This time of year, more than any other, child care providers
battle to keep the children in their care (and their staff) healthy. The most effective way of doing this, other
than simple handwashing, is having a strong illness exclusion policy and following
it at all times. I once worked in a
program that had good policy, but implemented it on a case-by-case basis. We had a lot of illness spread through that program.
Your illness exclusion policy must meet the minimum
requirements set forth by your local licensing agency. If these requirements are pretty minimal, you
have the right to make your own policy stronger. The National Resource Center for Health and
Safety in Child Care and Early Education's publication Caring for Our
Children is an excellent resource and can be found at: http://nrckids.org/CFOC3/index.html
Communication is also key in implementing a solid illness
exclusion policy. Staff must understand
the requirements of the policy, including when and how to exclude children from
care. Parents must be informed of the
policy before enrolling their children, reminded periodically, and be informed
exactly of why their child is being sent home at a particular time and when
their child can return to care.
One of the best things we ever did, after many unpleasant
discussions with parents who didn't think their children were sick, was to
develop a form to go home with each child being excluded for illness. The form is carefully coordinated with our illness
exclusion policy. It provides a simple
explanation of our policy, why, precisely, their child is being excluded and
what criteria must be met before the child can return to our care. This one simple form, when used consistently,
has saved us a lot of heartburn. If you
want to use ours, instead of spending hours developing your own, you can find
the form, and our illness exclusion policy, at:
http://daycaretools.com/DaycareProducts.aspx#Health
Here's hoping for a relatively painless cold and flu season!
Misty
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