Infant Safety Classes | Child Safety Car Seat Program | Blue Ridge Safe Sleep Crib Program | Infant Feeding Resources | Improving Pregnancy Outcome (IPO) Workgroup
Infant Safety Classes
What:
Free in-person comprehensive Infant Safety Class. Pre-registration is required. Topics to be covered include:
- Safe medication storage
- Choking hazard prevention
- Room-by-room home baby proofing
- American Heart Association (AHA) Friends & Family CPR (non-certification)
- Local and national resources
2/15 Infant Safety Class Flyer
For Whom:
These services are open to any new or expecting parents, grandparents, family members, or others who may be caring for newborns in our Health District.
Fees:
None.
When:
Saturday, February 15, 2025 from 10 AM – 12 PM
Where:
Prindle Conference Room within the Charlottesville/Albemarle Health Department (1138 Rose Hill Dr., Charlottesville, VA). Enter through Door #3.
Registration:
Fill out this form to pre-register and save your spot.
For any questions, contact Maternal and Child Health Program Coordinator Diane Sampson at Diane.Sampson@vdh.virginia.gov.
Child Safety Car Seat Program
What
Free car seats available to families who qualify. To receive a car seat, applicants attend a short class to learn the correct placement and use of the car seat.
For Whom
To apply, applicants must be:
- Eligible for Medicaid ,WIC, FAMIS or qualify by income
- Resident of Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, or Nelson
- Legal residents of Virginia
- If pregnant, in the last three months of pregnancy
- Parent, legal guardian or foster parent
Complete the application below and return to your local health department.
Application in English | Application in Spanish
Fees
None
When
Each event will take place from 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM inside the health department locations on the following dates:
- Fluvanna County Health Department: Thursday, August 15
- Fluvanna County Free Car Seat Event Flyer in English/Spanish
- To reserve a car or booster seat, call CHW Linda Glover at 804-489-7918
- Louisa County Health Department: Tuesday, August 20
- Louisa County Free Car Seat Event Flyer in English/Spanish
- To reserve a car or booster seat, call CHW Linda Glover at 804-489-7918
- Louisa County Health Department: Tuesday, August 20
- Louisa County Free Car Seat Event Flyer in English/Spanish
- To reserve a car or booster seat, call CHW Linda Glover at 804-489-7918
- Yancey Community Center: : Thursday, August 29
- Yancey Community Center Car Seat Event Flyer in English/Spanish
- To reserve a car or booster seat, call CHW Elvia Albarran at 804-872-3683
Call
Charlottesville/Albemarle
Fluvanna
Greene
Louisa
Nelson
Registration
Registration is required. To reserve your car or booster seat, call the Community Health Worker (CHW) for your nearest health department listed above.
Call
For general questions or more information about the Child Safety Car Seat Program, call MCH Coordinator Diane Sampson at 434-972-6241.
Links
For more information about child passenger safety, Virginia laws and other resources:
https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/child-passenger-safety/
Short videos from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia review seat installation tips and safety for rear facing, forward facing and booster car seats.
English: Car Seat and Child Passenger Safety Videos | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Spanish: https://www.chop.edu/video/car-seat-and-child-passenger-safety-videos-spanish
Safe Kid’s Ultimate Car Seat Guide – In English and Spanish
Use your child’s date of birth or due date and weight to learn about choosing and installing the right type of car seat.
https://ucsg.safekids.org/
For detailed information about car seat safety, recalls and age related information:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Car Seat Safety Tips | Safe Kids Worldwide
Blue Ridge Safe Sleep Crib Program
What
The Blue Ridge Safe Sleep Program is a community effort to educate parents and caregivers on the importance of safe sleep in the prevention of SIDS and SUID. A limited number of cribs are available by agency referral to households meeting income guidelines.
Cribettes are for babies under 6 months and weighing 30 pounds or less. The cribette has a bassinet attachment for babies under 15 pounds.
Eligibility
- Be a parent, legal guardian, or foster parent of a child under the age of 6 months
- A resident of Charlottesville/Albemarle, Louisa, Greene, Nelson, or Fluvanna
- Financially eligible or participating in Medicaid, WIC, SNAP, SSI or TANF
- Apply through a referring agency or through your local health department
- Available for review of safe sleep guidelines and crib safety education session
Fees
None
Registration
Registration is required. To reserve your crib, call the Community Health Worker (CHW) for your nearest health department listed above.
Call
For general questions or more information about the Safe Sleep Program, call MCH Coordinator Diane Sampson at 434-972-6241.
Safe Sleep Links
For parents: The Safe Sleep Academy from Cribs for Kids has short videos on a range of sleep topics, including baby safety and what to expect from your baby’s ages and stages.
https://www.safesleepacademy.org/
For parents and providers: Learn more about SIDS/SUID, access free patient education materials in a variety of languages and formats.
https://safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov/
Safe Sleep Virginia
For information on recalls of cribs, baby seats and other infant care items:
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Infant Feeding Resources
Improving Pregnancy Outcome (IPO) Workgroup
Community coalition coordinating efforts to reduce infant mortality/morbidity and associated racial disparities in the greater-Charlottesville area.
Past community collaborative projects include:
- Baby Basics Community Education through a March of Dimes Grant
- Creation of a Perinatal Resource Guide
- Postpartum Depression and Anxiety training sessions for area perinatal professionals
Meetings are held quarterly via Zoom.
For more information or to join us contact Diane Sampson (diane.sampson@vdh.virginia.gov) or call 434-972-6241.
Links:
https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/vdhlivewell/maternal-and-child-health-services-title-v-block-grant/
Listening to the Living project team is charged with developing local action plans to address racial disparity in maternal health and birth outcomes.
https://www.listeningtotheliving.org/