Freeport official forms coalition to promote child seat safety and provide loaner car seats to the public

Dec. 15—Roberta Bouch of Harrison takes her great-grandmother responsibilities seriously.

A part-time caretaker for her two young great-grandchildren, Bouch was unsure whether the two child safety seats in the backseat of her vehicle were installed properly.

"When I first put the car seat in a few years ago, I contacted a local fire department to have the seat checked, but they didn't have anyone available," said Bouch, 74. "I always wanted to have it double-checked."

Bouch found the assistance she needed when she learned of a free car seat safety clinic hosted recently by the Freeport Volunteer Fire Department. She attended the event for about an hour.

Freeport Mayor Zack Gent knows most parents think they're putting forth their best efforts to keep their children safe.

"But oftentimes, they could be doing better, without knowing it," Gent said. "Car safety seats are an example. They're all so different, and so are cars."

To help tackle the issue, Freeport officials are offering a new resource to promote and educate the public about child car seat safety. They'll even provide loaner car seats to folks in need.

Borough public safety director Mike Greiser is spearheading an initiative to prevent childhood injuries with the introduction of the Alle-Kiski Safe Kids Coalition, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Safe Kids Coalition.

The Freeport Volunteer Fire Department hosted a four-day public course offering a National Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification from Safe Kids Worldwide.

"The training is literally for us to learn, and we can go out and host child seat safety clinics," said Greiser, who is developing a website for the fledgling organization.

About 18 participants earned their certification after attending 32 hours of class instruction and passing a series of tests.

Participants included police officers and first responders from Harrison, Eureka EMS, Oklahoma/Vandergrift Medic 106 EMS, Southern Regional Armstrong Police, Freeport Fire and EMS, West Deer, Bellevue Fire Department, Springdale and the Allegheny County Port Authority.

"They're now ready to go out on their own and conduct seat checks and educate others on seat selection," Greiser said.

The course costs $95 per person, but Greiser hopes to offer the course for free once the coalition is fully funded.

The coalition was approved Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Safe Kids program.

Participants learned how to teach caregivers to properly install car seats, check for defects in seats, determine when a seat is being used incorrectly, and know current seat belt laws. They'll be able to teach residents about height and weight limits for all types of vehicles and booster seats.

The course ended with a public child seat inspection in Freeport.

For Bouch, the inspection revealed two errors in the installation of the forward-facing car seat used by her 2-year-old great-granddaughter.

"I was using both the seat belt and the tethers, and you're not supposed to do that," Bouch said. "And I had one tether installed upside down. I kind of knew those were wrong, but I wasn't sure how to correct them."

Freeport officials hope more municipalities and the public will take advantage of the resources available in Freeport.

"The olive branch was extended after the class to all of those departments to invite them to join the coalition," Greiser said.

"Nobody's doing this in Armstrong County," Greiser said.

Data shows about 96% of parents and caregivers think their child safety seat is installed correctly. In reality, seven out of 10 children are improperly restrained, which puts them at risk of serious injury or death in a crash, according to a 2021 report from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

"By having the coalition and their training, the worst that could happen is people get reminders of best practices, prevent complacency and bring attention to the small details that could prevent someone's child from being injured or even killed," Gent said. "I think it's beyond valuable. You can't put a price on child safety."

The national safety administration estimates that car seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by about 71% for infants younger than 1, and 54% for ages 1 to 4.

Over the past 30 years, all 50 states and U.S. territories have passed laws requiring children to be secured in the appropriate car or booster seats, and some states now require that children ride in a child restraint system until they are 9.

Pennsylvania law requires drivers transporting children younger than 4 to restrain them in an approved child passenger restraint system. In addition, the state requires that any child younger than 2 must be in a rear-facing car seat.

Greiser plans to fund the program with grant money and at no expense to borough taxpayers.

"We're eligible for mini grants that will open up in 2024, and those can be up to $4,000," Greiser said.

The coalition currently has no funds but has multiple pending grant applications with Norfolk Southern railroad and State Farm and Erie insurance companies.

"The total goal to have everything up and running is $30,000," Greiser said.

Freeport Council approved Greiser as coalition coordinator this month, and course supplies and car seats were provided by the state Traffic Injury Prevention Project.

Anyone who needs to borrow a car seat is asked to contact the Freeport Borough office. There are six car seats in the loaner car seat inventory, with a goal of obtaining 36.

"They can get a loaner car seat," Greiser said. "We ask no questions."

Drew Rummel of Buffalo Township thought he had the two car seats for his children, 5 and 3, installed correctly.

Rummel had never participated in a car seat check and took advantage of the free service last week.

A 30-minute inspection revealed an installation error.

"The top strap was not properly through the loop in the middle of the back seat. It needed to be stretched and tethered to the hook behind the headrest of the middle seat," he said.

"I didn't know that existed. The car seats are good now. It was great that Freeport put this together, and it's good for the community."

Greiser said some of the class participants expressed surprise.

"There's so much information, the level of detail on every car seat," Greiser said. "We learned how to look at every car seat and check all structural elements. For example, if a car seat was in a vehicle involved in an accident, that car seat needs to be replaced."

Dolls of various sizes, from infant to school age, are used in the certification classes.

But parents are asked to bring their children with them during a child seat session for the most successful results.

Greiser's wife, Jodi, an officer with Southern Armstrong Regional, participated in the course and is hopeful more members of the public will enroll and earn their Child Passenger Safety Technician certification.

"It would provide the opportunity for more events to be held and ensure a tech would still be available if an officer was called away to an emergency," she said.

Southern Armstrong Regional police Chief Christopher Fabec stressed that having more police officers and members of the public certified to inspect car seats is helpful to any parent looking to ensure seats are installed properly.

Fabec said his officers see a lot of child seat safety errors.

"We find the motorist with improperly installed seats usually when they come to the station and ask us to check on it, and each seat has manufacturer's requirements," Fabec said. "Most (people) just hook the base in and that's it. But just like everything else, there's a specific way they need to be installed.

"Not that anyone is doing anything 'wrong,' they're just not knowing there are specifications."

Joyce Hanz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joyce by email at jhanz@triblive.com or via Twitter .