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Dear Child Care Partners,
This month’s email from the Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) Child Care Health Program (CCHP) includes the following topics:
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Health & Safety Information for Child Care Providers |
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Preparing for Fall Virus Season
Now that fall is officially here, this is a good time to remind families and staff about illnesses and steps they can take to prevent them.
One helpful thing families and staff can do is make sure children who are sick stay home.
- Programs can reference the WAC 110-300-0205, which states staff need to look for signs of illness each day when children arrive at the program and throughout the day. Children should be sent home if they have any signs of illness.
- Our Keep Me Home If poster is a great tool to communicate with families. This is especially useful for families who are new to child care and aren’t familiar with licensing rules around illness exclusion.
Germs spread easily among young children. Our illness prevention checklists explain how staff can prevent and control the spread of illness in their classrooms and programs. The checklists give actions to take and why each step is important and explain how illnesses spread.
When illness occurs at your program, use our communicable disease letters to notify families about a possible exposure. We have letters for common infectious diseases in child care, and each describes symptoms, prevention, what to do if a child becomes ill, and when a child needs to stay at home. They have been translated into multiple languages for you to easily share with families.
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What's the Latest with COVID-19?
COVID-19 is still circulating and may impact your program. Back in April 2024, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released guidance for What To Do When You Are Sick With COVID-19 or Another Respiratory Virus (such as influenza or RSV). This is the most current guidance, and it applies to child cares and early learning programs, as well as K-12 schools and the general public.
Key recommendations in the guidance:
- Individuals with symptoms of a respiratory illness should stay home.
- Children and staff who are experiencing symptoms of a respiratory illness may return to the child care when it has been at least 24 hours since:
- Symptoms have improved, meaning the individual is feeling better overall and can fully participate in regular classroom activities, AND
- Fever has resolved, without the use of fever reducing medications.
- When people return to normal activities, they should take additional precautions such as practicing good hand hygiene and wearing a mask for the first 5 days, if able.
Child cares can always have health policies that are stricter than the current federal, state, or local guidance. Communicate any changes in your program’s health policy to families. Because masking is not recommended for anyone under the age of 2 years and can be challenging for some individuals, child cares may choose to implement additional mitigation strategies, such as:
- Excluding individuals who test positive for a 5-10 day period.
- Recommending testing during an outbreak.
Continue to use strategies that can help prevent the spread of respiratory illness, including:
- Improving airflow by opening windows, increasing fresh air intake on your HVAC system, and spending more time outdoors whenever possible.
- Monitoring for symptoms and sending individuals home when they are sick.
- Encouraging frequent handwashing, good respiratory etiquette, and wearing well-fitting, high-quality masks.
- Cleaning and disinfecting.
- Encouraging children and employees to stay up to date on vaccinations, including COVID-19 and influenza (“the flu”).
Reporting COVID-19 cases to PHSKC is still required. As a reminder, WAC states that child care and early learning programs must report within 24 hours certain “Notifiable Conditions,” and COVID-19 continues to be on this list. In King County, report:
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Each confirmed positive case of COVID-19 in staff or children AND
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Any outbreak of COVID-19 (defined as 5 or more cases or 20% of a group with positive tests) by:
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September is National Preparedness Month
Learn what to do in the event of an emergency and be prepared for any disasters before they happen. Having a plan and teaching kids about emergency preparedness is essential. The CCHP Emergency Preparedness section of our website has information on:
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Supplies to keep on hand in your child cares, including the 3-day Food and Water Supply List;
Many of our resources have been translated into multiple languages from Amharic to Vietnamese.
Here are some other good resources:
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Ready.gov has tools and resources for kids and educators in English and Spanish.
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The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services also has an extensive resources page for children and families.
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Information About Product Recalls
Recently, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled MJKSARE High Chairs, Model H-601 because the product violates national health and safety regulations, and poses an entrapment danger and a fall hazard if the tray disengages from the high chair. These high chairs were sold exclusively on Amazon.com and buyers can receive a full refund.
As a reminder, WAC 110-300-0150 requires items to be removed from the early learning space once recalled by the CPSC. Child care providers can view recalls for children’s toys and other commonly used baby and children items by subscribing to receive notices through www.SaferProducts.gov.
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Information to Share with Families
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Free COVID-19 Tests - Available Soon
At the end of September (exact date unknown), U.S. households will once again be able to order up to four free COVID-19 tests at COVIDTests.gov. These tests can detect current COVID-19 variants. We encourage you to share this information with your families and have them order tests when they become available.
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Back-to School Vaccination Clinics - Still Happening
The PHSKC Immunization Program is offering multiple back-to-school clinics (through October and early November) that will be providing free vaccines for children ages 0-18.
Check kingcounty.gov/findaclinic for clinic dates and times and confirm details before attending. For more information, contact vaccineinfo@kingcounty.gov or call 206-292-4774.
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Continuing Education & Training Opportunities |
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DCYF Community Child Care Forums
DCYF continues to hold Community Child Care Forums to discuss challenges providers are facing and to answer questions on child care policy, rules, and other topics. You can meet with leadership from Licensing and Early Learning and connect with local licensing administrators and licensors. These forums are open to licensed child care centers, licensed family homes, outdoor nature-based programs, and school-age providers, including certified providers who may be located on tribal lands.
For those in the Greater Seattle/King County Area (Region 4), the forum will be held on Tuesday, October 1 at the Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien from 6-7:30 pm. Registration is required.
Visit Community Child Care Forums for information and additional forum dates and locations, including a virtual option on December 10. For questions, email dcyf.communityengagement@dcyf.wa.gov.
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Best Starts for Kids (BSK) is sponsoring this free workshop on Wednesday, October 9, from 12:00 to 1:30 PM. It will provide an overview of ESIT and include topics on how to support those who may have developmental concerns about young children ages birth to 3. Making timely referrals, the essential elements of the ESIT program, and how to talk with families who may benefit from these services will be covered. There will be ample time for Q&A and STARS credits are available.
You can share, subscribe, or unsubscribe below, as well as find last month's edition of our newsletter on our website at any time.
In Health,
The Child Care Health Program
kingcounty.gov/childcare
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