Top 5 Questions for Parents to Ask About Child Care Health and Safety During COVID-19

As states begin to reopen and parents start heading back to work, many are wondering if it’s safe to send their child to a child care program. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidelines for reopening child care, schools, and businesses, but child care providers need personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies, guidance from Child Care Resource and Referral agencies, and financial support to be able to implement these guidelines.  
 
To help parents make child care decisions during the pandemic, we created a Top 5 list of questions for parents to ask about child care health and safety, based in part on the CDC’s guidelines. For more details, see our blog post and fact sheet.  

1. What happens if an enrolled child or staff member gets sick with COVID-19? How will you communicate with families if this happens and will the program close?  
2. What social/physical distancing measures are you taking in your child care program to mitigate the spread of COVID-19? 
3. Will my child need to wear a face covering when he/she is in child care? 
4. How will drop off and pick up procedures change? 
5. Under what circumstances will I be able to enter the child care program?