians to guide their efforts to support this mission. The CPST Code of Conduct outlines what is expected of CPS Technicians in respect to conduct and applies to all verbal, non-verbal and written communication while interacting with colleagues and caregivers. Along with a description of the Code of Conduct, in Module 2 of the new Technician Guide, is the description of “GOOD, BETTER, BEST.” As a CPS Technician, it is our responsibility to understand and respect caregiver choices. Technicians should support caregiver choices if the car seat manufacturer instructions and state law are followed. Caregiver choices are classified as Good, Better, Best. We should always strive for BEST, while understanding that GOOD still meets the requirements. REMINDER: As a CPST—you should never support a caregiver in either breaking the law or going against car seat or vehicle manufacturer instructions. In cases where the caregiver does not make a safe choice, carefully document the actions on your check form. Always using a checklist with a liability release should be standard practice. We all became technicians and instructors to make a difference in the lives of children. Stay focused on that mission, share your knowledge and support every family you meet as you educate! The CPST Code of Conduct and “Good, Better, Best” can be found at cpsboard.org and on the inside back cover of the Technician Guide. Submitted by Stephanie Heitsch, Safe Kids Worldwide (Port Orange, FL.) | | | | | | New CPS Board Website: Register Today The National Child Passenger Safety Board (NCPSB) website has a new look and new features. If you haven’t yet registered on the new cpsboard.org, please visit us and click on “Register” in the top blue tabs line. One of the main benefits of registering is that you have a history of online CEUs. Once you register, CPSTs can easily reprint CPST CEU certificates of completion. While CPSTs are still strongly encouraged to save a copy of each certificate in case they are audited after recertification, this new option is a result of feedback from the field and the NCPSB is excited to offer this new feature. Please note that the username and password needed to log in on the CPS Board website, cpsboard.org, is different than the username and password used to log into your CPST certification online profile on the CPS Certification website, cert.safekids.org. After completing CEUs, CPSTs still need to log in to their certification profiles at cert.safekids.org and enter CEU information towards recertification. The two websites, CPS Board website and the CPS Certification website, are not connected and CEU information will not auto-populate. Have questions? Find additional information on cpsboard.org along with free online CEU offerings. You can also email Secretariat@cpsboard.org. Submitted by the National Child Passenger Safety Board | | | | | | Continuing Education Units (CEUs) explanation series: Teleconferences and Online Teleconferences are the least utilized CEU option, likely because it is a dated way to share information. A teleconference is a call with a moderator and many callers. Participants call a designated number to listen in on the call. Depending on the format established by the moderator, it may be listen-only or allow interaction by participants. To qualify for CEUs, there must be a formal agenda published in advance and the organizers must confirm your attendance. With the advancements of video conference technology such as Skype, UberConference, JoinMe or BlueJeans, a teleconference turns into a more personalized discussion and still gives group members the ability to engage in the conversation. Interactive visual updates often help engage participants as compared to original voice-only conference calls using telephones (so old school!). Video conferencing platforms offer a variety of options such as the number of members allowed to participate, screen sharing capabilities, the ability to send instant messages and share files during the presentation and more. As a reminder, anyone, not just instructors, can create or deliver a CEU presentation as long as it meets the “Improving CPS Technical Knowledge” requirement, the content delivered is documented in a detailed agenda and every participant has been given proof of their participation through a confirmation email or certificate. So, get creative and join with technicians from anywhere and share your love and passion for CPS…and earn CEUs at the same time! Submit your update for CEU preapproval. Please send any audit questions to cpsaudit@safekids.org. Next Edition: Newsletters/Manuals/Journals Submitted by Debbie Landoskey, Safe Kids Worldwide (Ormond Beach, Fla.) | | | | | | Best Practice: Child Passenger Safety Securement Recommendations for Pre-School and School Age Children on School Buses Safe Kids Worldwide recently coordinated with several CPS experts (Dr. Marilyn Bull and Dr. Joseph O’Neil at Riley Hospital, Denise Donaldson of Safe Ride News, and Charlie Vits, IMMI) to create an easy to read chart for caregivers who transport pre-K kids on school buses. A simple request for information morphed into a more thorough document. The document encourages people to know their state CPS laws and any state or local regulations for CPS and Pre-K kids on school buses. It can be confusing for the provider who is running a childcare business to know all this and do it right every time following the latest best practices. This document creates a way to know “best practices” along with regulations and laws. For example, an ordinance or regulation might require a 4-year-old to be in a booster seat on the bus, even if they are still able to use a harnessed seat or vest. We know that booster seats require a lap and shoulder belt and few school buses are so equipped at this time. Booster seats are not recommended for use on school buses. Perhaps language from a CPS law specific to cars managed to make it into a regulation for a school bus. | | | | So, what can you do with this chart? It could be used to approach state or local regulators to modify language and enable them to incorporate best practices into their guidance. It could be used for a child under age 3 with special transportation needs at an IFSP (Individual Family Support Plan) or an IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting for kids over age 3. Or it could be used if you are asked to assist your local school district with school bus driver training. The letter accompanying the chart that was sent to school bus personnel advised them of the many CPSTs in a state and suggested they contact you with CPS questions. Take a look and tell us what you think. Is it useful? Send comments to Lorrie Walker at lwalker@safekids.org Submitted by Lorrie Walker, Safe Kids Worldwide (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) | | | | | | Non-Approved Includes Vehicle Parts and Accessories, too As CPSTs, we are familiar with being wary of non-approved car seat parts and accessories. Don’t forget that this also applies to car parts! As CPSTs we can only support the use of any accessories or products that are manufacturer-approved for use with their products, be it a car seat or a vehicle. For example, only manufacturer-approved lower anchors should be retrofitted in that vehicle. | | | | | | Tip: Try this when a lap-shoulder belt seems too short for Euro-routing Have you noticed that it’s become more common for RF-only CR instructions to allow European belt routing (aka, Euro-routing) for baseless installations? Euro-routing involves wrapping the shoulder portion of a lap-shoulder belt around the back of the CR as part of installation. When this technique is explicitly allowed in a CR’s owner’s manual, it’s an optional (never required) alternative to standard routing (where only the lap portion of the belt is routed through the CR’s belt path). However, many manufacturers describe Euro-routing as the preferred method, whenever possible, because having the shoulder belt supporting the back of the car seat’s shell adds an additional measure of safety by improving stability and reducing both rotation and rebound of the CR in a crash. Therefore, when allowed in the instructions, it’s worth taking the extra step necessary to install using Euro-routing. And, with the rise in popularity of ridesharing, it’s important for caregivers to be aware of this option, since they're more likely to use a car seat without its base when taking a ride-share. Unfortunately, though, one challenge frequently thwarts success with this method: belt webbing that appears to be too short. That’s why the simple tip that follows can really help. (A video demonstrating this technique can be found at www.saferidenews.com) If a lap-shoulder belt seems to be too short for Euro-routing, try this technique: - Route the lap portion of the belt through the CR belt path guides (across the child’s leg area) according to instructions, but don’t buckle the belt yet.
- Wrap the shoulder portion of the belt around the back of the CR (following model-specific instructions, if any, for using a guide on the back of the CR shell).
- Buckle the belt, and then complete installation, as instructed, by setting the CR to the proper angle and tightening the belt.
By buckling the belt after routing the shoulder portion (not before), you’ll often find that a belt that seemed to be too short for Euro-routing is actually ample. This technique is also less likely to tempt the user to tilt the top of the CR shell forward to enable shoulder belt placement (which can be awkward or even risky if a baby is seated in the CR). When using this method, our local team has yet to find a seat belt that is too short for Euro-routing! Submitted by Denise Donaldson, CPST-I, Safe Ride News Publications (Greenbank, WA) | | | | | | 2020 Safe Kids Heatstroke Prevention Campaign Townhall Join us for the Safe Kids annual townhall webinar on March 10 from 12:45 pm – 1:45 pm ET. Safe Kids and our partners join to share strategies to raise awareness, leverage local partnerships, locate resources, and unify our national messaging. Collaborating locally with your partners and participating in national campaigns such as National Heatstroke Prevention Day on May 1, 2020 are ways we can expand our reach together. Register now for the March 10 town hall webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Submitted by Alexis Kagiliery, Safe Kids Worldwide (Ormond Beach, Fla.) | | | | | | New Heatstroke Resource As a result of a multi-organization collaborative advocacy effort to address pediatric vehicular heatstroke, there is a new resource page available. This new webpage provides links to information from NHTSA, Safe Kids Worldwide, the National Safety Council, NoHeatstroke.org, KidsAndCars.org, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, there are articles from Dr. David Diamond answering the common question of “How Can A Child Be Forgotten?” Visit www.cpsboard.org/heatstroke to view all of the resources available. This year, NHTSA will host a national day of heatstroke awareness on May 1, rather than the previous date of July 31. We invite all advocates to join in addressing this important issue. Submitted by Amy Artuso, National Safety Council (Itasca, Ill.) | | | | | | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Reports The National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA), an office of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is responsible for providing a wide range of analytical and statistical support to NHTSA and the highway safety community at large. Research Note: Seat Belt Use in 2019—Overall Results (DOT HS 812 875)This Research Note provides a summary of findings for 2019 from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) national estimate of seat belt use by adult front seat passengers. The national estimate of seat belt use by adult front-seat passengers increased slightly to 90.7 percent in 2019 from the 89.6 percent observed in 2018. This change is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level of significance. The seat belt use rate represents the percentage of motorists’ time on the road spent wearing seat belts. These results are from the NOPUS, the only survey that provides nationwide probability-based observed data on seat belt use in the United States. The NOPUS is conducted annually by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis. | | | | Police-Reported Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes in 2018 (DOT HS 812 860) In 2018, there were an estimated 6,734,000 police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States, resulting in 36,560 fatalities and 2,710,000 people injured. Among these crashes, less than 1 percent (33,654) were fatal crashes, 28 percent (1,894,000) were injury crashes, and 71 percent (4,807,000) were property damage only (PDO) crashes. The estimated 6,734,000 crashes in 2018 represents a 4.4-percent increase from the 6,453,000 police-reported crashes estimated to have occurred in 2017. This was a statistically significant increase. | | | | | | | | | CEU Resources This section provides information on nationally available continuing education opportunities. We are not able to include information on state or local conferences, training or other technical updates if they cannot be made available nationally. This information is provided as a resource only. Events and activities listed here are not endorsed by Safe Kids Worldwide unless otherwise noted.
CPS Express CEU Corner Submissions: Please e-mail the necessary information (in the format below) to Kerry Chausmer. | | | | | | | | Online Courses A variety of webinars are available online and free of charge. Learn more. | | Upcoming Safe Kids Webinars Car Seat Manufacturer Update: Diono
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
Register Now Car Seat Manufacturer Update: Nuna
Thursday, April 30, 2020
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET Register Now More webinars coming soon! Updates posted on Facebook. | | | For Instructors CPST Month: May is right around the corner Have you registered your CPST course for May yet? Don’t wait! With National CPST Month this May, instructors have already registered 61 courses and we hope to have at least 100 this year. All instructors who teach a Certification course in May will get a lapel pin. Do you have them all since 2014? Don’t break the streak!  | | You’ve Got Mail: Instructor Guides All CPST Instructors and Instructor Candidates should have received their hard copy of the new Instructor Guide (IG). Didn’t get yours? It was sent to the address that you had in your certification profile on December 9. - Log in and double check your official address in your online profile. Update, if necessary.
- If you moved, please see if you can pick up your IG from your previous address.
- If not, contact Safe Kids and we will ship another one to you.
That’s not all… There are many more course materials for you, including all the assessments, PPTS, various guides and forms for you to download from the CPS Board. To access them, log into your online profile and click on Instructor Downloads (#4 in the Action List; note the password as you will have to type it in. You cannot copy and paste). Please be sure to read the Instructor Prep Guide and Planning and Logistics Guide before hosting a course. The National CPS Board welcomes feedback on the new curriculum. Please submit all feedback in the Curriculum Feedback Form on cpsboard.org.Thank you for being a CPST Instructor! | | CPST Curriculum Updates The 2020 National Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification Training is here! We hope that you have received your new Instructor Guide and are enjoying the updated look and information. - Are you receiving the Instructor Update emails?
Sometimes these emails might not reach you due to security servers or the emails may end up in spam/junk folders. If you are a currently certified CPS Instructor and you have not received the Instructor Update emails, please visit the Protected Instructor Materials page through cpsboard.org, or action item #4 in your personal Safe Kids Certification profile. (Be sure to type the password for the protected page, and do not copy and paste.) The Instructor Update emails are posted there as well. - Just over a year ago, the National Child Passenger Safety Board created a PowerPoint to walk CPS Instructors through the anticipated updates to the newly revised curriculum. The 2020 Curriculum PowerPoint has been updated to accurately reflect the new materials and is also available as a webinar. Have a watch-party today with local CPS Instructors to be in the know!
Submitted by the National Child Passenger Safety Board | | | | I Thought You’d Want To Know About… The new curriculum means instructors have to carefully review the content and, though it may be difficult, let some content go. The Instructor Prep Guide has a special note regarding supplemental materials on Page 5 in addition to the message on Page 4. Page 4:  Page 5:  You can provide supplemental information, such as when and how you use a belt shortening clip—if that is something you see in your area. In addition, the NCPSB is preparing a belt shortening clip webinar to supplement the belt shortening clip video for you to refer your techs to. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for the announcement! The NCPSB has a handy reference sheet on the Do’s and Don’ts of Add Ons (must log into the Instructor Download section). The last module includes an action plan so you can share upcoming meetings and technical updates and checkup events at that time. Submitted by the National Child Passenger Safety Board | | | | | | | | Questions? Comments? Concerns? Safe Kids Worldwide
CPS Certification
1255 23rd Street NW, Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20037
CPScert@safekids.org
Phone: 877-366-8154 (toll free) Ideas and Article Submissions Advocates and manufacturers are welcome to submit articles, or suggestions for articles, to the CPS Express! Send your ideas and submissions to kchausmer@safekids.org. All submissions may be edited for content and length. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
