The children of Tennessee have strong advocates at the Tennessee Child Passenger Safety Center, a program of ETSU’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Administration and located on the campus of ETSU at Kingsport.
The center focuses on educating law enforcement officials promoting the proper installation and use of child safety systems as well as the use of safety belts for all ages. Special programs train and certify child passenger safety technicians and assist these workers as they establish child safety seat inspection stations and conduct checkpoints throughout the state.
Established in 2001, the center has conducted 42 training classes and certified over 700 technicians, who are often law enforcement officers and health care professionals. These technicians return to their home counties to create inspection stations to educate the public and ensure child restraints are properly used.
Currently, 81 of Tennessee’s 95 counties are served by CPS technicians. More than half of the counties are served by these technicians through their public health departments, which are available as inspection centers and sources of educational material.
The ETSU center fills a great need. Since nearly 90 percent of the child car seats inspected are incorrectly installed, the technicians instruct parents about installation techniques and also offer information to assist them in selecting seats that will fit their children and their vehicles properly.
Day care administrators and school transportation supervisors benefit from training as they seek to fulfill the requirements of Tennessee’s Child Passenger Safety Law governing transportation of children in day care, pre-school and elementary school.
Dr. Betsy Preston, director of the ETSU program, gives a great deal of credit for the program’s success to CPS technicians. “They are enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge with their communities. They volunteer countless hours … to their agency inspection stations, and they conduct checkpoints.
To learn more, call Preston at toll free at (877) 267-4528.

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