Health Departments in North Georgia Awarded Car Seat Mini-Grant

NORTH GEORGIA – All six county health departments in the North Georgia Health District
were awarded the 2020 Car Seat Mini-Grant by the Georgia Department of Public Health,
Injury Prevention Program.

Through the Mini-Grant, the county health departments and collaborating partners work
together to provide car seats and education to financially eligible families in Cherokee,
Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield counties.

This program is funded by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to help ensure
Georgia’s children are safe while riding in motor vehicles.

And it works! Since 2007, the education, car seats and booster seats provided through
the Mini-Grant prevented serious injury or death and saved over 300 Georgia children
who were involved in crashes.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car seats reduce fatal
injuries by 71 percent among infants and by 54 percent among children ages 1 to 4 years
in passenger cars. Car seats offer the best protection for children in the event of a crash,
and they are most effective when installed and used correctly. However, nearly three out
of every four car seats are not used properly, placing children at unnecessary risk.

The Car Seat Mini-Grant provides grant recipients the training and resources needed to
help protect children from serious injuries or death in motor vehicle crashes.

In Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield counties, health departments
and collaborating partners, such as law enforcement, EMA, EMS, fire departments and

other organizations, educate parents and caregivers on how to properly install and use
car seats, offer car seat inspections and provide car seats and booster seats to financially
eligible families.

Through the Car Seat Mini-Grant, agencies supporting more than 120 counties are
working to keep Georgia’s children safe. These programs help families get their children
buckled up right, every trip, every time.

For more information about the car seat program at county health departments in North
Georgia or to contact the health departments, log onto www.nghd.org and click the
LOCATIONS tab.

For information regarding other Georgia counties involved in the program, please contact
the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Child Occupant Safety Project via email at
injury@dph.ga.gov or by calling 404-463-1487.