COVID-19: Resources for Child Care Providers

The health risk to the general public in California is low. But you can take precautions to prevent the spread of all infectious diseases including influenza, gastroenteritis, and coronavirus. Travelers, including staff, who have a travel history over the course of the last 14 days to an area identified by the CDC as a Level 3 Travel Health Notice should be excluded from child care/preschool settings for 14 days. Additionally, exclude those who have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 for 14 days from the day of their last exposure. PLEASE NOTE – there have been reports of persons being stigmatized. Providers should ensure families’ and staffs’ privacy to prevent discrimination.

Enforce your sick policy. Families of children showing signs of fever, diarrhea, lethargy, and other exclusionable symptoms should be contacted immediately and picked up. Separate sick infants, children, and staff from others until they can go home. When feasible identify a “sick room” where others do not regularly pass. If parents are unable to pick up their child, you should notify the emergency contact on file. Children should not return to care until 24 hours AFTER symptoms are gone. Not 24 hours after they were sent home unless they have a physician’s note stating that they are not contagious and cleared to return to care.

Wash your hands throughout the day, including:

• When families arrive at your facility
• Before and after handling food, feeding a child, or eating
• After using the toilet, changing a diaper, or helping a child use the bathroom. After a diaper change the provider and child’s hands should be washed and the changing surface disinfected.
• After helping a child wipes his or her nose or mouth or tending to a cut or sore
• After playing in sandboxes
• Before and after playing in water that is used by other children

Conduct a mini inspection to reduce the risk of disease and promote good hygiene like:

• Are there sinks in every room? Are there separate sinks for preparing good and washing hands? Is food handled in separate areas from the toilets and diaper-changing tables?
• Are the toilets and sinks clean and readily available for the children and staff? Are disposable paper towels used so each child will use only their own towel and not share with others?
• Are toys that infants and toddlers put in their mouth sanitized before others can play with them?
• Are all doors and cabinet handles, drinking fountains, all surface in the toileting and diapering areas cleaned and disinfected at the end of every day?
• Are all changing tables and any potty chairs cleaned and disinfected after each use?
• Are staff and other children fully immunized, especially against the flu?
• Is food brought in from home properly stored? Is food prepared on site properly handled?
• Is breast milk labeled and stored correctly?

Remain calm and explain the facts. You can print a kid-friendly comic strip on the coronavirus from NPR here.

You can direct families to the California Department of Public Health for the most up to date information. Governor Newsom has declared a State of Emergency to make additional resources available to help the state prepare for the broader spread of COVID-19. 24 million more Californians are now eligible for free medically necessary COVID-19 testing. California activated the State Operations Center to its highest level to coordinate response efforts across the state. We have also made a request to U.S. Congress about our concerns as early education professions so we may be include in the COVID Stimulus plans.

Licensing has established a dedicated e-mail address to receive inquiries related to CCLD-licensed facilities and COVID-19. This e-mail address is: CCLCOVID-19INFO@dss.ca.gov

When sending a question to this e-mail address, please specify this is regarding Child Care. This is necessary for Licensing to ensure questions are forwarded to the appropriate program for timely response. If you prefer a response via a telephone call, be sure to include a phone number in your email. Licensing will provide responses as soon as possible.