PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In recent years, motor
vehicle crash deaths in the Southeastern statesAlabama, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee,
have grown disproportionately in comparison to national population statistics.
Fatal Analysis Reporting System data for 1997 indicated that approximately
60 percent of children fatally injured in traffic crashes in the Southeastern
states were unrestrained. Although reliable data documenting the improper
use of restraint devices in crashes in this region is not collected,
traffic safety officials believed that misuse of protective devices
contributed to the high fatality and injury rates among children. Injury
prevention specialists in the health and highway safety communities
recognized the need to educate the public on Child Passenger Safety
(CPS) issues.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In 1998, the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Region IV office joined
with the Southeast Region Injury Control Network to develop a Collaborative
Injury Prevention Effort, designed to bring professionals in child passenger
safety together to discuss strategies for reducing child passenger crash
fatalities, and to adopt region-wide CPS training standards for courses.
Specific objectives of the program were to:
- Establish guidelines
on competency and skill levels for practitioners completing short
courses in CPS
- Develop a checklist for
basic content elements that must be incorporated in 4-hour, 8-hour
and 2-day CPS training
- Offer specific recommendations
on a sample curriculum/course outline designed for presentation in
the Southeastern states
- Identify possible joint
state projects to allow sharing of resources and expertise, to address
the CPS issue
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In September, 1999 a group
of child safety experts, State Highway Safety Office occupant protection
coordinators, state health department injury prevention staff, representatives
from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and CDC-funded Injury Prevention
Research Centers met to address the need for continuity in training
on child passenger safety. Meeting themes included consensus building,
encouraging continuity and fostering collaboration in CPS training.
Child passenger safety experts in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and
South Carolina developed 4-hour, 8-hour and 2-day CPS training courses
to respond to requests for courses that did not require the level of
expertise presented in NHTSA's 32-hour standardized technician course.
A 30-member review team assessed the course curriculum for content,
clarity, technical accuracy and support materials. This team also critiqued
NHTSA's International Association of Chiefs of Police Course, Operation
Kids. Team members outlined their recommendations for the assigned
course and developed practitioners' guidelines. The Passenger Safety
Practitioners' guidelines provided training objectives for each course
and outlined parameters for skill level and function descriptions for
child passenger safety practitioners.
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