So you want to be a Child Passenger Safety Technician?
The role of a Child Passenger Safety Technician is to educate parents and caregivers on proper usage of car-seats and safety restraints in the car. A CPST is not a car-seat installing service and everyone should leave safer than when they arrived, even if all they left with is knowledge. It is a thankless job, but it is worth it!
SafeKids.org overview- http://www.safekids.org/certification/certification.html
Here are the basic steps you should take to become a CPST:
The role of a Child Passenger Safety Technician is to educate parents and caregivers on proper usage of car-seats and safety restraints in the car. A CPST is not a car-seat installing service and everyone should leave safer than when they arrived, even if all they left with is knowledge. It is a thankless job, but it is worth it!
SafeKids.org overview- http://www.safekids.org/certification/certification.html
Here are the basic steps you should take to become a CPST:
- Locate a course in which you can participate by searching www.safekids.org/certification for courses. Your best bet is to search by entering only your state, clicking the box "Also Show Invitation Only/Controlled Courses", and hitting submit. Controlled courses are no different from public except they are usually set aside with a specific group in mind(training a shift of firemen, etc). Just contact the instructor and ask if you can participate. It may also be helpful to contact your local or state coalition for addition information.
Direct safekids search link(may take a moment to load)- https://ssl13.cyzap.net/dzapps/dbza...OURSESEARCH&Webid=safekidscertSQL&pSearch=yes - Register for your course, pay any and all fees, and confirm your seat with the instructor.
- Familiarize yourself with the training manual http://www.cpsboard.org/techmanual_downloads.htm
- Show up to class ready to get dirty and have fun! It really isn't hard, especially if you already have a passion for CPS.