The Child Passenger Safety Outreach and Education Program provides community education and general information about child passenger safety including:  Proper use and installation of child safety seats. Trainings for health care and teaching professionals, community service program staff, childcare providers and parents. Referrals to community programs that provider child safety seats for low-income families. Children must be properly secured in a child passenger restraint system (car seat/booster) IN THE BACK SEAT until at least 8 years.  Click here for more information Most children do not fit properly in a seat belt until at least 8 years of age or 4’9” tall. For this reason, parents and caregivers should do a simple 5-point test on all children before graduating them out of a booster seat to the lap-shoulder belt.

Five Point Safety Test for proper safety belt use: 

• Can the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
• Do the child’s knees bend comfortably over the front edge of the auto seat?
• Does the lap belt fit low on the hips, touching the thighs?
• Does the shoulder belt fit securely and comfortably between the neck and shoulder?
•   Can the child stay seated like this for the entire trip?

If the answer to any of the test questions is NO, the child is NOT ready to be safely transported in the seat belt only, and should continue to ride in a booster or other appropriate child safety seat.

REMEMBER these important safety points:

• The back seat is the safest place for all passengers, especially for children under 13 years.
• Airbags and children do not mix!  Never, under any circumstances, put a rear-facing seat in front of an active airbag.
• Keep babies rear-facing to at least one year AND 20 pounds.  Many convertible seats can be used rear-facing up to 30 or 35 pounds, which is much safer for the toddler, in the event of a crash.

Safe Kids Chapter of Santa Cruz County is a local group whose mission is to reduce motor vehicle related deaths and injuries among children in Santa Cruz County, through public education, advocacy and child passenger safety programs and services.  Lead agency for Safe Kids Santa Cruz County is the Health Services Agency, and affiliate agencies include local fire and law enforcement departments, hospitals, family service organizations, health and child care providers and other professionals and individuals.  For more information about Safe Kids and local child passenger safety efforts, please call 454-5477.

If you have questions regarding the proper installation and use of child passenger safety seats, or would like to set up an appointment to have your child safety seat checked or for a group training or presentation, please call 454-5477.

Child passenger safety program sites within Santa Cruz County

Check out these web sites for more information on child passenger safety:

·         www.carseat.org A web site that answers the questions: Is your car seat safe? Has it been recalled? What is the proper way to install a car seat? Also has printable handouts for parents and caregivers.

·         National Highway Traffic Safety Administration "Child Safety" Web Site This website provides information, reports, instructions, reviews of products and other information regarding child safety in vehicles.  [web address needs to be updated to go directly to the right page]

·         www.dhs.ca.gov/epic/cps/ California Dept. of Health Services Vehicle Occupant Safety Program website has information on car seat basics, laws and regulations, training courses and injury data.

·         www.safekids.org The main website of Safe Kids, a national and worldwide organization dedicated to reducing and preventing unintentional childhood injuries and deaths.

·         www.kidsplates.org Buy a license plate that lets the world know you're a . For the first time, a new specialty license plate lets you use any one of four symbols , ,  or  to create your own personal message.  Proceeds from CA Kids’ Plates are distributed at the local level through grants for child injury and abuse prevention efforts, and child care health and safety training.  CA Kids Plates has provided over $100,000 in grant funding for child passenger, bicycle and pedestrian safety projects in Santa Cruz County! 

Buy a CA Kids’ Plate and make your mark for children!

   Mailing Address: County of Santa Cruz  Health Services Agency
   1080 Emeline Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 | Phone: 831 454 4000 | Fax: 831 454 4770
   Hearing Impaired TDD: 831 454 2123 | copyright© 2000 County of Santa Cruz