Effective Immediately: Change in OPRC Car Seat Distribution/Donation Guidelines

09/02/2015

Child Restraint Devices Donation Guidelines

PLEASE READ:  THIS COULD EFFECT YOUR ABILITY TO RECEIVE CHILD SAFETY RESTRAINTS IF GUIDELINES ARE NOT FOLLOWED

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE FLORIDA OCCUPANT PROTECTION RESOURCE CENTER CHILD RESTRAINT DEVICE DISTRIBUTION/DONATION GUIDELINES

Hello, for those of you that don’t know me, I am Ralph Salvas and I work in the Florida Department of Transportation’s Traffic Safety Office. I oversee various traffic safety program areas including the Occupant Protection Grant Funded Program.

During the 2012 Grant Cycle, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) worked with the University of Florida’s Transportation Technology Transfer Center, to implement the Florida Occupant Protection Resource Center (OPRC).  To help manage the more than $500,000 spent annually on child restraints devices (CRDs) through the OPRC, only certified Florida Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Instructors have the ability to order CRDs for their local certified CPS agencies. These CRDs are to be used by certified techs in local CPS programs.

Businesses, hospitals, foster parents, school districts, DCF employees, daycares, churches/church schools, individual technicians (not associated with an approved agency) etc. are excluded from the OPRC distribution list.

Some of our certified Florida CPS Instructors and the agencies they work for do not understand the OPRC Child Safety Seat Distribution/Donation Guidelines.

Below are the donation amounts that agencies/technicians can ask for each CRD that the OPRC carries and the intended use of funds obtained from these received donations. CRD donations are highly encouraged to be received from public citizens for the following purposes: 

  • A donation from a qualified recipient (low income families) shows a vested interest by the purchaser and a sense of heightened responsibility toward the item received.
  • A donation also provides sustainability in the form of funds for your local CPS Program to purchase items needed.   The donations received must be used as seed money for the local CPS programs to purchase additional CRDs or CPS fitting station supplies.  NOTE:  Since a few Safe Kids Coalitions are hospital based, the instructors are allowed to obtain OPRC CRDs for community-based child passenger safety checkpoint/checkup events not performed at the hospital. OPRC CRDs or funds obtained from the donations of OPRC seats are not for hospital patients, personnel or hospital events. Additionally, Instructors and/or Technicians from an approved agency that participate with a Safe Kids Coalition Hospital based program must establish their own CPS fund with their agency to maintain their own CPS Distribution program. Furthermore, the donated funds obtained fr! om these events will no longer be permitted to be used by a hospital for purchasing or obtaining any CRD/equipment for hospital use (i.e. purchasing CRDs to provide for a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.)

Donations may not exceed the amount paid by the OPRC for the respective CRD.  The maximum donation amount for each CRD available through the OPRC is listed in the following table:

Child Safety Restraint Type: 

Max Donation Amount:

Evenflo Titan 50

$49

Evenflo Titan 50 w/ Pillow Insert

$59

Evenflo Titan 65

$56

Evenflo Secure Kid 300

$72

If we find out that the donations are not being used for the intended purpose, the certified FL CPS Instructor and/or their agency that ordered the CRD’s will have their user-id and password blocked from ordering CRDs from the OPRC.

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: Any hospital based child passenger safety program can have the same buying power that the OPRC uses when purchasing CRDs.

OPRC Hospital Based Car Seat Program

The current OPRC Car Seat Program is designed as a community-based distribution effort. Since hospitals were not intended to participate under the existing program due to funding limitations and program guidelines, we feel it would be practical and beneficial to offer an alternative for hospitals and other organizations who cannot participate in the OPRC CRD Program, the opportunity to order seats below retail price. The logistics of this program are being finalized and further guidance and direction on this opportunity will be distributed via email and on the OPRC website once complete. This does not include Special Needs Transportation Restraints or the Florida Special Needs Occupant Protection Program.

For questions about any items discussed in this email, please contact me, Ralph Salvas, at ralph.salvas@dot.state.fl.us or by phone at 850.414.0450 or Dr. Morya Willis at seatbeltdoc@gmail.com or by phone at 352-339-2894.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and we look forward to continuing to improve safety across the State of Florida.