Tips To Help Maintain Health & Safety During COVID-19

Recommended Practices in a COVID-19 World

Follow health department and CDC guidelines as you plan for your child care services.

Note: Please check with Local Health Department Guidelines as they vary from county to county and are updated regularly. 

Summary of Recommended Practices

• Limit interactions with people outside your family, social pod, or work groups

• Before you take the job, talk with the parents you will be working for about your social activities outside the job to ensure you and they are all comfortable with the precautions and lifestyle you have

• Be alert to any symptoms in yourself or the child/children.

• Clarify the best practices for sanitation and cleaning, social distancing and wearing of masks they will have you implement for yourself and for their kids when on the job

• Implement safe hand hygiene.

• Spend time outside and exposed to fresh air.
• Follow the current CDC guidelines for childcare on social interaction, maintaining social distancing, wearing a mask and sheltering in place during the time you are employed. Check regularly for updates from local health departments.

Continue reading to better understand recommended practices for mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

Limit interactions:          

• Limit interactions with people outside your family, social pod, or work groups

Open communication:

• Discuss with families how many other people or families you are in constant contact with or have had interaction within the last 2 weeks. Furthermore, discuss with your own family and friends you are in contact with of the families and children you are interacting with.
• Talk with the family to have their agreement before you start working for them, on whether they are comfortable with you taking an additional job outside their family pod. Likewise, families are strongly encouraged to share their own public interactions with you, so you can continue to make educated decisions about your own level of risk.
• Discuss what measures the family wants you to take and additionally what measures you would like the family to take; This could include masks, daily surface cleaning, regular temperature checks, limiting to certain areas of the house, etc.
• Bring up any concerns that you may have, your health and safety is always a priority.

Be Aware of any symptoms:

• Be actively aware to any symptoms the child, family, or yourself may show. Self-screen yourself before coming into contact with any families.
• Immediately talk to the family and take a 2 week quarantine if necessary.
• If any symptoms are discovered in your own personal household, postpone all jobs and do not accept any new jobs until symptoms are completely cleared and/or tested by a physician.
• Contact your local clinic to see if you should get tested - See CDC Guidelines below for more information

Clarify cleaning/disinfecting responsibilities with families:

• Develop schedule for regular cleaning and disinfecting.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

• Use gloves when removing garbage bags or handling and disposing of trash. Wash hands after removing gloves.

Practice healthy hand hygiene:

• It is important that both the staff and child practice good hand hygiene. Wash hands regularly and whenever it is practical to do so - See CDC Guidelines

Get outside:

• Be sure to get yourself and any children outside and exposed to fresh air as much as you reasonably can. If you are confined indoors, open windows and doors to allow ventilation.