Ford Grants more than $1M to 32 States and D.C.To Boost Child Passenger Safety

Ford is awarding more than $1 million in assistance to groups in 32 states and Washington, D.C. to improve child passenger safety. The local support is part of the company's national Boost America! campaign to increase the awareness and proper use of booster seats and child safety seats -- one of the largest child safety efforts ever by an automaker.

The grants are being announced to help mark National Child Passenger Safety Week that is held February 11-17, 2001.

According to government statistics, few children over the age of three ride with the protection of a booster seat and safety belt. This contributes to the fact that more than 500 children ages 4 to 8 are killed in car crashes every year. Boost America! is intended to change that by making sure that the message that all children weighing 40-80 pounds (roughly ages 4 to 8) should ride on a booster seat is heard loud and clear all across the country.

The nation's leading highway safety and child welfare organizations are part of the Boost America! campaign to ensure that a variety of communications resources are used to reach children, their parents and caregivers.

Ford Motor Company and the International Center for Injury Prevention (ICIP) reviewed more than 120 applications before deciding on the 22 states that will be receiving the awards announced today. In addition, in December Ford announced the award of 15,000 booster seats total to 44 Native American tribes in 17 states. The applications were evaluated and ranked according to factors such as: current level of programming and sustainability, uniqueness of proposal and impact of Boost America! assistance on the program. Other factors like involvement with health agencies and ability to reach minority and rural populations were also taken into account.

ICIP, a Boost America! safety partner, will work with the states to conduct child passenger safety training classes, distribute booster seats and help implement local programs.

"Central to our strategy will be local people working in their communities to host child passenger safety technician certification courses and working closely with minority communities to establish permanent child seat and booster seat fitting stations," said ICIP Executive Director Elaine Kizewski.

Leading safety advocates agree that children who have outgrown traditional child safety seats designed for infants and toddlers need to use a booster seat until they are big enough physically to transition to the adult lap and shoulder belts. Booster seats are easy to use and, as the name suggests, raise the child up in the seat so adult safety belts fit them better and more comfortably-low across the hips and pelvis, and with the shoulder belt across the chest.

"The key to educating parents and children alike about the need for booster seats is to reach them through familiar, local communications channels," said Kizewski. "We must make it convenient for families to attend clinics to learn about how to use booster seats and child seats correctly, and answer their questions. Ford's resources will make it easier to get the job done."

In addition to the state grant program, Ford's Boost America! campaign will include a massive education effort reaching out to pre-school and elementary schools, as well as the distribution of one million booster seats over a year-long period.

The following is a summarized list of the state and amount of each grant announced today:

Alabama $35,000 Alaska $35,000 Arkansas $35,000 California $75,000 Georgia $75,000 Hawaii $35,000 Idaho $25,000 Illinois $75,000 Indiana Hospital $10,000 Iowa $35,000 Louisiana $35,000 Maine $35,000 Massachusetts $35,000 Michigan $20,000 Minnesota $20,000 New York $15,000 Oklahoma $18,000 Oregon $35,000 Texas $75,000 Washington $35,000 Washington, DC $35,000 Wisconsin $5,000 Vermont $35,000