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.