HealthNet is celebrating because of a grant we received from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. The Child Restraint Distribution Grant program provided us with funding to purchase and distribute infant car seats to expecting mothers enrolled in our Better Indy Babies Program who cannot afford one.

In celebration of National Child Passenger Safety Week, we held two car seat clinics this week at our Eastside Health Center on 8902 East 38th Street and Barrington Health & Dental Center at 3401 East Raymond Street. Our BIBs staff, who are certified child passenger safety technicians, were able to educate and distribute approximately 40 infant car seats between these two centers.

Many of these women that participate in our BIBs program cannot afford to purchase a car seat and often resort to using or borrowing one that is not functional or safe, or none at all. This program will allow these women to have the correct seat needed once the baby is born and they will be educated on its proper installation, reducing the risk of injury or death in the event of an accident.

Did you know??

• Motor vehicle crashes are the #1 cause of death for children 1 to 13 in the United States.
• In 2011, there were 5,191 children age 0-15 involved in collisions in Indiana. Of that number, 38 children involved in motor vehicle collisions were killed.
• Children less than one year old are 12.5 times more likely to be seriously injured if not properly restrained, those ages 1 to 3 are 4.3 times more likely, and those 4 to 7 are 4.4 times more likely to be seriously injured if unrestrained.
• Nationally 3 out of 4 car seats are not used correctly!

That’s why safety events like National Child Passenger Safety Week, September 16-22, and HealthNet’s car seat clinics are so important to help parents and caregivers learn how to choose the right car seat, how to use them properly, and to ensure the seats they are using are installed correctly.

Is YOUR child’s car seat is installed correctly?

Take 15 minutes and find out. Conduct an at-home checkup using this Safe Kids downloadable checklist!

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Want to support a family in need by helping them to receive a car seat?
A $75 donation can go toward the purchase of a car seat for Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families to distribute while giving instruction on the proper use. Click here to donate and help keep all of Indianapolis’ children safe.

It is Child Passenger Safety Week and HealthNet is celebrating because of a grant we received from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. The Child Restraint Distribution Grant program provided us with funding to purchase and distribute 100 infant car seats to expecting mother’s enrolled in our Better Indy Babies Program who can not afford one.

The funding allowed us to send our 8 home care coordinators to become Child Passenger Safety Technicians, so that they may teach these expecting mothers and families about the importance of proper restraints, and to demonstrate and instruct them on the proper installation of the car seat.

HealthNet’s Better Indy Babies (BIBs) began in 1989 to battle the infant mortality rate in Indianapolis which was one of the worst in the country. This program serves women in at-risk neighborhoods and the majority of them live at or below 100% of the federal poverty level. Our prenatal care coordinators visit with these expecting mothers and provide services to improve the health status of the women and to help them prepare their home and themselves for a new baby.

Many of these women can not afford to purchase a car seat and often resort to using or borrowing one that is not functional or safe, or none at all. This program will allow these women to have the correct seat needed once the baby is born and they will be educated on its proper installation, reducing the risk of injury or death in the event of an accident.

The cost of a car seat averages $100 – something most of our patients simply can not afford. We are currently serving 1,175 families in the Better Indy Babies Program – so more car seats are needed!

If you would like to donate to the BIBs program,
click here.  Even a $25 donation would be a great start toward proper child passenger safety!

This week is National Child Passenger Safety Week, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is coming to you to help spread awareness.

Did you know?
3 out of 4 children are not as secure in a car as
they should be because of incorrect use of car seats.

Tomorrow at 2 p.m. EST, you can tune in on Twitter and ask questions to @childseatsafety using the #cpsweek hashtag!  A fun, interactive way to get your questions answered quickly.  You don’t have to sit through an informational video or a huge class. You can get answers in under 140 characters.

After tomorrow’s Twitter Q&A, be sure to catch our Thursday blog about how our Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families program staff are becoming certified to instruct parents and guardians on how to us a car seat properly.

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Want to support a family in need by helping them to receive a car seat?
A $75 donation can go toward the purchase of a car seat for BIBs/HF to distribute while giving instruction on the proper use.
Click here to donate and help keep all of Indianapolis’ children safe.
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