Car seat safety classes available
COSHOCTON – Could you use a new car seat for your precious cargo or are you worried that yours isn’t installed correctly? The Ohio Department of Health’s Ohio Buckles Buckeyes program can help WIC income eligible parents or guardians with both of these dilemmas.
“The Ohio Buckles Buckeyes program is essential a program to help individuals who need help getting a car seat and getting them information about them,” said Patty Maag, who is a regional coordinator for the program and has 12 counties under her including Coshocton. “Our main purpose is education.”
The class is an hour to an hour and a half long and is offered once a month at the Red Cross office on Fourth Street. Maag already has her 2015 schedule filled out and the first class of the year will be offered at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28. Those interested in attending the course must sign up by calling Maag at 800-860-8302.
“Parents need to call in advance so if they have any kind of special needs, we can address them,” she said. “If someone needs to have a car seat checked we can also arrange that. We have a very particular method we use and a check list to follow to guarantee we hit all the spots and get them everything they need.”
Donations from those who attend the classes are appreciated, but not required.
“If you do give a donation it goes back into the program,” Maag said. “Sometimes we have to buy special car seats or get seats for demonstrations.”
The Ohio Buckles Buckeyes program is in all 88 counties and car seats that are used for it are provided by the Ohio Department of Health.
“They give about 60 car seats per county every year and currently are using the Evenflo SureRide Titan 65 convertible car seat and Evenflo amp backless booster,” Maag said. “Evenflo happened to be the company that won the bid for the state of Ohio.”
Maag works in Tuscarawas County and would like to find a local agency to coordinate the Ohio Buckles Buckeyes program for Coshocton County.
Training for the agency car seat coordinator would be given by Maag and would consist of learning the distribution methods for the car seats. The agency would also be required to have a trained car seat technician on staff (this should be the same person as the coordinator). This training is offered at various times throughout the state and has a minimum cost of $85 for four days of training. Upon completion of this training, the student would be a nationally certified car seat technician, and eligible for recertification every two years. Support and yearly (or more) site visits and constant communications would be maintained with the county coordinator, enabling them to stay updated on the most recent information in car seats. To learn more, contact Maag at 330-343-5555 ext. 122 or at patty.maag@odh.ohio.gov.
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
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