By C l a r e

Leschin-Hoar

ts the kind of gut wrenching story you hope you never have to hear again. In mid December 2007, a 2year old Palmetto, Florida, girl suffered bone-crushing injuries when the A frame portable swing set she had been enjoying with her babysitter and two other children collapsed. The horrific accident sent chills throughout the community and meant the tiny girl would be hospitahzed for months with injuries that included a broken neck and skull fracture that left her in a coma. It's a tragic story that could have been prevented.

The homeowners association, which provided the play equipment the girl was using, was aware it was a portable swing set, says Scott Burton, owner of Safety Play, Inc. in nearby St. Petersburg, who acted as an expert witness in the trial. "They'd tip it over to get the trucks in to trim the lawn and trees and then tip it back up," he says. But there was more to it than just an anchoring issue. There were three infant bucket seats in the bay being used by the children, rather than the limit of two. "If the manufacturer had complied with the seat limit, the girl

would never have been in the seat," says Burton. "The extra weight helped tip it over. We think one leg pulled out of the yoke, and the whole thing collapsed." Burton also stated that the swing set wasn't a through-bolt design. "The manufacturer denied it was theirs, but their nameplate was on it, and it had their exclusive swing hangers," he says. "No one else makes them like that." The family of the injured toddler recently won large settlements against the manufacturer of the play equipment, the homeowners association that made it available, and an individual homeowner who helped install the set. .\ccording to Burton, there was no indication that this play equipment had ever undergone a proper safety audit by a certitled inspector. This accidentand far too many like itvividly illustrates the importance of either contracting or employing Certified Playground Safety Inspectors (CPSIs) and sheds light on the ongoing need to educate professionals in the park and recreation field as well as those involved in daycare centers, preschoois, elementary schools, and places such as neighborhood associations or campgrounds where playground equipment is readily available. To obtain certification, individuals spend several days in training classes and are required to pass an exam.
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A CPSl student gets the hang of an entrapment probe at a Boise, Idaho, playground.

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Instruction and testing cost approximately $500. Certification la.sts three \ cars, after which it must be renewed. liut the coursework pays off. CPSIs are trained to look for risks that would first be life threatening or could cause a serious injury, including the type or depth of surfacing materials, entrapment or entanglement dangers, or hazards such as loose or protruding bolts. The number of CPSIs in the United States is currently at 6,500 and is growing steadily. The National Playground Safety Institute (NPSl) estimates that more than 20,000 individuals have gone through the training since 1991. Why is there such a disparity between the number of people trained and the number certified? "Not everyone who goes through the training gets certified," says Beth Wickline, NRPAs education manager for seminars and workshops. "Plus, employers are continuously sending new participants through the program when previous employees move on." More awareness, better playground design, and sound inspection procedures have contributed to a decrease in the number of injuries in recent years, but the figure still remains high. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which tracks playground accidents, estimates that approximately 156,000 injuries that require emergency room care occur on public playgrounds each year, indicating thatdespite years of education efforts^playground safety remains an ongoing issue. "We have the number of CPSIs out there to do the certifications, and weVe covered the park and recreation world pretty well," says Bill Foelsch, chairman of NPSI. "But it starts to thin out where the mandate doesn't appear to be as strong: boards of education, daycare centers, etc." While there is no national standard for playground equipment safety, the CPSC guidelines and those recommended by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) are considered industry standards. There are some differences in the recommendations, but experts say the CPSC's 2008

CPSI instructor Ken Kutska (hand on bar) talks to students about the condition of surface material on a play set in Boise, Idaho.

Certification Counts!
unicipalitie5 aFen't the only ones responsible for safe playgrounds. Public and private schools as well as preschools and daycare centers have plenty of play equipment out there, but experts say these facilities are too often remiss in having a certified inspector review their playgrounds. Compounding the problem s the way most playground equipment gets into a school in the first place.

"Historically, parent groups are given the job of providing the playground," says Betsy Caesar, Certified Playground Safety Inspector {CPSI) and president of Playeare, Inc. near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "The PTA has a couple of fundraisers, and a bunch of parents order the equipment and install it. In some cases, they're informed about what they're doing. But in most cases, they're not/' The problem worsens when the school district doesn't maintain the playground. "They have no real investment in it," Caesar continues. "No one is doing the annual inspection or the daily and monthly work that needs to be done."

But perhaps that's starting to change. Beth Wickline, NRPA's education manager for seminars and workshops, maintains the CPSI registry and reports that upwards of 75 percent of calls she fields are from schools and daycare centers that would not typically have a CPSI on staff. Driving those calls are accreditation groups such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children, who have strongly recommended playground audits and yearly follow-up inspections by CPSIs, though these are not currently accreditation requirements. School systems such as the BridgewaterRaritan Board of Education in New Jerseywith 11 schools and nine playgroundsare also grasping the inherent value of CPSIs. Henry Rodrique, buildings and grounds manager for the regional school system, has been a CPSI for two years, "it was important for me to get certified so I could document safety audits and monthly inspections," he says, "After insurance issues and past accidents, it was best."
Clare Leschin-Hoar

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Caregiver Leanti Shaw keeps a dose watch over toddlers in a to-fro girder at McNeil Child Development Center in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. The tires have bottoms for the children to sit with additional support. And the glider is only four feet high, which limits how high they can sviiing.

determined that public agencies and those that are open to the public have a duty, or standard of care, that they should be adhering to," says Tom Kalousek, NPSI chair-elect. "The od position of, 'If we don't know about it. we're less liable,' doesn't apply to public playgrounds anymore. CPSC and ASTM standards have been adopted by states, and this body of knowledge is providing a standard of care and safety that has been around long enough to kill that argument. If a group doesn't have an ongoing program of inspection and maintenance, they will have a higher exposure to liability." That's a risk Larry Bower, director of Parks and Planning in Wheaton, Illinois, doesn't tolerate. With six CPSIs on staff, the 26 playgrounds within their 52 parks undergo regular inspections, "During peak season when the weather is nice, our tree-trimming crew hits every playground once a week with a

guidelines are a closer harmonization of the two. More states are addressing the issue of playground standards in their own States. A few years ago, California began

mandating inspections by CPSIs, while 20 states, including Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey, have laws or guidelines in place adopting the CPSC or ASTM recommendations. "The courts have

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highfrequency inspection that takes anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour," he says. "Once a month, the certified inspectors do a low frequency inspection. They look at every nut, every bolt, the surfacing, everything." And all inspections are thoroughly documented. "We need to show that we have the proper certification and that

our inspectors know what they're looking for," Bower continues. "My advice for those without CPSIs: Get the education. It's not worth the risk to your operation or to the safety ot the children." The Louisville Metro Parks Depart ment in Kentucky has also embraced the use of CPSI professionals in their

playground procedures. Inspections take place when new equipment is installed, but ongoing inspections occur monthly, if not more frequently. While only one staff member holds current certification, 10 other team members have been through the two-and-a-halt day training course. "We have 120 parks, and most of them have a playground.," says lason Cissell, public information officer. "We had some old county parks and playgrounds that were more than 20 years old. But since 2003 when our city and county government merged, we've really stepped up in our replacement efforts with the understanding that some play sets didn't meet safety standards. We made it a pri<irity to get those old pieces out, even if there was no budget to replace them." Regular inspections and a staff member with certification are important in reassuring the public and in addressing liability Issues. Cissell contends. "It's a great concern for any municipality," he says. "We want to reduce the level of liability the taxpayers incur by doing thorough inspections, but having a kid get seriously hurt on our playgrounds is something we never want to see." New York City Parks began a formal park inspection program 20 years ago. Today, it is a world-class system, covering five boroughs with nearly 1,000 playgrounds, which undergo 5,000 detailed inspections a year. "The most important thing you can do is make sure a playground is safe and clean," says parks commissioner Adrian Benepe. "But inspections are also a management-productivity tool. You can hold park managers and supervisors accountable because you have a score card that can measure improvements." And v^thin the last year, the city's inspection results have been posted online for citizens to view. "It's transparent and gives people a place to see how we're doing," says Benepe. "It holds our feet to the fire, and we should constantly be challenged to do a better job."

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