Ensuring the safety and well-being of young children and staff working in child care is a top priority for OEC. Learn about important guidelines and recommendations related to reporting, screenings, and more.
Air quality and ventilation
Better ventilation and filtration can help improve air quality in buildings — and better air quality can help decrease the spread of viruses (like flu and COVID-19). Check out our page on air quality and ventilation.
Cleaning
Regular cleaning and sterilizing helps keep kids healthy by getting rid of germs and preventing the spread of disease.
- Get resources on green cleaning in child care from the University of California San Francisco
- Read our fact sheet on using hand sanitizer in child care settings
- Bugs and other pests can cause health problems — like allergies and asthma attacks — and carry disease. They can also damage property and make food unsafe to eat. Learn about integrated pest management for child care facilities (CT Department of Public Health)
COVID-19
In Connecticut, the COVID-19 emergency ended on May 11, 2023. However, OEC — and other agencies — have important guidance and recommendations to protect children and your staff. Explore our COVID-19 guidance for child care programs.
Disease reporting
Child care staff must report any cases of communicable diseases in their program to meet state requirements. This helps the state to track and address the spread of disease.
- See the current list of reportable diseases
- Learn more about disease reporting from the CT Department of Health
Programs still need to report COVID-19 cases, but the process has changed
As of July 1, 2023, programs don’t need to report positive cases of COVID-19 to the Department of Public Health (DPH) on a weekly basis. Instead, COVID-19 cases must be reported the same way as any other disease on the reportable disease list. The DPH weekly COVID-19 reporting form has been retired.
Medication
- Learn how to get rid of unwanted medication
- Add links to med administration stuff?
Nutrition
Make sure to provide healthy snacks for children in your program.
Specific diseases and conditions
For information and resources concerning congenital cytomegalovirus, lead, bed bugs, and other related topics, please visit the CT Department of Public Health (DPH)
- Learn how to manage asthma in child care facilities (CT Department of Public Health)
- Read a fact sheet about MRSA (CT Department of Public Health)
- Read our fact sheet on protecting children and staff on days with poor air quality and hot weather
Vaccines and immunizations
Keeping vaccine and immunization records helps protect children from preventable diseases and maintain compliance with regulations.
- Find out how to request an immunization record from the Connecticut Immunization Registry and Tracking System (CIRTS)