To assist those technicians in hard-to-reach areas with direct-observation re-certification requirements, any currently certified instructor may choose to designate a technician to serve as his or her proxy for observation of another individual’s seat check installations. 

This option is available at the discretion of the instructor, and there is absolutely no requirement that instructors participate in this option.  The first choice of the certifying body is that the instructor directly observes the seat checks.

Instructors, please carefully read the policy and procedures manual regarding the option of utilizing technician-proxies.

You may re-certify up to four months before your certification expiration date.

Seat checks may be logged at any time during your certification cycle and must be approved before you can register for re-certification.

You must complete registration no later than your certification expiration date.

Once your re-certification registration is processed, you will have 30 days to complete the online exam.

The test does not have to be completed by your certification expiration date.

Teaching hours are based on the number of hours of lecture and participation in hands-on skills exercises and testing.  You will need to round to the nearest whole hour.  Just being in the classroom does not qualify for teaching hours.

Example 1: I am a lead instructor with no lecture, but I participate in eight hours of hands-on work.  I earn eight hours of teaching hours.

Example 2: I am an assisting (non-lead) instructor with five hours of lecture and 10 hours of hands-on work.   I earn 15 hours of teaching hours.

Please contact Customer Service to check your teaching hours!

If you need to log hours taught during your certification cycle before March 2004, send an email to Kerry Chausmer with the following:

1. Your name
2. Certification ID number
3. Course dates
4. Course location(s)
5. Lead instructor(s)
6. Number of hours taught/hands-on
7. Number of hours mentored

Please do not send agendas!

Several instructors expressed concern about the February CPS Express that we (Georgia) appeared to advocate for "mock" sign-offs.  We work very hard to meet the certification standard for seat check sign-offs by observing technicians working with a parent in their vehicle.

Although we use the "mock" or simulated scenarios, it is not our preferred method to assess a technician's communication or technical skills.  Many of our CPS Technicians live in rural areas, do not have access to CPST instructors or are recipients of grants that provide a much-needed educational service to their communities.  We would love to go around the state to offer child safety seat check up events, but that is not possible in some cases. 

The CPS Seat Check Guidelines (Under Policies:  General Information Instructor Verification) state that -

“The primary purpose of instructor verification of seat check activity required for re-certification is observation of your interaction with parents and children.  The verifying instructor should feel confident in your ability to communicate accurate information to a parent or caregiver and should double-check that your installation and paperwork are appropriate and correct.

Direct observation helps ensure that communication with parents is accurate and consistent with the information and methodologies detailed in the standardized curriculum.  The ideal has always been instructor observation of seat checks.”

At times there is insufficient availability of CPS instructors to allow for sign-off in the manner that the policy suggests.  In this case, if an actual caregiver is not available, the CPS instructor may choose a simulated scenario, with a colleague acting out the part of the parent.

Submitted by:   Sharon Conrad, CPST Instructor
Public Health Educator
Georgia’s Division of Pubic Health Injury Prevention Section

We are starting a new section of this newsletter highlighting trivia and facts about child passenger safety. Please submit your ideas to Kerry Chausmer. Be sure to include how you would like your name to appear.

Answers may be found at the end of this edition of the CPS Express!

1. What are the two common methods for manufacturing the plastic portion of car seats?
    
   Submitted by Mike James  (Huntsville, Ala.)
   
2. What seat, manufactured in 1984, came with a top tether, cloth harness clip with a snap closure, and padded front bar in addition to the internal harness?

          Submitted by Brian Hannigan (Miami, Fla.)

Help keep your class organized by filing your safety seat manufacturer instructions. We all know they don't "stay" with their respective seats, so we put them in large envelopes according to manufacturer. Some are filed by "type" as well (e.g. Evenflo convertibles, Evenflo combos, Britax all). We box all the envelopes in one carton with handles. It's one more box to carry, but it makes life easier.

Submitted by Nancy Delaney (Detroit, Mich.)

The 2004 Participant’s Manual for the National Standardized Child Passenger Safety Training Program is available for $35. The price includes shipping to the lower 48 states. Order form will be available at http://www.800bucklup.org/.

To order in bulk, for shipping costs on orders sent outside the continental U.S. or for more information, call (425) 828-8975 or e-mail office@800BUCKLUP.org.

The Safety Restraint Coalition is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and proceeds will support Washington’s child passenger safety programs.

NOTE: You may still download the current CPS technician manual from the National CPS Board.

While most activities related to child passenger safety are covered by an employer or by the agency sponsoring the event or training, there are those who need to carry their own professional liability insurance. SAFE KIDS, as the certifying body for the National Standardized Child Passenger Safety Training Program, does not offer liability insurance for individual technicians and instructors.

Healthcare Providers Service Organization, a nationwide insurance provider for more than 25 years, does offer such a policy for nationally certified child passenger safety technicians.    The insurance is available to individuals who are permanently employed in a related field or who work solely on a volunteer basis and receive no remuneration for any CPS activities in which they participate.  As of September 2004, the insurance is no longer available for individuals who are self-employed, working in any field related to child passenger safety.

The annual premium for an employed or volunteer CPST is approximately $85.00 per year. Application can be made online at http://www.hpso.com/, or call 800-982-9491.

NOTE: Liability insurance is (1) not required and (2) SAFE KIDS is not affiliated with this agency.

Submitted by Ces Murphy, West Coast Field Organizer
National SAFE KIDS Campaign

No.  The hours must be taught during the current certification cycle. 

For example, if you re-certify in January 2005 for your certification cycle of March 1, 2003, to March 1, 2005, and you teach a course in February 2004, the hours can be credited only for the cycle you are in (2003-2005), not the next one.

1. What are the two common methods for manufacturing the plastic portion of car seats? Liquid plastic poured into a mold and blow molded. The Breverra and the Husky are blow-molded car seats.
   
2. What seat, manufactured in 1984, came with a top tether, cloth harness clip with a snap closure, and padded front bar in addition to the internal harness? The Strolee
   

SAFE KIDS
CPS Certification
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Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20004

Phone: 877-366-8154 (toll free)
Fax: 202-393-2072
cps.certification@safekids.org