NPSI protects your playgrounds.

Ublished its strategic plan for the future, "Vision 2010." The NRPA vision is a comprehensive plan that identifies its strategies for success over the next to years. The National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI), a program of NRPA, is following suit. After 12 years of certifying playground professionals to be responsible for the safety of America's playgrounds, NPSI is evaluating its achievements and propelling its efforts toward the future of playground satiety, an issue for which it holds its members accountable.

NPSI is a natural and valuable supplement to NRPA. The executive committee of NPSI, a group of nationally recognized playground safety specialists from diverse backgrounds, has been charged with providing a resource that encompasses every aspect of playground satiety. They have created a worldwide clearinghouse for the dissemination of playground safety information. Their certification program, the Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) course, provides the pinnacle for playground safety accountability.

NPSI's mission is to identify the specifics of playground hazards through their certification program, thereby ensuring they meet their goal to, "... provide a safe, challenging play environment for all children." Although more than 10,000 playground professionals have been certified, this is not nearly enough. The NPSI marketing plan hopes to include more of the 21,000 members of NRPA, and the professionals in the 17,000 public school districts across America.

The CPSI course that NRPA and NPSI offers is a Special Continuing Education Program of NRPA. The program teaches the playground safety standards and guidelines of the American Society of Testing and Material International (ASTM International) and The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). The NPSI curriculum team continually enhances the course delivery and examination to accommodate changes in standards by CPSC and ASTM International, and to meet the needs of attendees as solicited through the course evaluation. Attendees consistently give the highest ratings for their perceived value of the program.

The NPSI CPSI certification course provides materials that are acclaimed in the industry, including the book "Playground Safety is No Accident," and the "Certification Course for Playground Safety Inspector's Manual," which includes the most recent versions of both the CPSC's "Handbook for Public Playground Safety," and ASTM International's "Standard F 1487 for Public Use Playground Equipment Safety."

Many inspectors find that the resources of the course are not the only benefit of the certification or re-certification. Twice certified, Todd Plaga, buildings and grounds inspector for Salt Lake City School District, says that alter six years he still uses the printed materials and he reports that he only uses installers who are certified. Plaga says, "I would be concerned to use an installer not certified through the manufacturer and NPSI."

The expertise of those who take and pass the course is invaluable to the children who will enjoy the playground, their parents, and the agencies ultimately responsible for ensuring the safety of" their citizens. The ongoing inspection of all playgrounds (new and old) by a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) can greatly lessen the risk of injury. Inspectors are trained to identify" safety risks related to surfacing, protrusions, entanglements and entrapments, among others. The course examination tests the applicant's abilities in these competencies: 1) playground safety environment, 2) role of child development, 3) foundation of playground safety surfacing, 4) playground infrastructure: the equipment, 5) playground layout and design and 6) playground safety practices/ management.

The course consists of 15 hours of instruction, reading preparation of course texts, a hands-on site visit, and an examination. Course participants receive 1.2 Continuing Education Units (C.E.U.'s). According to CPSI Debowden Bauer, principal of Ivy Design in Boise, Idaho, "The hands-on portion of the course is extremely beneficial. It allows you to witness examples that illustrate the value of knowing safe dimensions, spacing, surfaces, and other specific details."

The NPSI certification is valid for three years, at which time re-certification insures training in updated safety standards. The revisions of CPSCs guidelines and ASTM International's standards are paramount to the playground industry's ability to continually improve playground safety and full accessibility efforts. For example, ASTM International issued new surfacing standards in 2003. Attending a course for re-certification is the only way" for playground professionals to ensure their accountability for playground safety.

The detailed audit report of a certified inspector should be the cornerstone of all successful risk management plans. As a business owner, Bauer recognizes that, "we live in a very litigious world that requires multi-layers of security. Using a NPSI CPSI is one way to assure you are building a safe playground. Everyone believes in safety for children, what matters is that all children avoid injury. There is no good reason not to use NPSI certified professionals."

NPSI is committed to providing the tools that are needed to identity and eliminate hazards. Kenneth Kutska, NPSI executive board member, reports, "Our vision includes a long-term goal of training at least one person from every community in the United States to become a Certified Playground Safety Inspector." As NPSI embarks on their mission to reach out to thousands of playground professionals and upgrade their accountability for playground safety worldwide, they hope to cause all playground stakeholders to assess their role in playground safety.

To view the current schedule of courses, log onto the NRPA Web site at www. nrpa.org and click on "Natural Playground Safety Institute," or call [phone].