CDOT and CSP partner with immigrant organizations to overcome barriers to car seat use

Immigrants new to the U.S. face many challenges, including learning English, adapting to new customs and cultural norms, and learning about our laws.  CDOT and Colorado State Patrol worked in partnership recently with the Colorado Office of New Americans and the Immigrant and Refugee Center of Northern Colorado to host child passenger safety clinics and share multilingual resources with immigrant communities along the front range. 

On September 15th, CDOT hosted a press conference and car seat clinics at Paco Sanchez Park in Denver to promote proper car seat use and installation. Car seats were given away to clinic participants along with newly developed educational materials in 18 languages.  

Across the state, the top languages spoken — other than English — are Spanish (49%), Vietnamese (2.7%), Chinese (2.5%), Russian (2.1%) and Korean (2%). New Americans make up 10% of Colorado’s population, some coming from countries where car seat laws for children do not exist. 

“Providing the tools necessary to help people overcome cultural, linguistic and financial barriers is a top priority,” said Trooper Tim Sutherland of Car Seats Colorado. “We know parents new to our state care deeply about the health and safety of their children, and we want them to know how important it is follow the law and best practices regarding car and booster seats.”

National data shows that 65% of all Coloradans do not secure their children properly. Car seat and booster seat use can be complicated — proper seat fit, installation and other factors all come into play to ensure every child under 12 is as safe as possible in the event of a crash. 

“All parents deserve peace of mind that they have done everything in their power to keep their children safe,” said Sutherland. “It is exceedingly important to make all resource materials available in a multitude of languages — because child safety laws know no language.”

To learn more and access the multilingual guides visit CarSeatsColorado.com. 

Car Seats Colorado is always in need of more certified car seat safety technicians. If you’re interested in helping parents and caregivers protect their little ones, email Trooper Tim Sutherland at [email protected].