The intent of the Child Passenger Safety (CPS) planner in Spanish is to provide marketing material tools and templates on this promotional program that you can tailor and distribute to fit the needs of your local Hispanic community when partnering with other states, communities and organizations all across the country.

An expectant mother should always wear a safety belt to protect herself and her unborn child, wear the lap belt across her hips and below her belly with the shoulder belt across her chest.

As children grow, how they need to be secured in a car, truck, van or SUV changes. For maximum child passenger safety, parents and caregivers simply need to remember and follow the 4 Steps for Kids.

This year with the Child Passenger Safety Week (September 21-27, 2008) we want to remind parents to use a child safety seat in the back of their vehicles, restrain their child properly and in accordance with their size and age. The National Seat Check will take place on Saturday, September 20, 2008, to educate parents and ensure that all children seats are installed properly.

This planner includes social norming messages in the form of earned media and creative pieces to fit your campaign needs. It is imperative that Spanish-Dominant Latino caretakers of children are educated on the need to install the appropriate child safety seat and especially booster seats when their child outgrows a car seat. Many parents are unaware of booster seats perhaps because they did not use one when they were children, because their friends do not use them for their own children, or because it was not compulsory to use them in their native countries. They are also unaware of the height requirement of 4'9" for a child passenger to be adequately protected by a safety belt - that children shorter than 4'9" seated only with a seat belt are at risk for grave injuries in a crash.

The earned media pieces - found on the English planner on this site - have all been culturally adapted and translated into Spanish. The copy on all posters below has been translated to English for your knowledge. Please find more information about the Hispanic population in your area by visiting www.census.gov.

The core Hispanic target for this planner is caretakers of small children, recent immigrant/newly arrived, or non-acculturated into the American mainstream. The best way to reach this target is through their community-based organizations, health care organizations, churches and day care centers. With language as a barrier, as well as a mistrust of authority, the best way to ensure that your message is reaching them is to always connect with them where they live, work, play, and pray.

Thought Starters for Promotional Activities