In the mid-1990s, a small team of child passenger safety professionals was tasked by NHTSA to look at the national state of child passenger safety. The group, the Patterns for Life Team, recommended a standardized national curriculum and a national certification process for technicians. A standardized curriculum was created and AAA became the initial national certifying body. This still left a need for input from those out in the field, and a group of CPS stakeholders, including representatives from national and local organizations, vehicle and car seat manufacturers and injury prevention professionals, was pulled together. The group was formalized and the National Child Passenger Safety Board was created in 1993. The first standardized curriculum was published in 1998. The Board currently oversees the certification curriculum and makes recommendations to both NHTSA and the certifying body, now Safe Kids Worldwide.
