DATE: September 22, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Joe Prado, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT: Agreement with California Office of Traffic Safety for the Child Passenger Safety Program
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Grant Agreement with California Office of Traffic Safety, for the Child Passenger Safety Program, effective October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027, total not to exceed $187,000.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) is allocating funds to the Department of Public Health (Department) to continue implementing services for the Child Passenger Safety Program to provide access to free child safety seats, bilingual education, and hands-on car seat installation support in underserved urban and rural areas. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There is no viable alternative action. Should your Board not approve the recommended action, the Department will not accept the OTS funding and will not continue implementing services for the Child Passenger Safety Program.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. OTS is allocating $187,000 to the Department to fund strategies including education, child safety seat purchase and installation check-ups, community events, presentations, and training through September 30, 2027. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Org 5620 FY 2026-27 Adopted Budget and will be included in future budget requests.
DISCUSSION:
On October 7, 2025, your Board approved the FY 2025-26 Child Passenger Safety Program Grant Agreement with OTS to support child passenger safety education, car seat inspections, distribution of child safety seats, and community-based services throughout Fresno County.
In FY 2025-26, the Department launched the program with a grant kickoff news release, expanded public education through a National Heatstroke Prevention Day campaign that generated 929,132 impressions, and planned National Child Passenger Safety Week activities. The Department also expanded local capacity by certifying six (6) additional Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPSTs), established recurring education and individual inspection services, and strengthened partnerships through quarterly Safe Kids Central California Coalition meetings and community car seat check events. The Department completed six (6) child passenger safety education classes, conducted 60 individual car seat inspections, participated in four (4) community car seat check events, and distributed 50 OTS-funded child safety seats at no cost to families who received child passenger safety education. The program purchased an additional 200 child safety seats to meet continued demand.
Fresno County continues to experience significant child passenger safety needs. Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System data included in the proposed Agreement show that 18 children under age eight were killed and 1,242 were injured in motor vehicle crashes from 2022 through 2024. In 2023, emergency department utilization included 243 visits for motor vehicle occupant injuries among children ages zero to seven and 391 visits among youth ages eight to fifteen. Fresno County's nearly 6,000 square mile geography, economic and transportation barriers, and diverse language needs further affect access to child passenger safety services. Local Safe Kids Central California data also demonstrate the need for continued education and hands on assistance, with approximately 94% of child safety seats inspected during community check events identified as being used or installed incorrectly.
The grant's performance goals are to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in traffic crashes, reduce the number of vehicle occupants under age 16 killed and injured in traffic crashes, increase child safety seat usage, and reduce child safety seat misuse. Performance objectives include completion of 12 child safety seat education classes, 100 individual child safety seat checkups, certification, recertification, or renewal of six (6) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, four (4) collaborations with traffic safety stakeholders, four (4) quarterly countywide child passenger safety stakeholder meetings, four (4) partner hosted child safety seat checkup events, and the purchase and distribution of 285 child safety seats at no cost to families in need who receive child passenger safety education.
Approval of the recommended action will build upon the infrastructure, workforce capacity, and partnerships established in FY 2025-26. Services will be provided countywide, with emphasis on families with children under age eight, low-income households, southwest Fresno neighborhoods, rural westside communities such as Mendota and Firebaugh, Spanish speaking households, and families speaking languages other than English. The Fresno County Health Priority Index will be used to further prioritize communities with concentrated poverty, transportation exposure, and limited access to preventive services.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #42, October 7, 2025
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Grant Agreement with OTS
CAO ANALYST:
Ron Alexander