Did you know that 3 out of 4 car seats are installed incorrectly? Portage County Health District is committed to providing the following services:

Car Seat Distribution: Portage County Health District provides car seats and booster seats for financially eligible families through the Ohio Buckles Buckeye Program. These seats are available after parents or caregivers attend a car seat education class. By appointments only. Contact Kim at 330-296-9919, ext. 126 to find out if you are income eligible.
- The Ohio Buckles Buckeyes Program is a child passenger safety program of the state of Ohio that provides child safety seats and booster seats to low income families in Ohio. The goals of the program are to reduce the number of child traffic deaths, to increase the availability of child safety seats, to increase the use of child safety seats, and to increase the proper installation and use of child safety seats.
Car Seat Inspections: Portage County Health District provides car seat safety inspections by certified child passenger safety technicians at no cost for all families in Portage County by appointment. Car seats are checked for recalls, damage, missing parts, and correct use and secure installation.
Car Seat Education: Car Seat Safety education is provided by certified child passenger safety technicians to any individual, agency, organization, or club in Portage County. Car seat safety classes are held by appointment.
Community Outreach: Car seat safety information is provided at community events such as health fairs and farmers markets by Portage County Health District certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians. Portage County Health District holds car seat safety events throughout Portage County. Would you like to host a car seat safety event? Contact Ali at 330-296-9919, ext. 129 to learn how.

To learn more about the Portage County Health District Car Seat Safety Program or to schedule an appointment, call Kim at 330-296-9919, ext. 126.

Wrong. Well… really, it depends.

4 out of 5 car seats are not used or installed correctly, so before you hit the road, have your seat checked for free by a certified child passenger safety technician. Certified technicians can help make sure your car seat is properly installed. They will teach you so that you can always be sure your car seat is used correctly. Whether you’ve just installed a car seat or need help installing or using one, get help at a car seat inspection station near you. Certified technicians will inspect your car seat free of charge, in most cases, and show you how to correctly install and use it. Some locations now offer virtual inspections. Car seat inspection sites are organizations with at least one Child Passenger Safety (CPS) technician on staff where you can go to ensure your child’s seat has been installed correctly. Technicians are certified via training and continuing education on the proper usage and installation of car and booster seats. Low Income Safety Seat Program. Free child safety seats and booster seats are available for income eligible children. Parents, foster parents and legal guardians of children who reside in Virginia may apply. For contact information to apply for a free child safety seat or booster seat, please click on a bubble to see if that agency serves the. Whether you’ve just installed a car seat or need help installing or using one, get help at a car seat inspection station near you. Certified technicians will inspect your car seat free of charge, in most cases, and show you how to correctly install and use it. Some locations now offer virtual inspections.

First thing is first: Get your car seat checked, even if you think you have it installed and are using it right! (Studies show 96% of parents think they did it right, while 75% of children are found to be restrained incorrectly.)

You wouldn’t go to your vet to deliver your baby just because he helped deliver a calf. Just like you wouldn’t go to your neighbor to have him check your car seat just because he is Dad to three kids… unless you’re our neighbor.

It used to be said, go to your local fire station and have them install your car seat or check for proper installation. And sometimes you can go to the firehouse for a car seat check. But not necessarily all the time or every firehouse or even every fire department.

Many fire departments moved away from having trained Child Passenger Safety Technicians on duty. Some fire departments don’t do any car seat checks at all any more and some have a few firefighters or public information officers who are trained and do car seat checks at certain times.

But wait, my friend went to the firehouse and they helped?

Unfortunately, some firefighters who are not CPS techs do help parents out of the kindness of their heart and their desire to help.

While their desire to help is really admirable, it could be bad for them and for parents. They are putting themselves at risk for liability, which is why many hospitals insist that nurses NOT help parents put their child in a car seat. (Though some hospitals, like the one we used to work for in Denver, do hire CPS techs to work with new parents. They teach the parents how to install the car seat in the car and how to put their new baby in the car seat properly.)

And parents may be getting misinformed.

Who should you trust for your car seat safety education if not your local fire station?

The statistics in the U.S. say 3 out of 4 car seats are being used incorrectly. Now that can range from minor misuse to a misuse that can cause serious or fatal injury in a crash.

One thing we hear often is, “well I took it to my local fire department” or “I took it to my police department and one of the guys came out and checked on it.”

Not every firefighter, police officer or nurse is a certified child passenger safety technician (aka car seat tech).

I got started as a car seat technician when I was still a young recruit firefighter back in 2000. At that time it was still common for fire departments to offer the service of inspecting people’s car seats and helping them install the car seat correctly.

But not every one on the department was certified. Although our department was proactive, there are many departments across the nation that don’t have anyone on the department that is a certified child passenger safety technician.

Meaning, when you show up at the firehouse for a car seat check, you may get a firefighter (or police officer or nurse, if you go to those places) whose heart is in the right place. They do what they do because they want to help people and want you to feel comfortable. Maybe they have a child or two and they think they know how to correctly do a car seat.

Download our report: Common Car Seat Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Where to turn for the best information?

The reality is unless you are a certified child passenger safety technician, you’re not aware of some of the nuances of different kinds of seat belt systems, different features on different car seats.

When you go to get help with your car seat make sure you go to a certified car seat technician. Then you will know you are getting the best information available.

Who Installs Car Seats For Free Near Me

On that note, you can’t trust your car seat safety information to your doctor either. Doctors are a specialist in the medical field and treating a human body. They are not necessarily an expert on injury prevention or car crashes.

Sometimes when you get information from a certified child passenger safety technician, you’ll realize it contradicts what other “experts” told you about keeping your kids safe in the car.

We want to help you have the best information available. And if you need a local technician to do a car seat check of your seat, go here to find a car seat technician near you. If you have everything right, you’ll have that peace of mind. If you don’t, then you know your baby will leave there safer!

Who Installs Car Seats For Free Today

We want to know, where have you gone for a car seat check? Share your comments below.

Where Can I Get A Car Seat Installed For Free

By Greg Durocher, CEO at Safe Ride 4 Kids and certified CPS Technician Instructor since 2002