Health Resource Spotlight: Health and Safety Training

The problem 

To protect the well-being of children in child care programs, federal law mandates that states set minimum health and safety training requirements for providers. What if a program seeks to go beyond the minimum? 

One solution 

The Healthy States: Health and Safety Training Toolkit, recently released by the National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness (NCECHW). States and Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCR&Rs) can use the toolkit to develop new, or build upon existing, health and safety trainings. Individual child care programs can use it to train staff.  

The toolkit includes online modules, training materials, webinars and other written and online resources on the following topics: 

• Infectious diseases 
• Safe sleep 
• Medication administration 
• Food allergies 
• Facilities safety 
• Shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma 
• Emergency preparedness 
• Hazardous materials 
• Transporting children 
• First aid and CPR 
• Child abuse and maltreatment 
• Child development
• Health and safety training (pre-service, orientation) 

The Healthy States: Health and Safety Training Toolkit is posted on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECKLC).