WOODLAND, CA (MPG) – The Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) has been awarded a $226,000 single-year grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to fund child passenger safety education and training programs. HHSA aims to reduce the risk of child injury while traveling in a vehicle and this grant will support local child passenger safety efforts and help ensure that infant and child safety seats (also known as car seats) are installed and used properly. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a correctly used car seat can reduce fatality risk by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers in passenger vehicles.

Activities funded by this grant will run through September 2023 and include: Community education and car seat check events; Individual car seat checks (by appointment), Child safety seats at no-cost for families in need; Child Passenger Safety Technician training; Promotion of child safety seat recycling and the importance of discarding used and expired car seats, Partnering with local organizations on car seat safety community outreach efforts in underserved communities.

“The goal of this program is to significantly reduce death and injury to children riding in cars and trucks,” Yolo County Health Program Manager Steven Jensen said. “Eliminating the financial burden for low-income families helps every child in our community ride safely.”

To learn more about Yolo County’s child passenger safety program, please contact the program at: [email protected]. Residents can also call Yolo 2-1-1 for resource information.