In an emergency situation when a child has to be removed from a home, possibly in the middle of the night, one of the last things a social services provider or new foster parent should have to worry about is finding a car seat.

Glasgow Police Department has removed that worry from Uspiritus, a private contractor for the Kentucky Department of Community Based Services, with the recent donation of three car seats.

“The reason that we had such a need for them is those children who are removed from the home … nine times out of 10 they don’t have car seats,” said Carmon Harlow, therapeutic foster care and independent living case manager for Uspiritus Bowling Green. “We struggle especially if it’s an emergency removal. We didn’t really have a seat here that we could keep on hand.”

Harlow heard about GPD’s car seat program and asked the department for a donation of child safety seats.

“I got three,” Harlow said. “Two went to the foster care side and one went to the independent living side to a young woman who is expecting a child in July. …

“The car seats are for children ages 15 months to 6 years old,” she said. “Most of the time we don’t get infant children. Rarely do we ever get an infant in care. Usually they are around 2 or 3 and up.

“In emergency situations like we have, we don’t have to put that burden on that foster family. We don’t have to spend that time getting a car seat added on to the process of taking on a new client. It’s really not something you want to stop and take time for because most of the time when a social worker calls you and it’s an emergency removal, then we go right then.”

GPD buys the seats through a federal grant program. The department has seven employees who hold National Child Passenger Safety Certifications, Chief Guy Howie said.

“The city of Glasgow has always been involved with the car seat grant either through the fire department or the police department,” Howie said. “It is our responsibility as police officers of our community to protect the citizens. … It’s even more that we protect our children.

“So any time that we can access funding or access programs or partner with other groups to protect our children we look forward to those opportunities. There is no reason for anybody within the Glasgow and Barren County community not to be able to have a car seat to protect their children when riding in an automobile.”

This year, the department received $24,000 in funding for car seats and purchased 200 safety restraint seats. The department has been approved for another grant that begins Oct. 1.

“We’ve developed a system where no matter who needs them, we have them here,” Harlow said of Uspiritus. “In emergency situations, the child is already distressed, and we want to get them from point A to point B as smoothly and quickly as possible. This is one less step that we have to take.

“Most of the time the foster parent has to come up with that money. This helps them, too. It’s a big support for our foster parents,” she said.

Car seats are also available to the general pubic at GPD.

“If you can’t afford a car seat, we will gladly provide one and we will install it,” Howie said. “If you have a car seat and feel uncomfortable in installing it, if you bring it to the police department, we have certified car seat installers who will install it and we’ll instruct you on how to operate the car seat properly.”

Child safety seats are vital for child passenger safety, Bowling Green Police Department spokesman Officer Ronnie Ward said.

“Car seats save lives,” he said.

Statistics culled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that, nationwide, the lives of about 266 children under 5 were saved by the proper use of child safety seats in 2015. That same year, 220 children under 4 years old died in traffic fatalities. Of those children who died, 26 percent were not properly restrained, according to the Traffic Safety Facts report.

The NHSTA estimates the proper use of child safety seats reduces the risk of fatal injury to infants younger than 1 by 71 percent and to toddlers by 54 percent. Child safety seats have saved 10,940 lives since 1975, according to the report.

Anyone in the Glasgow community who is need of car seat can call 270-651-6165 to set up an appointment to get the seat and have it properly installed.

Kentucky State Police Post 3 in Bowling Green offers child safety seat inspections on an appointment basis. Anyone interested in a free child safety seat inspection can call KSP at 270-782-2010 to set up an appointment.