Report: Selected Analyses of CPS Technician Certification Program Data

Javier Sigala, a student at the University of Texas, worked with National Child Passenger Safety Board member Randy Chhabra and David Zane of Austin Public Health to analyze public Child Passenger Safety Technician certification data from all 50 states and four U.S. territories during the four-year period from 2014-2018.

Sigala shared results of this effort during a virtual presentation the week of April 12, 2020. Three takeaways:

  • California, Washington and Texas have the highest child-to-technician ratios
  • North Carolina, California and Georgia have the highest number of technicians
  • Puerto Rico, North Carolina and Missouri have the highest technician-to-instructor ratios

Researchers at Westat, a data solution partner of the Board, layered the results on state and national maps to pinpoint areas of strength and identify potential gaps in child passenger safety education and training. This data – and these maps – can be thought of as the oil driving the CPS engine.

Moving forward, state coordinators and CPS program leads will be able to study the data and use the maps to guide decisions, seek private funding and apply for grants.

Questions to Consider

  • What can we learn from technician-to-instructor ratios?
  • Do you have enough instructors to train and mentor technicians?
  • How can you reallocate resources to meet the needs of underserved populations?
  • How many technicians are using the National Digital Check Form (NDCF) in your state?

Think of it this way: What gets measured gets managed. Data supplies information to make informed child passenger safety decisions.

Read/share the report: Selected Analyses of Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification Program Data, 2014-2018.

State and U.S. Territory Maps
Produced by Westat

These maps were created to support the state coordinators meeting planned during the 2020 Lifesavers pre-conference.  Due to limited resources, additional state and U.S. territory maps are not available at this point in time.