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Dear Child Care and Early Learning Providers,
Last week, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) sent you information on the Vaccine Requirement for Child Care and Early Learning Providers. We are reaching out today to provide clarification on the following items:
- To whom the vaccine requirement applies and does not apply
- Key vaccination deadlines
- Vaccine requirement verification process
Vaccine Requirement
This mandate applies to:
- Licensed and certified child care centers and family homes
- Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), Early ECEAP, Head Start, and center-based Early Head Start programs
- License-exempt early learning settings, child care providers, and youth development programs
- Contractors, including coaches, consultants, volunteers, trainers, etc.
This mandate does not apply to the following groups at this time:
- Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) providers, including those that accept child care subsidy
- Household members of licensed family home providers
- Tribal programs, including those licensed or certified by DCYF or federally licensed programs
- License-exempt programs offered on-site at religious organizations (on-site child care that many religious organizations offer as part of their religious services, such as nurseries and Sunday school)
All child care, early learning, and youth development providers must provide proof to their employer that they are fully vaccinated or obtain a religious or medical accommodation by Oct. 18, 2021.
Individuals are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after their last dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or 14 days after their single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Child care and early learning providers need to receive the second shot of a two-dose vaccine regimen or the single shot of the one-dose regimen by no later than Oct. 4, 2021.
Key Vaccination Deadlines
 How do I submit verification of meeting the vaccine mandate to my employer?
Employees should follow the process identified by their employer for providing proof of vaccination. Employees must provide proof of vaccination by showing their vaccine card, certificate of COVID-19 vaccination, or Washington State Immunization Information System printout. Read the Visual Guide to Official Washington State Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination to see what each kind of documentation looks like. Employees should request a medical or religious exemption by following their employer’s standard medical or religious accommodation process.
I am licensed or certified by DCYF or am an ECEAP contractor. Do I also need to provide proof of meeting the vaccine requirement to DCYF?
Licensed or certified child care and ECEAP workers will complete a simple acknowledgment in the workforce registry, MERIT, that they have completed one of the options possible for meeting the vaccine mandate. This functionality will become available in MERIT soon.
DCYF will monitor provider compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate at the licensed child care center, family home, and ECEAP contractor level. Additional information about monitoring timelines will be provided in the near future.
A frequently asked questions (FAQ) document with more details is coming soon. If you have questions at this time, please contact dcyf.welcome@dcyf.wa.gov.
Thank you for all you do for the children and families we serve.
We are in the process of translating this message in Spanish and Somali. We will resend it as soon as possible.
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