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Child Care Health Consultation
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to see PowerPoints and handouts related to Child Care
Health Consultation.
Choosing a child care health consultant
and working together can help achieve the goal of providing
a safe, healthy, and developmentally appropriate environment
for our nation's young children.
What is a child care health consultant?
A child care health consultant (CCHC) is a health
professional who has interest in and experience with
children, has knowledge of resources and regulations
and is comfortable linking health resources with facilities
that provide primarily education and social services.*
Who can be a child care health consultant?
Child care health consultants include professionals
such as nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants,
physicians, health educators, dental hygenists, sanitarians,
and medical social workers who have:
- knowledge and experience in health and safety practices
in child care, and
- received CCHC training.
It is important to follow state regulations which may
determine who can be a child care health consultant
and whether or not your program is required to have
one.
What is a child care health consultant trainer?
The National Training Institute for Child Care Health
Consultants (NTI) is the national resource for training
state and regional-level public health and early childhood
education professionals to coordinate and train CCHCs
in their community. In turn, these child care health
consultants directly serve child care facilities.
What knowledge should a child care health consultant
have?
Professionals interested in consulting with child
care programs need basic training and ongoing professional
development. The knowledge base of CCHCs (personally
or by involving other health professionals) should include:
- National health and safety standards for out-of-home
care;
- How child care facilities conduct their day-to-day
operations;
- Child care licensing requirements;
- Disease reporting requirements;
- Immunizations for children;
- Immunizations for child care providers;
- Injury prevention for children;
- Staff health, including occupational health risks
for child care providers;
- Oral health for children;
- Nutrition for children;
- Inclusion of children with special health needs
in child care;
- Recognition and reporting requirements for child
abuse and neglect;
- Community health and mental health resources.*
In addition to these basic topics, CCHCs should also
be aware of emerging trends and new recommendations
(e.g., reducing the risk of SIDS in child care).
What are the benefits of having
a child care health consultant in your child care program?
A CCHC can help improve the health and safety of
children in your care by:
- Teaching child care providers about health and safety
issues;
- Teaching parents/guardians about health and safety
issues;
- Assessing the needs of child care providers and
parents/guardians for health and safety training;
- Meeting on-site with child care providers about
health and safety;
- Providing telephone advice to child care providers
about health and safety;
- Providing referrals to community services;
- Developing or updating policies and procedures for
child care facilities;
- Reviewing health records of children and child care
providers;
- Helping to manage the care of children with special
health care needs;
- Consulting with a child's health professional about
medication;
- Interpreting standards or regulations and providing
technical advice, separate and apart from the enforcement
role of a regulation inspector.*
How do you find a child care health consultant?
Because states use a variety of methods to support and
deploy CCHCs, the pathway for locating a CCHC varies
from state to state. For example, in some states, CCHCs
are housed in local Departments of Public Health. In
other states, CCHCs are private consultants who market
their services for a fee; and in still others, pediatricians
provide child care health consulting services. You may
want to begin your search for a CCHC by contacting your
local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency (CCR&R),
your local Department of Public Health, or the American
Academy of Pediatrics Chapter Child Care Contact.
How do I create a child care health consultant workforce
in my state?
Since 1997 the National Training Institute (NTI) for
Child Care Health Consultants has existed at the University
of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill. Via the train-the-trainers
model participants from across the United States gain
knowledge and skills to serve as trainers of child care
health consultants. After training, each returns to
his or her home area to create a child care health consultant
training program and network. To learn more about NTI
click here
to visit their Web site or contact Sandra Cianciolo
at 919/966-6288 or nticchc@unc.edu.
*Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety
Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child
Care, 2nd Edition, 2002.
Resources
How
to Choose and Use a Child Care Health Consultant
Refer to this training resource for information about
why you need a child care health consultant, what he
or she should know, and where to find a child care health
consultant trainer.
 First
Edition of our California Training Institute curriculum
for Child Care Health Advocates in English and Spanish.
The California Childcare Health Program is pleased to
announce the completion of a 3-day curriculum with 18
modules developed for early care and education professionals
to become Child Care Health Advocates (CCHAs). The content
is based on the National Training Institute for Child
Care Health Consultants. In California, Child Care Health
Advocates work collaboratively with Child Care Health
Consultants (CCHC) on health and safety issues in their
early care and education staff role or as a team member
with the CCHC in a county-wide program.
National
Training Institute Video
Learn about the role of the child care health consultant
with this video. With a growing number of children under
the age of five enrolled in regular out-of-home child
care, it is important that these facilities be equipped
to respond appropriately to the health and safety of
children. A child care health consultant is trained
to address issues such as playground safety and infectious
diseases. The viewer will hear the experiences of child
care center directors, health consultants, and consultant
trainers. (see
clip here) Clip requires a broadband connection.
(order
or download here)
Health
and Safety Consultation in Child Care DVD
A collaborative effort involving many child care experts,
this interactive and multimedia training dvd is designed
to inform and encourage health care professionals working
with child care programs. The dvd's, produced by the
Pennsylvania AAP Chapter, cover national resources,
making observations, the child care culture, how to
train child care staff, and making health and safety
improvement plan. Click on the link above to order your
copy from the AAP
Bookstore.
In
the News: Consulting to Child Care Centers an Extension
of Daily Work
Read about pediatricians who help to make sure that
child care centers are healthy and safe by working as
child care health consultants. Featuring: Judy Romano,
MD, FAAP.
Where can I learn more about child care health consultants?
- Visit the National Resource Center for Health and
Safety in Child Care Web site. It has information
both for and about child care health consultants including
Caring for Our Children National Health and Safety
Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home
Child Care. (click
here)
- Visit the Child Care Health Consultation section
of the Conference for Pediatric Advocates in Early
Education and Child Care Web page. You can find presentations
and resources on legal issues in health consultation,
consulting on children with special needs, conducting
an onsite assessment and more! Click here.
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