Preventing the spread of COVID-19 among children in early childcare education (ECE) and childcare programs is critical, particularly as vaccination has not been approved for this age group. Because childcare programs typically operate independently, they often do not have the most ideal resources or partnerships to implement suggested public health practices.
NACCHO, in partnership with Child Care Aware of America and with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), developed a COVID-19 mitigation checklist to support ECE and childcare programs to provide a healthy and safe environment for providers, children, and families during this challenging time. This checklist reflects the information provided in CDC’s updated Guidance for Operating Early Care and Education/Child Care Programs. This checklist will occasionally be updated to reflect the most current COVID-19 guidance to support ECE and childcare programs.
NACCHO encourages local health departments to share, promote, and disseminate this checklist with their community ECE and childcare programs.
View the full COVID-19 ECE Checklist for ECE programs here. To download a section of the checklist, please select from below.
Section 1: Planning and Preparing
Section 2: Screening, Illness, and Communicating Symptoms & Cases
Section 3: Masks, Hygiene, and other Personal Protective Measures
Section 4: Classes/Cohorts and Physical Distancing
Section 5: Cleaning and Disinfecting
Section 6: Immunizations
Section 7: Staff Resilience and Support