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Staff Reports

The West Central Health District was awarded the 2024 Car Seat Mini-Grant by the Georgia Department of Public Health, Injury Prevention Program. Through the Mini-Grant, residents in eight counties in the West Central District will have the opportunity to learn about car seat safety and receive car seats.  Financially eligible families in Chattahoochee, Crisp, Dooly, Harris, Macon, Marion, Muscogee, and Stewart may participate.

This program is funded by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to help ensure Georgia’s children are safe while riding in motor vehicles. “It’s our responsibility to keep our children safe,” said Kiara Loud, District Child Health Coordinator of the West Central Health District. “The Car Seat Mini-Grant is a great opportunity to help our community and help protect our children from serious injuries or death in motor vehicle crashes.”

And it works! Since 2007, the education, car seats and booster seats provided through the Mini Grant prevented serious injury or death and saved more than 437 of Georgia’s children who were involved in crashes. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car seats reduce fatal injuries by 71 percent among infants and by 54 percent among children ages one to four years old in passenger cars.

Car seats offer the best protection for children in the event of a crash, and they are most effective when installed and used correctly. Nearly three out of every four car seats are not used properly, placing children at unnecessary risk.  That’s why the classes are so important.  Health Department staff educates parents and caregivers on how to properly install and use car seats, offers car seat inspections, and provides car seats and booster seats to financially eligible families.

Through the Car Seat Mini-Grant, agencies supporting more than 113 counties work to keep Georgia’s children safe. These programs help families get their children buckled up right, every trip, every time.

For more information about the car seat program, contact Kiara Loud at 706-358-0928. To see if you may be eligible, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/dphcarseat.

If you would like information regarding other counties involved in the program, please contact the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Child Occupant Safety Project via email at injury@dph.ga.gov.