Here we are…already more than half way through February! I hope this message finds you healthy, happy and safe in all respects.

LIFESAVERS 2023

Excitement is increasing with Washington State hosting the Lifesavers 2023 conference on April 2-4. Thank you to those who have applied for registration and travel reimbursement to attend. I am excited to see everyone in person. To provide a one-stop, all-encompassing information platform for the 2023 Lifesavers Conference, a new EVENT SITE has been created. This event site features workshops details, plenary information, exhibitors, sponsors, networking information and more! Please check out the site for updates.

SERVICE PROVIDERS

Many of you have mini-grants which includes fees for CPST-Instructors who provide seat sign-offs, present CEU workshops, or teach CPST courses. Please remember; there is a Mini-Grants webinar located at https://wacarseats.com/mini-grants/ to help you through the reimbursement process. If you are a service provider and need to bill for services; there is important information to watch starting at 15:09 of the recording that will assist you in completing your invoice and travel expense voucher. Speaking of which…the reimbursement for privately owned vehicle (POV) miles has been increased from $.625 to $.655 effective 1/1/2023. Attached is an updated per diem map.

RECERTIFICATION

It is extremely important to work on your recertification requirements within your two year cycle. Do not wait until the last days; or even weeks. Safe Kids Worldwide sends email reminders months ahead to remind you of your upcoming need to recertify. It is important to check your online profile to ensure your current email is entered. You must complete the following to recertify:

• Conduct all five different types of seat checks
• Participate in at least one community education (checkups, community workshop, educational session)
• Earn at least six continuing education units (CEUs). As part of ongoing quality assurance, you may be randomly selected for a CEU audit. Keep proof of content and completion of CEUs handy for three months after you recertify. You can monitor your audit status in your online profile.

 

NOTE: A mini-grant may include service fees to bring a CPST-Instructor or a Tech-proxy to your community to provide a CEU workshop as well as seat sign-offs.

CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY LEARNING PORTAL

For a one-stop shop for CEU’s and Community Education sessions, visit https://carseateducation.org/. You will be amazed by all of the resources with access in one place.

FOSTER FAMILIES

Foster families play an important role in the lives of children. A foster parent provides a child a safe, loving, temporary home; maybe making it possible for them to stay in their school, and stay connected to their parents and siblings. While conducting research on what education or resources are provided to potential foster parents, I was pleased to find free educational resources which include child passenger safety. They simply need to email AllianceSupport@uw.edu to get connected or visit https://cpe.socialwork.uw.edu/alliance-courses and follow the instructions to create a new account. I personally  attended their online Car Seat Safety: Select, Fit and Install Correctly elearning; and aside from a couple minor corrections – it is a good product for foster families. This training is strongly encouraged for all potential foster families.

CHECK TO PROTECT

It is important to always check for recalls on child restraints. It is also important to check and fix any recalls on your vehicle, like the takata airbag safety recall. There is an educational handout available through the state printer to use at every car seat check. It provides the caregiver an opportunity to access vehicle recall information. Order some from the state printing website (along with other educational materials).

MORE EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL

A poster has recently been added to the www.wacarseats.com site under Resources, Posters and Graphics. It is the summary of Washington’s Child Restraint Law in Vietnamese. If there is a target audience you need to reach in another language, let me know.

There are child passenger safety booklets you can purchase at I’M SAFE. Here is the English/Spanish version https://www.imsafe.com/product/2-6000-visual-car-seat-guide-parents-bilingual-edition  They are also now available in Pashto, Dari, Ukraine and soon to be in French and Russian. These booklets were extremely helpful in our refugee outreach activities. Let me know if you are planning an outreach event and could use some of these materials.

The calendar of CPST courses is here. There are some added courses and some that are waiting to confirm dates. Let me know if you have any questions.

NATIONAL DIGITAL CHECK FORM

The NDCF website system will be down for maintenance on October 3 and 4 to update the website and apps. There will be a few fields added to the app, so to prevent any issues getting checks into the system, make sure to submit all checks in prior to October 2. Here are the updated forms to use now.

NDCF PDF 7.0

NDCF Spanish PDF 7.0

If you have any questions, info@carseatcheckform.org

We also have a supplement to the original NDCF User Guide. We are always learning from experience with this form/program. If you have information, questions, or information that might help others, join us for our next Q&A virtual session on October 19^th at 2pm (I sent an invitation to all Washington certified child passenger safety technicians).

 

MINI-GRANTS

CURRENT MINI-GRANT RECIPIENTS: Invoices for goods received or services performed between July 1st and September 30th, must be received by Cesi Velez, Project Manager, no later than October 20th.

Invoices submitted for reimbursement after the above dates will not be paid.

Invoices must be submitted via email to Cesi Velez at velezc@ci.bonney-lake.wa.us.  They must include a summary of the expenses listed on a signed A-19 form and copies of relevant expenses.

NOTE: All services performed by contracting child passenger safety technicians must also submit invoices to me as soon as possible.

POTENTIAL GRANTEES: For those who have submitted a grant proposal for fiscal year 2023 (Oct 1, 2022 – Sep 30, 2023) – your announcement will be receive electronically in the coming days.

 

CHANGES TO PER DIEM RATES

For any travel occurring AFTER OCTOBER 1, 2022, remember to use the per diem rates from the Technicians Resources page. I have also included the additional notes which has important information.

 

CAR SEAT AWARENESS CLASS

Washington State has developed their own curriculum for child transporters which was recently updated/revised. There are some requirements to teaching the Car Seat Awareness Class; beginning with watching the Train-the-Trainer virtual training. In case you missed it; the recorded training will be available by visiting www.wacarseats.com, Technician Resources, Car Seat Awareness Class. You must also attend the virtual class to see how it is currently being taught. Look online for more information.

 

Thank you for the continued opportunity to support the important work you do for our State’s children.

CURRENT MINI-GRANT RECIPIENTS

The following are deadlines for grant reimbursements:

• All invoices for goods received or services performed on or prior to June 30th, must be received by Cesi Velez, Project Manager, by July 20th.
• Invoices for goods received or services performed between July 1st and September 30th, must be received by Cesi Velez, Project Manager, no later than October 20th.

 

FISCAL YEAR 2023 MINI GRANT PROGRAM

The official grant announcement will be shared in August. There will continue to be two opportunities; hosting a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) course and/or supporting local child passenger safety activities. Everyone is encouraged to conduct outreach to our most underserved populations by considering outreach to ECEAP and Headstart programs, local public housing sites supported by Housing and Urban Development (HUD), or schools having high free or reduced lunch program use. Active participation of the National Digital Check Form will be required of mini-grant recipients.

 

NATIONAL DIGITAL CHECK FORM (NDCF)

Much progress has been made in transitioning Washington State to using the NDCF. After working with your local CPS leadership, experienced technicians who support local car seat check events and/or are listed on NHTSA’s site of services, have been identified to receive a tablet to help with the change to the digital form. We are in the process of distributing the tablets. Attached you will find the User Guide. As of October 1, 2022 (start of fiscal year 2023); you will no longer need to submit a quarterly report as activity will be gathered from the NDCF program. The next two quarters’ report will be dependent on whether you are using the NDCF program. Continue to turn in activity reports if you are NOT using the NDCF.

 

Becoming familiar with the NDCF if very important. I have attached the current version for your use. Print and start using this form immediately (Spanish and English) if you are not already using the digital format. There are several tutorials on setting up an account and using the program at https://www.cpsboard.org/ndcf/  I will be announcing virtual trainings soon.

 

QUARTERLY REPORTS

Be sure to complete your quarterly activity report and send to your local communications lead for your region. Use this tracking report and destroy prior versions. The report due dates are:

 

MONTHS	DUE DATE
October, November, December	1/10/22
January, February, March	4/10/22
April, May, June	7/10/22
July, August, September	10/10/22

 

CURRENT RECALL LIST

Remember to consult the most current recall list when conducting seat checks. For those using the NDCF, save this location https://www.saferidenews.com/resources/tools-for-cpsts/recalls/ and ensure use of the latest edition dated 4/20/22.

 

VEHICLE RECALLS

Automobiles have recalls as well. There are currently 53.2 million vehicles on the road with open recalls. Here is a resource to find out if a vehicle has one; simply by VIN or license plate number. It’s free to check and free to repair at a dealer.

Vehicle Recall Check by VIN or License Plate | Check to Protect

 

OUTREACH THROUGH RESETTLEMENT AGENCIES

It is with much appreciation that I share the work performed to assist newly arriving families to Washington State. Shawneri Guzman, South County Fire, and Erica Littlewood, North Sound ACH, began the very first outreach efforts for Afghan families. Discovering the need stretched far, Eastside Baby Corner was able to provide additional education and the WA CPS Program provided the child restraints and educational materials. Great work and coordination by everyone!

https://www.wtscpartners.com/success-stories/2022/05/19/young-refugees-take-a-seat-for-traffic-safety/

 

WACARSEATS.COM

Have you visited the website lately? We have updated some items and trying to make it easier to find what you need. Most forms needed for invoicing, mini-grant information, NDCF use, and even some educational items are available. Have a look around and pay special attention to Resources.

 

STATE PRINTER

Another great resource is the state printer where you can order free educational materials. In addition to English and Spanish, the Growing & Going brochure is now available in Dari, Pashto and Ukrainian. It is simple to order items; set up a free account – place an order.

 

MORE EDUCATIONAL ITEMS

As a result of our outreach with the refugee families, a child passenger safety booklet was translated to include Dari, Pashto and Ukrainian. I have a limited amount of these items already printed. If you are interested or have a need; please drop me a message. You can also include a purchase on your next mini-grant request as they are available for purchase at https://www.imsafe.com/products/results/car_safety?page=8 Car Seat Guide for Parents

 

NHTSA RESOURCE LIST

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has resources available to you. I have attached a list of links.

 

Wishing you a safe, healthy and happy holiday weekend.

 

Cesi Velez, Project Manager

WA Child Passenger Safety

March 2022

Clark County – Vancouver (NUNA)
3/22, 3/23/ 3/24, 3/25
Lead: Robert Wall, bob.wall@nunababy.com

April 2022

Chelan County – Wenatchee
April 19, 20, 21, 22
Lead: Julie Wilcox, simplysafefamilies@gmail.com
Renee Witmer

Clallam County – Sequim
4/25, 4/27, 4/28, 4/29
Lead: Doris Girt, dmgirt@comcast.net
Marsha Seeley, Shawneri Guzman

June 2022

Snohomish County – Everett
June 6, 8, 9 ,10
Lead: Doris Girt, dmgirt@comcast.net
Shawneri Guzman, Erica Littlewood

July 2022

Pierce County – Sumner (DIONO)
End of July/early August
Lead: Dana Hutchinson, dhutchsinson@multicare.org

For additional information on becoming a nationally certified child passenger safety technician, visit https://cert.safekids.org/. You can also click on FIND A COURSE and sign up for email alerts when courses are added.