Frequently Asked Questions

Since 1998, Cribs for Kids has been providing infant safe sleep education to families with the intervention of a safe, portable crib to those who cannot otherwise afford a safe place for their babies to sleep. Our goal is to help you provide safe sleep education and environments to families in need in your area as well. Our hope is that together we can change the culture surrounding safe sleep.

Sparking a culture of change takes a movement. We believe that, together with our partners, we can create a movement that will end Sudden Unexplained Infant Death. Through widespread education efforts, ongoing research, and changes in legislation, this dream can someday become a reality. As a Cribs for Kids Partner, you join us in our mission of helping every baby sleep safer. Together we are the soldiers of change.

It’s easy to become a Cribs for Kids partner, just complete the partner application and sign our Trademark License Agreement. This license agreement allows you to implement our tested programs with full use of our standardized forms and Cribs for Kids name and logo. Partners also gain the ability to order their safe sleep materials at our discounted prices. Our Program Directors will work with your organization on ways that you can implement Cribs for Kids programs that will lower your community’s infant mortality rate by bringing safe sleep to your area.

Cribs for Kids partners with hospitals, health departments, social service agencies, first responders, community educators and more. Anyone who wants to help us to achieve our mission by spreading the safe sleep message and by providing safe sleeping environments to families in need can apply to become a partner.

Cribs for Kids is a national non-profit agency that works with over 2000 partners nationwide. Cribs for Kids offers portable cribs at a discounted rate to our partners. All proceeds allow us to continue purchasing more cribs to provide to families in need as well as helping us to fund safe sleep initiatives and programs.

It is easy and free to become a Cribs for Kids partner! Simply visit our Become a Partner webpage and follow the instructions there.

Step 1, the Partner Application, tells us about your organization and how you intend to utilize the Cribs for Kids program. The application is housed in our application management system, Submittable. Please note: Submittable will require you to create an account to complete the form. This will allow you to begin, save, and complete your application at your own pace.

Step 2, the Trademark License Agreement (TLA) outlines your organization’s licensee permissions and program participation guidelines. Once you complete the Partner Application in Submittable, a Cribs for Kids staff member will send the TLA via DocuSign. If you would like to review the TLA prior to signing, you can download a review copy on the Become a Partner webpage. If your organization requires an alternative signing process, please email us at info@cribsforkids.org.

Once we have received both items, you are an official Cribs for Kids partner. We will then grant you access to our partner resource portal and our online store for ordering safe sleep products and educational materials.

Because Cribs for Kids is a non-profit organization, we require a signed Trademark License Agreement from all of our partner hospitals and organizations. It protects our name and ensures that the partnering organization will not try to claim our property as their own. Additionally, it grants the organization licensee permissions to use our name and materials as we are a nationally recognized infant safe sleep organization. It also provides various program participation guidelines and educational stipulations. We require sites to provide safe sleep education as a protection for them and for us, especially if they are providing cribs from our organization. We also provide various tools for them in our Partner Resource Portal to support this. We know that the best way to protect an infant from sleep-related death is infant safe sleep, so we require our partners to adhere to the most current American Academy Pediatrics Guidelines. If a partner site will not adhere to the AAP safe sleep guidelines, we cannot have our name tied to that entity because first and foremost, our organization is focused on accurate and evidence-based infant safe sleep education. The TLA reserves us the right to terminate the partnership if the organization is participating in programming that contradicts the infant safe sleep best practices.

The Trademark License Agreement is not a purchasing contract as we do not have any startup costs, annual fees, or maximum/minimum ordering requirements to be a Cribs for Kids partner. The only cost associated with being a Partner is the cost of the product the organization/hospital orders and shipping. There are no yearly maximum or minimum ordering or sign-up requirements. Partners can purchase cribs and other safe sleep products on an as-needed basis.

Apart from selling portable cribs and other safe sleep products at discounted prices, other benefits of being a Cribs for Kids Partner are:

Functional and Educational Products

• Our partners value our products such as our Cribette and Snoozzzette because not only do they provide a function, but because they are also viewed as an educational tool. All of our products are embossed with the ABCs of Safe Sleep (Alone, on the Back, in a Crib). This way, wherever a baby may be put to sleep, be it at home, grandma’s, or somewhere else, the caregiver receives a constant reminder to practice infant safe sleep.
• Additionally, all of our educational materials and products are available in English and Spanish.

Access to Educational Resources and Programming

• Our educational resources are based upon the American Academy of Pediatrics Infant Safe Sleep Education, so you can be assured that the information we provide to families is safe and accurate.
• We offer free online infant safe sleep resources through our Safe Sleep Ambassador training (https://cribsforkids.org/safe-sleep-ambassador/) and our Safe Sleep Academy (https://www.safesleepacademy.org/)
• Cribs for Kids offers a variety of programs to our Partners free of charge. By becoming a Cribs for Kids Partner, you will have access to all of our program materials to help you replicate our successful programs in your community. To learn more about each of our programs go to: https://www.cribsforkids.org/programs

On-Going Partner Support

• Our staff is available to assist you in meeting all your safe sleep needs and ensure that you have all of the tools you need to be successful.
• Translated Materials
  • Many of our educational materials have been translated into other languages and our collection is continually increasing as our partners’ needs grow. If you find you are in need of a particular language, our staff can help you find local resources for your community.
• Grant Writing & Fundraising
  • We know that many of our partners can struggle with funding sources, and Cribs for Kids is here to support you and offer our expertise and materials that can help you achieve your funding goals.

No, your partnership carries over from year to year. Cribs for Kids may reach out periodically asking you to reaffirm your partnership by completing a survey that also asks for current contact information. This will come in the format of an email or a letter.

No, there are no annual maximum or minimum ordering requirements. As a Cribs for Kids Partner, you can order as few or as many cribs as you will need.

However, Pitt Ohio, a shipping company located in Pittsburgh, PA, generously donates free shipping to our Cribs for Kids Partners in their service area. To access free shipping, our partners are required to order 10 or more cribs at a time.

To find out if you are in the PittOhio Service area, please email us at info@cribsforkids.org.

Cribs for Kids recognizes that our partners each have their own methods of collecting and tracking their program information, so we do not require any specific form of record-keeping and do not require annual reporting. However, we highly encourage each partner to record how many cribs they have provided and any other applicable demographic information for their own program usage and grant reporting.

Cribs for Kids offers examples of program documentation in our Partner Resource Portal found here: https://www.cribsforkids.org/resources/. The login credentials to the Partner Resource Portal are in your Partner Welcome E-Mail.

Orders must be placed through our online Partner Store at the link below.

https://cribsforkids.myaccountportal.com/

You must be a Partner organization or a Safe Sleep Certified Hospital through the National Hospital Certification Program to order from Cribs for Kids. Once the partnership process has been completed, you will be sent a password for the partner store.

If you are already a partner or a certified hospital and are having trouble accessing our new online partner store, please email us at info@cribsforkids.org or contact us here. One of our team members will be able to assist you with your username and password. Please include your partner ID number found in the original email with your store credentials.

The most current pricing is always reflected on our partner store.

However, Cribs for Kids also maintains our Partner Product Catalog with a price list organized by SKU number. Refer to the date at the bottom of the price list to ensure you are using the most up-to-date version.

As a non-profit Cribs for Kids is unable to fulfill orders from organizations who are not Cribs for Kids Partners or Certified Hospitals.

If your organization is not a Cribs for Kids Partner or certified hospital, please complete the partnership process on our Become a Partner webpage.

For those who are partners, please email us at info@cribsforkids.org with the following information.

1. Organization Name
2. Cribs for Kids Partner ID Number
3. Organization Address (including street address, city, state, and zip)
4. Ship To Address if different than Organization Address
5. Items (with SKUs if possible) and Quantities

Your email will be forwarded to our Logistics Team and they will respond as soon as possible. Please note that quotes expire after 30 days.

All educational materials and practices taught by Cribs for Kids are compiled from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Safe Sleep Recommendations.

POLICY STATEMENT:
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/150/1/e2022057990/188304/Sleep-Related-Infant-Deaths-Updated-2022

EVIDENCE BASE:
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/150/1/e2022057991/188305/Evidence-Base-for-2022-Updated-Recommendations-for

Cribs for Kids’ programs focus on prevention. Our partners have access to our safe sleep programs. Together we can spread a uniform safe sleep message to families all over the country and save baby’s lives. There are several programs offered through Cribs for Kids. Please see each page for more detail.

Cribs for Kids At Home – This program was developed in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in response to our partners’ finding it difficult to provide one-on-one education and crib distribution. This program consists of online education and crib home delivery to reduce exposure risk to you and your clients while assuring that all babies have a safe place to sleep.

To learn more about the Cribs for Kids At Home Program

Safe Sleep Ambassador – This program encourages both organizations and individuals to help us spread the safe sleep message by providing online safe sleep education and certification.

To learn more about the Safe Sleep Ambassador Program

The National Infant Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program – This program awards recognition to hospitals that demonstrate a commitment to community leadership for best practices and education in infant sleep safety.

To learn more about the Hospital Certification Program

Managed Care Organization Prenatal Incentive Program – This program encourages MCOs to provide new mothers with safe sleep education and product incentives when they attend all of their recommended prenatal care visits.

To learn more about our MCO Incentive Program

National Public Safety Initiative – Law enforcement agencies and first responders expand their community policing policies to include providing safe sleep education and cribs to families in need.

To learn more about our National Public Safety Initiative

Cribs for Kids maintains a partner map that helps to connect families to Cribs for Kids Partners in their area.

To find a crib, please visit https://www.cribsforkids.org/find-a-crib/ and follow the instructions on the webpage.

If there is not a Cribs for Kids Partner near the zip code entered on the map, Cribs for Kids is proud to work with Find Help to help connect families to other resources in their area. Visit https://www.findhelp.org/

Yes, Cribs for Kids offers a few ongoing educational opportunities.

1. For free, online educational training Partners can utilize the Safe Sleep Ambassador Program. Partners can use this training for their staff or provide online training for their clients. At the end, participants are awarded a certificate if they pass the Safe Sleep Quiz.
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2. Once a quarter, Cribs for Kids hosts the Safe Sleep Champions Webinar. These webinars feature interviews with the best and brightest in the Safe Sleep Community. From hospitals to community agencies to safe sleep advocates, Cribs for Kids brings you various stories to help our partners learn how to change the culture around safe infant sleep in their community.
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3. Cribs for Kids hosts the biennial National Cribs for Kids Conference. The next conference is a virtual conference and is scheduled for Fall 2026.

Cribs for Kids maintains a partner map that helps to connect families to Cribs for Kids Partners in their area.

To find a crib, please visit https://www.cribsforkids.org/find-a-crib/ and follow the instructions on the webpage.

If there is not a Cribs for Kids Partner near the zip code entered on the map, Cribs for Kids is proud to work with Find Help to help connect families to other resources in their area. Visit https://www.findhelp.org/

Yes! Cribs for Kids can help you accomplish your fundraising goals! Cribs for Kids can help you promote your event through our social media channels, our website, and email marketing.

Breath of Life Stroll

We are excited to offer a unique fundraising opportunity through our Breath of Life Stroll for partner organizations that want to host their own in-person event to raise money for their Cribs for Kids program. As a partner, you’ll have access to a comprehensive toolkit that provides all the materials you need to successfully promote your event, along with a customized fundraising page. The funds raised during your event will be deposited into your Cribs for Kids Partner Store account, directly supporting the members of your own community. The Breath of Life Stroll is a great way to engage your community, promote awareness about safe sleep, and raise funds for your local Cribs for Kids efforts!

Featured Fundraiser Event Promotion

Cribs for Kids Headquarters would like to help you promote your organization’s upcoming fundraising event. Your event must include the raising of funds for distribution of the Cribette or other Cribs for Kids safe sleep products to qualify for partnership promotion. Upon qualifying, Cribs for Kids will create a unique donation link that will display on our website. The donations received through this link will be used as a credit toward your Cribs for Kids Partner Store account. Please complete the application at the link below for consideration.

In the past Cribs for Kids and our partners have had success securing funding from the following sources:

• Ronald McDonald House
• Rotary Clubs
• Community and Hospital Foundations
• Bank Grants, PNC Bank, and KeyBank have been supportive of Cribs for Kids in the past.
• Check with your local and state health department for state and local grants that may be applicable to your services. Maternity and Child Health may be a good place to start.