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"Child Care Center Guidance" 

March 15, 2020


Greetings,

In providing guidance to our partners in the community in a highly evolving situation, we are very sensitive to many factors. To that point, we understand that child care facilities are certainly places where people congregate, while also being aware of the CDC and the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s guidance around social distancing.  Even though children are not considered ‘vulnerable populations’ in the context of COVID-19, we all maintain an intense desire to keep them and their adult caregivers safe, and to restrict the overall spread of the virus.
 
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) is the licensing and inspection body for child care providers across the state. As such, guidance has been requested by providers regarding their role in serving the community during the COVID-19 situation. After considering many factors and discussing with many different stakeholders, officially, OKDHS is providing the following multi-step guidance.
 
Stay open to continue to serve your community - Child care providers play a critical role in addressing community health issues like COVID-19. As such, a widespread closure of child care facilities will dramatically impact the ability of first responders, such as health care providers, to remain available to serve their communities. It is critical that you do all you can to remain open. The child care industry is a vital element of a community’s ability to respond in times of stress.  

Increase sanitization practices and remain vigilant in providing hygiene protocols to children and employees - In talking with our child care providers and working with our child care licensing team to provide well-reasoned guidance, partners and providers alike believe that many of our children maintain their best personal hygiene practices in their child care facilities, where these practices can be constantly reinforced. Increasing these practices and regularly talking with children about proper handwashing practices are important in creating healthy environments. The CDC recommends that we all wash our hands for 20 seconds (sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice) as often as possible.

Follow best practices on social distancing and sanitization – The CDC and Oklahoma State Department of Health have provided guidance on social distancing and proper wipe down protocols that ensure safe places for our children. OKDHS is requesting that providers revisit those protocols with their employees daily and put in place systems to ensure that those processes are being followed. You may also want to consider implementing a pre-screening tool to assess the health of the children and families you serve (such as utilizing infrared thermometers to check for fevers at the entrances to your facilities).

Flexibility – We do understand that staying open during a time of crisis could present challenges for your facility and/or workforce. Our number one priority is child safety. With that in mind, we are working with our state and federal partners to explore reasonable flexibility to existing rules that help improve your service delivery. This includes federal waivers to expand child care programs, as well as identifying community partners who can potentially assist with child care. We are also working with our federal partners to potentially procure additional resources for you, when and where appropriate. As you consider expanding services, you may want to offer preference to providing care to children of first responders and health care workers.

Finally, the team at OKDHS wants to thank you for your public service. Many times, child care providers and the incredible workforce at your facilities, are not fully recognized for the important role that they play in our lives, and we want you to know that you are appreciated.

We are available to help answer any questions that you have. We will continue to monitor this evolving situation, and we anticipate that we will provide further official guidance over the coming days and weeks. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to your OKDHS child care licensing contact, or as always, feel free to ‘Raise your Hand’ on ourOKDHS.org to provide ideas or needs for further assistance.

Thank you for your service to our community,
Justin Brown