pg.1/2
Whensocialdistancing,badweather,orotherfactorsmakein-personcarseatchecksimpossible,a
virtualcarseatcheckisagoodalternative.Whilephonesupporthasalwaysbeenanoptionforremote
education,smartphones,tablets,andcomputersmakevirtualcarseatcheckswithaudioandvisual
componentspossiblethroughtechnologysuchasFaceTime,Skype,Zoom,GoogleDuo,andothers.
Virtualcheckupsarehandy,buthaveinherentchallenges,socareshouldbetakeninplanning.
Communicatewithcaregiverstoensuretheyareclearabouttheformatandexpectations.(Findsample
emailsthatcanbeusedastemplatesat:www.wacarseats.comandwww.saferidenews.com)
And,evenwhenacheckupisconductedremotely,it’simportantforCPSTstofollowthebasicprinciples
ofLearn-Practice-Explain,carefuldocumentation,andliabilityreleasesign-off.
Learn-Practice-Explain:Avirtualcheckupensuresthatthecaregiverwilldoallthehands-onwork.However,aCPSToughttotakestepstomakethevirtualsettingaseffectiveaspossible.Considerthefollowing:
• Havepropsonhand,includingsamplecarseats,dolls,andevenaccesstoavehicle,inorderto
demonstratestepsoncamera.
• Videoqualitywillbeimportant.Plantousethedeviceoptionwiththelargestscreen,whenever
possible.Ifyouwillbedemonstratingusingprops(asrecommended),plantousea
desktop/laptopcomputer,haveastandreadytopositionahand-helddevice,orenlistahelper.
Sincethecaregiverwillbeworkinginavehicle,itisprobablethathe/shewillneedtousea
hand-helddevice,sourgethemhaveanotheradultavailabletooperatethecamera.
• Rememberthataudioqualitywillalsobeessential,soensurethatboththeCPSTandcaregiver
areinanareawithareliableconnectionandawayfrombackgroundinterference,suchasoffice
orstreetnoises.
pg.2/2
Document: Avirtualseatcheckshouldbedocumentedinthesamewaythatanin-personcheckisdocumented.Ifyou
don’talreadyhaveasupplyofdocumentationforms,contactyourstateCPScoordinatortogetsomeor
considerusingtheNationalDigitalCarSeatCheckForm.Findthemusingtheselinks:
FindalistingofstateCPScoordinatorshere:https://www.nhtsa.gov/car-seats-and-booster-seats/training-contacts-state-child-passenger-safety(InWashingtonstate,findacheckupformPDFathttps://www.wtscpartners.com/car-seat-technicians.)
NationalDigitalCarSeatCheckForm:
https://www.cpsboard.org/resource-center/digital-car-seat-check-form
It’sidealtohavesomeinformationwellinadvanceofbeginningacarseatcheck,andthisisespecially
trueofavirtualcheckup.Forinstance,knowingdetailsaboutthechild,carseat,andvehicleallowsa
CPSTtopreparebyreviewingtheownersmanualsforthecarseatandthecar,checkingtheLATCH
Manual,checkingforrecalls,andgatheringthemostusefulprops.Apre-checkupformtocollectthis
informationcanbefoundhere:www.wacarseats.comandwww.saferidenews.com
Liability Release Sign-Off: Havingthecaregiversignahold-harmlessagreementpriortoprovidingeducationisalways
recommended,evenforavirtualcarseatcheck.Thisisanotherreasontousethepre-checkupform
mentionedabove.Inadditiontoprovidingbasicinformation,theformallowsthecaregivertosigna
hold-harmlessagreementbeforetheeducationalinteraction.Oncethecompletedandsignedformis
returned,thescheduledvirtualcheckupcanbeconducted.
Send Follow-Up Resources: Usingemail(or,ifnecessary,regularmail),sendthecaregiverfollow-upinformation.Atminimum,let
themknowhowtoaccessCPSresourcesinthecommunity,includinghowtofindoutaboutfuture
opportunitiesforanin-personcheckup,asneeded.Also,sendanyinformationthatmightbeneededasa
resultofthevirtualcheckup,includinganswerstolingeringquestions(orwhotoaskinstead)andlinks
torelevantflyers,FAQs,videos,etc.
ThismaterialwasoriginallydevelopedbySafeRideNewsPublicationsandWashingtonState’sChildPassengerSafetyProgram,andhappilysharedwith
ourpartnersinthechildpassengersafetycommunity.