Sent letter to child welfare office re: unsafe transportation of kids

scatterbunny

New member
A friend of mine's kids are in foster care. During the visit today they stopped by here because my friend was appalled at the way the caseworker had the kids restrained. The caseworker who had installed the seats was not the one who was driving, but the driver understood our concerns and has chatted with me about carseats during past visits. She gave me her card and asked me to send her some information. Here's what I came up with. I know it's kind of harsh, but I truly can't believe people charged with protecting kids can be so clueless about safe transportation of kids. :(

"I understand if you don't pass on my full email to anyone, it might offend the wrong person, but please, feel free to copy and paste the important information and try to make a difference!

Let me start by saying that I will have completed the national standardized Child Passenger Safety Technician certification course March 17th, and I have been a passionate child passenger safety advocate since 2003. It shocks, and quite honestly appalls me, that an agency charged with protecting children could be so lax about protecting those children in a vehicle.

Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for kids, and within the unintentional injury category, car crashes account for the highest percentage of child deaths ( http://www.statisticstop10.com/Causes_of_Death_Kids.html and http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/RNotes/2006/810568.pdf ).

I think many people today don't realize that the most dangerous thing our kids are exposed to on a daily basis is riding in a vehicle.

I would most definitely expect child welfare workers to be aware of Oregon law, but also expect them to be aware that state laws are the floor, not the ceiling. The laws of physics are what really matter when it comes to car crashes, and child welfare workers transporting kids should follow best practice guidelines, not the bare minimum.

In my opinion, workers charged with transporting children should also have some sort of child passenger safety training, even if it is only the 1 day/8 hour class. The installation I saw on February 28th, done by a caseworker on a carseat for a 3 year old, was awful. The seatbelt was routed wrong, incredibly loose (the carseat shifted at least six inches side-to-side and front-to-back when I barely tugged on it; an acceptable install is less than an inch of movement side-to-side), and the harness was so loose that it could be pulled at least 8-10 inches away from the child's body. In a 30 mile per hour crash, a 30 pound child will fly forward with roughly 900 pounds of force. Straps as loose as these could cause ejection from the seat, but at the very least will cause injury to the child. Properly tightened straps should be tight enough that you cannot vertically pinch any harness webbing at the child's collarbone.

The fact that a 7 year old, 58 pound, approximately 4 foot tall boy was allowed to ride in a seatbelt alone (during the same trip mentioned above, on February 28th) is even more appalling than the bad carseat installation. How can DHS workers not be aware of the law? By Oregon law, a child that age and size must still be in a booster seat until he is a minimum of 60 pounds, and for optimum safety any child too large for a standard harnessed carseat should ride in a booster until they are at least 4 feet 9 inches tall (this is already law in many states, including Washington). In vehicles with adjustable headrests or high vehicle seatbacks, a backless booster is acceptable, but the important thing is that the child has adequate head support, at least to the tips of his ears. If the vehicle cannot provide that head support, a highback booster seat is necessary.

From Oregon Department of Transportation:

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TS/safetybelts.shtml

"Once a child has attained four years of age OR forty pounds in weight, then the child must be restrained in a booster seat until age six AND sixty pounds. This means the booster requirement would apply to children older than six if they have not yet attained sixty pounds, and likewise would apply to a child over sixty pounds IF they have not yet reached age six.

USDOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends the following for maximizing your child passengers' safety:

Child Seats.

Children should ride in a child safety seat with a harness until their shoulders are above the top set of strap slots (usually until they are 4 years old). The harness provides upper torso, head, and neck protection.

Booster Seats.

When children have outgrown their safety seat, they should ride in an age/size appropriate restraint, such as a belt-positioning booster seat. In general, children who have outgrown child safety seats should be properly restrained in booster seats until they are at least 8 years old. However, children who reach a height of 4 feet 9 inches before their eighth birthday may be ready for adult safety belts."


National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Belt Positioning Booster Seats information ( http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/AreYouUsing/pages/BPBoosterSeatYES.htm )

Kids should be in a booster until they are at least 4 feet 9 inches tall and can pass the 5 step test (and kids will be able to pass the 5 step test in one vehicle but not another, because different vehicles have different styles of seats and seatbelts):

http://carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm

1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
4. Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?


I hope the child welfare division will take my information and concern to heart. The safety of all children is my goal, and I know that is also the goal of child welfare. Please keep these kids safe in the car!

Sincerely,

Jenny xxxxx"


Now let's hope it makes a difference. Yes, my friend did wrong and her kids definitely needed to be removed from her care. She is working hard to get them back, and has had her life back on track for a few months now. But child welfare is brushing off her concerns about proper child restraints for her kids, as if, because she had them taken away, her thoughts on this don't count. This is the second case I've heard of, firsthand (from the moms), of kids who still need to be in boosters by our state law, and child welfare doesn't use them.
 
ADS

flipper68

Senior Community Member
I've seen the same thing here with the agency that transports state wards and kids in foster care to parent visits, therapy, and other appointments. :mad:

You'd think if your JOB was to transport children, you'd be required to demonstrate at least BASIC CPS: how to install, which seat to use for child and have current (not expired) seats.


I think your letter was well written. FWIW, I think it would have more "power" if you also sent it via snail mail, addressed to the supervisor of both caseworkers. You could also reference the SafeKids or NHSTA sites about the mini training course (I'm not sure where to find it) and basic CPS info. Just something to think about.

Will be interesting to hear if there is a reply.
 

Splash

New member
When we were doing foster care, I had a case worker threaten me because I had an over one year old child rear facing. She said she would recommend the kids be removed from my care because of it, and that it was child endangerment and mistreatment. Because her legs were "so uncomfortable" and "would break in a crash."
 

scatterbunny

New member
Thanks for the input, everyone. :)

Splash--wow, shocking that they would threaten to remove a child from your care for doing what's safest. :( How uneducated they all must be. Did you provide them with any information?

I considered snail-mailing the letter, but didn't because the caseworker who installed the seats is, as far as I know, the supervisor. He drove the kids to town from a neighboring town, then turned them over to the assistant caseworker, who then transported them during the visit with mom, and to my house. We're all a little intimidated by this guy, and my friend's lawyer is asking for a new worker to be assigned to her case because he seems very biased and unreasonable (about many things, transportation being just one of them). The assistant asked me to email her the info, so that's what I did. Hopefully it makes a difference, but if it doesn't, I'm not above sending letters to the newspaper exposing the incompetence of DHS/CPS.
 

abacus2

Well-known member
This reminds me of the article in Readers Digest recently where children were both wrongly removed from their parents' care and abused in foster care. I'm a good parent and in general trust the system for most things but if child services ever shows up at my house they aren't coming in short of a court order and I'm calling a lawyer.
 

momtoBrennan

New member
Very well written! I'm all for sending it to the news media! :) I was reading this to dh, who used to work for the State of Oregon (disability services) and who's mom is retired now from the State of Oregon Adults & Families Services, and he commented that childrens services in the state has always been really bad. Every few years, they change their name so it sounds a little different...but nothing really changes, if you kwim. :rolleyes:
 

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