DECATUR, Ga. –The Georgia Department of Public Health’s Injury Prevention Program recently awarded a 2019 Car Seat Mini-Grant to the DeKalb County Board of Health. The grant will provide car seats and education to financially eligible families in DeKalb.
The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety funds the Car Seat Mini-Grant Program. Through the program, agencies in more than 130 counties are working to keep Georgia’s children safe. They help families get their children buckled up right, every trip, every time.
“Receiving the mini-rant is a great opportunity that will help us protect our children from serious injuries and death in motor vehicle crashes,” said the Board of Health’s Health Promotion and Prevention Coordinator Rosalind Hill.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that car seats in passenger cars reduce fatal injuries by 71 percent among infants and by 54 percent among children ages 1 to 4 years. The seats offer the best protection for children, and are most effective when installed and used correctly. Nearly three of every four car seats are not used properly, placing children at risk.
The Board of Health educates parents and caregivers on how to properly install and use car seats and offerscar seat inspections. It also provides car seats and booster seats to financially eligible families.
For information about the DeKalb County Board of Health’s car seat program, please call (404) 508-7847 or email dekalb.hpp@dph.ga.gov. For information on the program in other counties, email the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Child Occupant Safety Project at injury@dph.ga.gov.