Overview of CCDF Health and Safety Requirements

• Requires States to establish health and safety requirements in 10 different topic areas (e.g., prevention of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), first-aid, and CPR).
• Child care providers serving children receiving assistance through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program must receive pre-service and ongoing training on such topics.
• Requires States to conduct criminal background checks for all child care staff members, including staff members who don't care directly for children but have unsupervised access to children, and specifies disqualifying crimes.
• Requires States to certify child care providers will comply with child abuse reporting requirements.
• Requires States to conduct pre-licensure and annual unannounced inspections of licensed CCDF providers and annual inspections of license-exempt CCDF providers.
• States must establish qualifications and training for licensing inspectors and appropriate inspector-to-provider ratios.
• Requires States to have standards for CCDF providers regarding group size limits and appropriate child-to-provider ratios based on the age of children in child care.
• Requires emergency preparedness planning and statewide disaster plans for child care.

Health and Safety Topics and Trainings Required by the CCDBG Act of 2014 (SEC. 658E(c)(2)(I))

(I) Health and Safety Requirements. The plan shall include a certification that there are in effect within the State, under State or local law, requirements designed to protect the health and safety of children that are applicable to child care providers that provide services for which assistance is made available under this subchapter. Such requirements- (i) shall relate to matters including health and safety topics consisting of—

(I) the prevention and control of infectious diseases (including immunization) and the establishment of a grace period that allows homeless children and children in foster care to receive services under this subchapter while their families (including foster families) are taking any necessary action to comply with immunization and other health and safety requirements;

(II) prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and use of safe sleeping practices;

(III) the administration of medication, consistent with standards for parental consent;

(IV) the prevention of and response to emergencies due to food and allergic reactions;

(V) building and physical premises safety, including identification of and protection from hazards that can cause bodily injury such as electrical hazards, bodies of water, and vehicular traffic;

(VI) prevention of shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma;

(VII) emergency preparedness and response planning for emergencies resulting from a natural disaster, or a man-caused event (such as violence at a child care facility), within the meaning of those terms under section 602(a)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5195a(a)(1));

(VIII) the handling and storage of hazardous materials and the appropriate disposal of bio-contaminants;

(IX) for providers that offer transportation, if applicable, appropriate precautions in transporting children;

(X) first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and

(XI) minimum health and safety training, to be completed pre-service or during an orientation period in addition to ongoing training, appropriate to the provider setting involved that addresses each of the requirements relating to matters described in subclauses (I) through (X); and

(ii) may include requirements relating to nutrition, access to physical activity, or any other subject area determined by the State to be necessary to promote child development or to protect children's health and safety.

Explore Early Educator Central to learn ways to identify an infant and toddler career path. Infant and toddler professionals can find resources organized by role to help build competency. The four career pathways include teachers, administrators, trainers/coaches, and professional development system leaders. No matter what your infant and toddler career pathway is, you'll find resources to help you build your expertise and your impact.

Resources on Health and Safety

The Health and Safety and Licensing Topic on the CCTAN Website
Find more than 30 documents that explore how licensing and other regulatory systems form, and enforce health and safety requirements. Learn more about how these systems monitor provider compliance and serve as the foundation for quality improvement initiatives.

The Virtual Lab School is designed to empower professionals to build knowledge and skills around best practices in child care. Users can choose to learn about the Infant and Toddler or Preschool track. The Infant and Toddler track is intended for early childhood professionals serving children ages 6 weeks through 3 years in center-based programs. The Preschool track is intended for early childhood professionals serving children ages 3 through 5 years in center-based programs. Both tracks offer training and professional development resources, including written narrative, video, skill building activities, and classroom tools. Both tracks consist of courses that mirror the core Child Development Associate (CDA) competencies. Courses topics include:

Prevention and control of infectious diseases (including immunization)

• Healthy Environments

Prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and use of safe sleeping practices

• Child Abuse Prevention
• Safe Environments

Prevention of and response to emergencies due to food and allergic reactions

• Healthy Environments

Prevention of shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma

• Child Abuse: Identification & Reporting

Building and physical premises safety, including identification of and protection from hazards that can cause bodily injury such as electrical hazards, bodies of water, and vehicular traffic

• Safe Environments
• Child Abuse Prevention

Emergency preparedness and response planning for emergencies resulting from a natural disaster, or a man-caused event (such as violence at a child care facility)

• Safe Environments

Handling and storage of hazardous materials and the appropriate disposal of bio contaminants

• Safe Environments

Precautions in transporting children

• Safe Environments

Administration of medication, consistent with standards for parental consent

• Healthy Environments

Recognition and reporting of child abuse and neglect

• Child Abuse: Identification & Reporting

Better Kid Care's (BKC) online courses help child care providers gain research-based knowledge and skills at their own pace. Many states accept BKC professional development for licensing or quality rating requirements. Offered by Penn State Extension, BKC has more than 190 online courses, including health and safety topics. Most modules cost $5 for professional development and a certificate. BKC is convenient: If you are interrupted while taking a lesson, you can return to the lesson at a later time. Courses include:

Prevention and control of infectious diseases, including immunization

• Your #1 Priority: Keeping Children Healthy and Safe
• Infant-Toddler Care: Healthy Spaces
• Handwashing 101
• Diapering 101
• Changing Pull-ups and Soiled Underwear

Prevention of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome (SUIDS) and use of safe sleeping practices

• Safe Sleep Practices for Caregivers: Reduce the risk of SUID

Prevention of and response to emergencies due to food and allergic reactions

• Food Allergies: Management and Prevention

Building and physical premises safety, including identification of and protection from hazards that can cause bodily injury, such as electrical hazards, bodies of water, and vehicular traffic

• Infant-Toddler Care: Safety
• Supervision: Playground Supervision
• Supervising Children in Family Child Care
• Supervision: Positioning – Where Do I Stand?
• Your #1 Priority: Keeping Children Healthy and Safe

Emergency preparedness and response planning for emergencies resulting from a natural disaster or a man-caused event, such as violence at a child care facility

• Developing an Emergency Preparedness Plan

Handling and storage of hazardous materials and the appropriate disposal of bio-contaminants

• Healthy Child Care Environments: Using Green Cleaners
• Keep Children Healthy and Safe: Air Quality
• Your #1 Priority: Keeping Children Healthy and Safe
• Keep Children Healthy and Safe: Toxins
• Pest Treatment Using IPM

Precautions in transporting children

• Supervising Children in Family Child Care

BKC also offers a six-hour health and safety orientation module that provides an overview of the basic health and safety requirements. It also reviews best practices in nine of the topic areas outlined in the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Reauthorization of 2015:

• Safe spaces
• Transportation safety
• Handling and storage of hazardous materials
• Emergency preparedness
• Prevention and control of infectious disease
• Food and allergic reactions and how to respond
• Administration of medication
• Shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma
• Safe sleep and SUIDS prevention

As an early care and education provider, you play a critical role in the health and well-being of children. You are also very well positioned to help identify children who might need extra help in their development. This free, online training course from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), helps you fulfill this role. Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns provides tools and best practices for monitoring the development of children in your care and talking about it with their parents. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available. You must complete all four modules, each quiz, and a final evaluation to qualify. Select this link for instructions: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/watchmetraining/index.html.

In this one-hour, four-module course, you will learn:

• Why monitoring children's development is important
• Why you have a unique and important role in developmental monitoring
• How to easily monitor each child's developmental milestones
• How to talk with parents about their child's development