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ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE TRAINING BULLETIN Effective Date: September 24, 2024  Amends - TB 96-2 (April 28, 2022 ) Number: 96-2 Distribution: All Sworn Personnel Review Month: August Reviewing Authority: SSD / Community Relations Subject: Occupant Protection Program This bulletin consists of the following numbered sections: 1. Statutory Requirements 2. Procedures 3. Training 4. Installation Instructions 1. Statutory Requirements Every operator of a motor vehicle as defined in this section, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if the child is 5 years of age or younger, provide for protection of the child by properly using a crash -tested, federally appr oved child restraint device. A. For children aged through 3 years, such restraint devic e must be a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer’s integrated child seat. B. For children aged 4 through 5 years, a separate carrier, an integrated child seat, or a child booster seat may be used. 2. Procedures A. Each sector will have a child safety seat , along with instructions for its use, available at the sub -stations. B. Agency personnel should exhaust all alternatives before transporting a child aged five or younger in a n agency vehicle. If an alternative cannot be found, then the proper child restraint must be used while transporting. C. Agency personnel who have used a car seat should return it to the sub -station from where it was obtained. D. The safety seat should be cleaned according to manufacturer instructions after each use. 3. Training A. Questions concerning the proper use of the safety seat should be directed to the Occupant Protection Specialist assigned to the Children’s Safety Village . 96-2, Page 2 of 2 B. An instruction booklet is located at all facility locations where c hild safety seats are available , along with a quick reference guide . 4. Installation Instructions A. Children who weigh more than 65 pounds cannot use the child safety seat and are required to be restrained with a booster seat and/or the vehicle seat belt. B. Place the car seat in the back s eat. Confirm the seat is in the proper direction ; rear facing for under two years of age or forward facing for over two years of age. C. Buckle the seat belt and confirm that the child safety seat cannot move freely. If a locking clip is needed, it is located on the upper rear portion of the seat and should be harnessed around the seat belt to prevent the seat from sliding. Follow instructions in the car seat manual or t he quick reference guide. D. Place the child in the car seat. 1. A child under two years of age must be placed rear -facing in the vehicle with the harness straps coming from the slots that are below or level with the child’s shoulders. The harness retainer clip must be placed at armpit level, across the sternum. The vehicle seat belt system must be routed through the rear -facing belt path, locking the retractor mechanism if using the outboard position, or flipping the locking latch plate if securing the child in the center, back seat position. 2. A child over two years of age may be placed forw ard facing, in the back seat of the vehicle. The harness straps should be placed in the upper most slots (unless instructions indicate otherwise). The harness retainer clip must be placed at armpit level, across the sternum. Secure the vehicle belt syst em through the appropriate forward -facing belt path, locking the seat belt retractor system or the locking latch plate. E. Clasp the harness retainer clip at chest level of the child. Adjust the straps to confirm they are not too loose or too tight. The har ness should fit snuggly against the child’s chest. F. Adjust the straps by pulling the strip at the bottom for tightness or lifting the metal clip at the base while pulling the straps to loosen. G. Per FS 316.614 , children between the ages of six (6) and seventeen (17) years of ag e will be properly seat belted.