The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has been working to help ensure that early care and education (ECE) facilities are not located on or near places where environmental hazards are present. As part of these efforts, ATSDR has incorporated Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education (CSPECE) as a key activity in its cooperative agreement program, which supports 25 state health departments.

These funded states will implement programs to assess the current status of early care and education and environmental exposures in their state, develop partnerships with key stakeholders, implement policies and practices to ensure safe siting, and evaluate their chosen approaches. ATSDR has developed a suite of tools and resources for states and others to learn how they can protect children where they learn and play. These include fact sheets, checklists, and the Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education (CSPECE) Guidance Manual. This manual describes the health implications of siting child care and early learning facilities, explains the elements of ensuring sites are safe, and offers tips and tools for health departments interested in building a child care safe siting program. These materials are now all available on ATSDR’s website.

Please contact us at [email protected] with any questions.