3-6 Months Prior to Course:
Inform the Regional Representative for the county of your desired course location of your intent to plan a GTSC-sponsored course. You can find the list of regional representatives along with their contact information at the NYSCPSAB website (https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/child-passenger-safety-advisory-board).
Confirm with the Regional Representative that you may proceed with scheduling a GTSC-sponsored course. Be aware that three GTSC-sponsored courses are allotted per region, per fiscal year (10/1 – 9/30). Course requests are generally approved on a first-come, first-served basis but other factors such as course location and class sizes are also taken into consideration. Permission for additional GTSC-sponsored courses in any region may only be granted by the CPS Coordinator at the request of the Regional Representative. All requests for GTSC-sponsored courses must go through the Regional Representative.
You have approval to register a class, now what?
Secure the training course location - ideal classroom spaces have enough room for students, instructors, training seats and supplies, plus have easy access to a spacious, dedicated parking lot. Having an indoor space or covered outdoor space available for vehicles in case of inclement weather (such as a firehouse bay or large garage), is ideal.
Decide the maximum number of seats for your course based on the size of the classroom accommodations and other factors. GTSC-sponsored courses must have a minimum of 10 students registered and a maximum of 25 students. If a course has less than 10 students registered 7 calendar days before the course start date, you must contact the CPS Coordinator, Aubrey Feldman, for guidance on whether to proceed or cancel.
Instructor Ratios:
Secure an appropriate number of instructors based on the number of available seats in the course. It is required that instructors from your region are invited to teach the course before extending the invitation to instructors from another region.
For instructors on the GTSC payroll (i.e. instructors seeking a stipend and/or reimbursement from GTSC for mileage, hotel room, and/or meals), the instructor to student ratio is 1:5. This ratio does not include the Lead Instructor.
To clarify, GTSC will cover:
For classes of 10 students:
- 1 lead instructor, plus 2 assisting instructors.
For classes of 11-15 students:
- 1 lead instructor, plus 3 assisting instructors.
For classes of 16-20 students:
- 1 lead instructor, plus 4 assisting instructors.
For classes of 21-25 students:
- 1 lead instructor, plus 5 assisting instructors.
An Instructor Candidate (IC) and their assigned mentor do not count towards the 1:5 ratio. IC Mentors may be eligible for a stipend or reimbursement from GTSC, but ICs are not currently eligible for any type of reimbursement (unless pre-approved by the GTSC CPS Program Coordinator) for travel or lodging. Instructors who are not receiving any stipend or reimbursement from GTSC (for mileage, hotel or meals) also do not count towards the 1:5 ratio.
Please note, that if an instructor requires lodging for the course, GTSC will only reimburse up to the state government daily rate in the county in which the course is being held (unless prior preapproval is recieved to exceed those rates or stay in another county). These rates vary from month to month and year to year. To check the rate in your county, please visit the following link: https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates. Instructors are only eligible for lodging if they are at least 50 miles away from the training location and seek preapproval from the CPS Coordinator, Aubrey Feldman.
Training Seats, Supplies, Trailers and Equipment:
GTSC often funds training seats, supplies, equipment and/or trailers to Regional CPS Representatives and/or Instructors throughout the state. You may also find that some instructors maintain their own agency's supplies or personal supplies. If these seats and supplies are used for a CPS class, it is expected that all instructors treat these items with respect and return them in the condition in which they are found. Failure to do so could result in being prohibited from using these supplies in future classes and/or participating in future GTSC-funded classes. If you or a fellow instructor are in need of seats or supplies for CPS training purposes, please inform your Regional CPS Representative.
Next steps:
Once your course location, dates and instructors have been secured:
Complete the CPS Event Approval Form, email it to the State Coordinator (Aubrey.Feldman@dmv.ny.gov) and copy the regional coordinator and Lauren Campbell (NYSATSB2025@gmail.com) to the email. The CPS Event Approval Form can be found here: https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/child-passenger-safety-cps-forms-portal.
Register your Course with Safe Kids within 2 business days of state approval:
- Register the course with the National CPS Certification Agency at https://cert.safekids.org.
- The course must be registered at least 4 weeks prior to the start date.
- Each Region is allowed one GTSC-sponsored controlled course. The remaining two courses must be open to the public unless preapproval is received from the CPS Coordinator.
- Courses are typically scheduled over 4 consecutive days but could be scheduled over non-consecutive days. There is no maximum number of days to complete the certification course, but courses scheduled for more than 4 days require special approval from the State CPS Coordinator. All courses must be completed in less than 6 months, as per Safe Kids guidelines.
- The absolute minimum number of scheduled hours for a certification course is 24 instructional hours, however the standard time frame for most 4-day GTSC-sponsored courses is 30-35 hours. There is no minimum number of hours per day required but no single day of the course can exceed 10 hours (as per Safe Kids guidelines).
Once the course is registered with Safe Kids, complete and submit the CPS Event Submission Form found here: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7355093/GTSC-CPS-Event-Submission.
Start recruiting students! Hospitals, healthcare workers, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, EMS professionals, school bus transportation departments, health departments, social service agencies, childcare professionals and automotive dealerships are all worth contacting to get the word out.
4-6 Weeks Before the Course:
Secure a Caterer that will adhere to the GTSC guidelines for food and beverage costs. Food and beverage costs (whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner) may not exceed the federal per diem guidelines set for lunch in the county that the course is taking place in per day. That includes all meals, snacks, beverages, plates/utensils, tax (if applicable) and gratuity.
For example: You are hosting a 4-day course in Latham (Albany County). The course has 15 students and 4 instructors. That is 19 people x $23 (FFY 2027 lunch rate for Albany County) = total budget for food and beverages cannot exceed $437 per day (and $1,748 for the entire 4 day course). That amount must include all tax, gratuity, and delivery fees, if applicable. You may also shop at a grocery store to pick up water, plates, or other snacks prior to your course--but please note that the total amount must be included in your total per person lunch rate, and divided among the days as appropriate. Please note that the rates may change annually. Confirm your lunch per diem rates by visiting https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates.
Most caterers will allow you to confirm an exact number of people a week before the class starts. **Tip-make sure you leave enough room in the total budget to purchase several extra cases of water, which you will likely need. The caterer MUST provide the lead instructor or course administrator with a daily, itemized receipt. They must also be willing to accept payment after the completion of the class (if relying on NYSATSB-direct payment). Please note that it may take up to 4 weeks for the caterer to receive payment from the NYSATSB. Any delays in getting the completed post-course paperwork to Lauren Campbell will likely delay the payment to the caterer. You also have the option to pay for catering personally and seek reimbursement from the NYSATSB afterwards.
*Please note that Instructors may not use their personal or family-owned catering services for classes, as it may be perceived as a conflict of interest.*
During the Course:
Daily Sign-In Sheets - Every person attending, instructing, or helping to administer the course must be reflected on the sign-in sheet every day. This includes all instructors, students, ICs, mentors, and any course assistants. If you have a situation where there is a discrepancy between the caterers invoice for the number of people and the daily sign-in sheets (perhaps you gave the caterer a commitment for 16 people per day but you have a student who cancelled at the last minute or dropped out before the class ended), you can continue to honor your commitment with the caterer but you will need to attach a note to Lauren Campbell with your post-course paperwork to explain any discrepancies between the caterer’s invoice and your daily sign-sheets.
After the Course is Finalized with Safe Kids:
Submit Paperwork to the State CPS Coordinator and the NYSATSB Grant Administrator, Lauren Campbell. All forms can be found here: https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/child-passenger-safety-cps-forms-portal.
Email Aubrey Feldman (Aubrey.Feldman@dmv.ny.gov) a copy of the Safe Kids Course Roster after the course has been finalized (showing final pass/fail grades) along with the Event Completion Form. Note: Welcome Sheets and Commitment Agreements are no longer required and do not need to be completed. GTSC is not accepting paper copies of any forms.
Complete the following forms and scan all of the required paperwork. Email scanned documents to Lauren Campbell (NYSATSB Grand Administrator) at NYSATSB2025@gmail.com. After reviewing the scanned documents, Lauren will reply to let you know if anything further is required.
- Copy of final course roster from Safe Kids
- Sign-in sheets for every day of the course
- CPS Event Summary Form
- Caterer’s Invoice (must be itemized to reflect what was provided each day)
- Itemized receipts for any additional purchases of beverages, paper products, etc
- CPS Instructor Reimbursement forms
All receipts submitted for reimbursement MUST be itemized and must show the date(s) the item(s) were purchased. If anything is out of the ordinary-write a note to Lauren explaining the situation (e.g., one of your students had a dietary restriction and required a separate meal).
Instructor Stipends for Certification Courses:
Lead: $1,800
Full-time: $1,300
Part-time: $30/hour