CPS Board Membership Application Process Reopened
The membership committee of the National Child Passenger Safety Board has announced that the membership application process for the 2006 Board has been reopened for three positions. Completed applications must be received by mail by 5:00 p.m. EST, February 24, 2006.
Applications for Board membership are being sought in the following categories:
- Insurance Industry (one vacancy) - Candidate must represent an insurance organization or association with national outreach.
- Injury Prevention / Public Health (two vacancies) - REVISED
Candidate must work for an organization with statewide reach or influence and have experience developing and coordinating injury prevention programs.
Terms for open positions will begin immediately, upon notification to and position acceptance of qualified candidates.
Positions terms end December 31, 2007.
The link to the membership application, review process and invitation can be found through the "Recent Additions and Updates" section of the cpsboard.org home page: http://www.cpsboard.org
Policies and Procedures Manual Updated
The P&P on the Web site will be updated by the end of the week. It will also available as a downloadable .pdf under Resources. There are so many updates, including the new organization management component and Spanish language certification course, that no replacement pages are provided.
Lifesavers Conference Needs Volunteers for Practice Child Restraint Installations
Lifesavers offers a variety of workshops and pre-conference sessions for certified technicians and technician-instructors. Each year, the Lifesavers Conference has become even more relevant and timely, providing a forum that delivers common-sense solutions to today's critical highway safety problems.
A variety of vehicles will be displayed in a separate section of the exhibit area and staffed by instructor volunteers to provide further education for attendees. In addition to installing various child restraints and practicing newer technologies such as LATCH, this will provide CPS technicians the opportunity to demonstrate their practical skills and have them verified by instructors for recertification.
If you are interested in volunteering one hour of your time as an instructor, please contact Christene Jennings.
Safe Kids Buckle Up Senior Checkers Are Not Associated with Certification
The Safe Kids Buckle Up program is completely separate from the CPS certification program. Because the certification program must stand alone, it does not automatically update your SKBU information, such as your senior checker status or expiration date. Please follow the SKBU requirements to update your information. As separate entity from SKBU, the CPS Certification program does not include SKBU information in your online profile.
CPS Certification does not recognize “senior checkers”. The Senior Checker position is unique to the Safe Kids Buckle Up program. They are responsible for ensuring that all technicians fully complete the standardized Safe Kids checklist. To learn more about Senior Checker requirements please contact your Safe Kids Coalition Coordinator.
The list of approved Senior Checkers on file with Safe Kids Buckle Up only displays those Senior Checkers with up-to-date profiles. Updating your CPS Certification profile does NOT automatically update your SKBU Senior Checker Profile. If your certification information changes, you must resubmit a Senior Checker application. To view approved Buckle Up Senior Checkers please contact your Coalition Coordinator or access the Safe Kids Coalition Extranet (password is needed). If you do are not on the approved Senior Checker list or would like to become a Safe Kids Senior Checker please submit a Senior Checker application to Safe Kids Worldwide (please not that all applications must be signed by a Safe Kids Coalition Coordinator).
Please contact Marcela Tozzini with any questions about senior checkers. Please do not contact CPS Customer Service.
CPS Customer Service Survey Available
Safe Kids is interested in your experiences with our CPS Customer Service by toll-free phone (877-366-8154) and e-mail (cps.certification@safekids.org). Please take a few minutes to complete the survey available on the certification Web site under Contact Us.
This 20-question survey should take no more than five minutes to complete. There is no limit to the number of times you can share your opinions with us. Thank you for helping us improve our customer service.
Re-Certification Reminder
Don’t Risk Your Certification—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.
If your test is never started, inadvertently submitted or incomplete when the term expires, it will be graded and you won’t get your money refunded.
TECH UPDATE Distribution (reprint from January 1 CPS Express)
For the past few years, the TECH UPDATE printed newsletter has been mailed to all certified technicians and instructors as one of the benefits of certification. This newsletter is a means of staying up-to-date on advances in the child passenger safety field, as well as changes in the administration of the training and certification program.
As we continue to improve the program, the TECH UPDATE will only be available electronically beginning with the upcoming spring edition. It will be e-mailed to all currently certified individuals, available for download on the
Because some technicians may not have easy access to a computer or printer, limited hard copies will be available. Please contact Deborah Tromlbey at Trombled@nsc.org for more information.
Spread the Word! If you are a
Partners for Child Passenger Safety is conducting a brief (approximately 10-minute) online questionnaire to help us tap into your experiences as a
We know from the P
The Partners for Child Passenger Safety study at The Children's
Please go to this Web site to take the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=119281519269
If you have any questions, contact Tracey Durham at 215-590-4653 or email.
Please spread the word about this survey to other officers. Thanks for giving us the chance to learn from you. In a future
End-user Operational Group Recruitment
Safe Kids organized an operational group comprised of end-users of the certification system last year. The group’s purpose was to advise on ways to make the day-to-day use of the system more user-friendly. As we made improvements, this group helped us with implemention, so that the system works well for instructors and technicians.
We had wonderful responses and have worked with three groups. Their tenure is over so please consider signing up. This group includes three technicians and three instructors. It will meet by monthly conference call starting in March 2006. Terms will be for three months. Membership will rotate to keep the group fresh and allow as many people as are interested to participate.
Interested? E-mail Kerry Chausmer to express your interest, providing a BRIEF statement about your history with CPS certification programs and why you would like to be involved with this group. Please limit your e-mail to three paragraphs.
Substitutions Need to Go Through Safe Kids
Safe Kids and CPS Customer Service occasionally get calls from upset supervisors who contacted a lead instructor for a course about a substitution. All substitutions have to go to Safe Kids (using the online system or contacting CPS Customer Service) for processing.
Substitutions may be processed through the first day of the course, resulting in an accurate roster.
If you have any questions about substitutions or registration rescheduling, you may find the answers online or contact Safe Kids via email or at 877-366-8154.
Thank you for being a part of the CPS community and for being a CPS instructor!
Are You A CPS Nerd? Test Your Knowledge!
This section of the newsletter highlights 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.
Q: As an alternative to retail outlets, where could you go to buy a car seat in 1973?
Answer provided at the end of this newsletter.
Submitted by Sandy Walsh,
Classroom Clickers
A new resource for your NS
A response pad (a clicker much like a TV remote, shown above) is provided to each tech candidate to discover in real-time if your class "gets it." The
The
The
Submitted by Jeff Halloran (Lawrence, Kan.)
National CPS Week: February 12-18, 2006
NHTSA and Safe Kids Worldwide have a variety of promotional materials available to help you make the most out of CPS Week 2006.
NHTSA's downloadable planner includes templates (PSA's, flyers, op-ed articles and fact sheets) to support your occupant protection initiatives surrounding CPS Week and Valentine's Day. The materials have been developed using a common icon/logo that urges parents to "Do it because you love them".
Safe Kids will focus on educating and guiding parents on correct booster seat use, encouraging parents and caregivers to understand when it is safe for children to graduate to a vehicle's lap and shoulder safety belt. This year's theme is "Child Passenger Safety: Kids Can Live With It!"During CPS Week, Safe Kids Worldwide is unveiling a new Parent Toolkit to help educate kids, carpool members and other caregivers about the importance of booster seats. The parent kit, which will be online on February 12, 2006, includes:
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Safety Belt Fit Test (for children under 13)
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Carpool Driver Safety Checklist
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Starting a Carpool
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Spotter's Club: Kids ages 6-8 riding on booster seats, or returning to booster seats after graduating too early to adult seats, will be invited to join the Safe Kids Spotter’s Club and take an active role in looking out for the safety of everyone in and around the car. Children on booster seats have a great view out the windows and are in an ideal position to spot other safe kids.
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An order form for 1 copy of the new CPS brochure
4'9" is the Magic Number
Have you seen the Cinderella booster seat PSA from the Ad Council and NHTSA? There are a variety of available in a number of formats: print, radio and video. A Teacher's Guide is also available for download.
Check them out at http://www.adcouncil.org/campaigns/Seat_Belt_Education/
Why isn’t the Web site also available in Spanish?
We are pleased to be able to offer CPS certification course in Spanish using a Spanish-language student manual and a dual-language (English and Spanish) exam. However, after a lengthy discussion with the National CPS Board Diversity Committee, it was decided that the national certification program was English-language with some Spanish-language components. This is supported by the current environment of the CPS field and the child safety seat manufacturing industry, where keeping abreast of current technologies requires basic English-language comprehension.
There are Spanish-speaking customer service representatives available to field inquiries and assist individuals in navigating the Web site. However, all official written documentation, including correspondence with technician-candidates and certified individuals and the Web site, will continue to be in English.
Porque la red del Internet acerca de la Seguridad del Niño Pasajero no esta disponible en Español?
Es un placer poder ofrecer el curso para ser técnico certificado en la Seguridad del Niño pasajero en español, usando un manual para el estudiante totalmente en español y un examen bilingüe (ingles y español).
Sin embargo, después de una larga discusión con el Comité Nacional de la Diversidad de la Seguridad del Niño Pasajero, se decidió que el programa Nacional para ser un técnico certificado en la Seguridad del Niño Pasajero es en Ingles con algunos elementos en español.
Este programa es apoyado por un grupo de personas involucradas en el campo de la Seguridad del Niño Pasajero y la industria manufacturera que mantiene al corriente los requisitos actuales de la tecnología pero en un Ingles básico.
Actualmente hay representantes disponibles que hablan español para responder a las preguntas y ayudar a los individuos en la navegación por la red del Internet. Sin embargo, todos los documentos oficiales escritos, incluyendo la correspondencia con los técnicos candidatos, los técnicos certificados y la red del Internet continuaran en Ingles.
CPS Nerd Answers
Q: As an alternative to retail outlets, where could you go to buy a car seat in 1973?
A: GM dealer
Submitted by Sandy Walsh,Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Safe Kids Worldwide
CPS Certification
1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: 877-366-8154 (toll free)
Fax: 202-393-2072
mailto:cps.certification@safekids.org