Specialized Programs & Services

Kids with disabilities often require special car seats in order to assure their safety while traveling by car. As part of the Adolescent & Children's Rehabilitation Program, Madonna is one of four Nebraska All Kids Ride Safe Program Regional Referral Centers. The Nebraska All Kids Ride Safe Program is funded by the American Automobile Association (AAA), the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety (NOHS) and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

The purpose of the Nebraska All Kids Ride Safe Program is to increase access to the right kinds of car seats by families who have children with disabilities or medical conditions which result in special needs. Two barriers are addressed by the program:

1. Access to specially trained and certified child passenger safety technicians to determine the most appropriate child passenger seating system for their particular condition, and

2. Access to a variety of car safety seats and restraints.

Madonna currently has 5 staff who are Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, 4 of whom have completed additional training "Transporting Children with Special Health Care Needs" developed by the Automotive Safety Program at James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children.

Madonna's specially trained Child Passenger Safety Technicians complete an evaluation and makes recommendations regarding most appropriate special needs child safety seat and/or conventional restraint for the child, and the most appropriate vehicle for transporting the child. Money from the Nebraska All Kids Ride Safe Program was used to purchase a variety of special needs child passenger safety seats and restraints, which Madonna maintains and lends to families.

Once the evaluation is complete and the family agrees to take a special car seat on loan, the Madonna Child Passenger Safety Technician provides education to the parents and/or other caregivers on the correct installation and use of the seats and/or restraints. Parents do not pay for the use of the equipment, but do pay a one-time cleaning and replacement fee of $25.

For more information about the Nebraska All Kids Ride Safe program, contact Kristin Luethke at kluethke@madonna.org