May 1, 2002

Contact: Anne Readett @ (517) 333-5317

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NHTSA CHIEF ANNOUNCES FEDERAL GRANT:

STATE AWARDED $247,800 FOR CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY PROGRAMS

Dr. Jeff Runge, administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in Washington, D.C., today announced Michigan has been awarded $247,800 in special federal funds for child passenger safety programs. These funds will allow the state to nearly double its expenditures and efforts to see that all children are in properly installed child safety seats.

The money was awarded as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation appropriation, under Section 2003(b) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century. Funds will be used to supplement, enhance and expand child passenger safety programs currently being conducted in the state.

"Safety is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's number one priority. Keeping children safe in motor vehicles is an ongoing quest. In every community, we should be able to ensure the safety of every child. They are our most precious resource," Runge said.

Funding will go to the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP), a division of the Michigan State Police. The Department of Community Health (MDCH) will serve as the project administrator and use the funds for the following programs:

• Nearly $100,000 will be used to purchase 3,000 infant child safety seats, 100 convertible seats and 150 booster seats. The seats will be distributed to hospitals that implement child safety seat discharge policies and hospitals that have a child passenger safety technician on staff.

A survey will be conducted to identify the current status of hospital discharge policies for newborns in Michigan. Policies will also be compiled and reviewed from hospitals nationwide so that a model discharge policy for newborns can be drafted. Hospitals will be encouraged to adopt a policy similar to the model policy.

• Child passenger safety educational materials will continue to be provided specifically for Spanish speaking populations. A booster seat brochure developed through a previous grant will be translated into Spanish and disseminated statewide.

The funding will be an addition to the state's child passenger safety program. Public Act 282 of 2000 requires the Legislature to appropriate $300,000 annually from the general fund for the establishment of a child car seat safety grant program, which MDCH oversees. The department provides grants to eligible people for training, promotion and education concerning child restraint systems.

Child safety seat checks conducted around the state have shown misuse rate to be over 95 percent. When correctly used and installed, child safety seats reduce the risk of death to infants by 71 percent, hospitalizations by 69 percent and minor injuries by 50 percent.