Health ideas for wellness
The DCCNY recommends parents request information on what’s happening in the child care center every day:
• Ask providers about safety recommendations they are putting in place. • How often are providers cleaning the classrooms and the toys? • How is mealtime handled? • What activities are they allowed to do outside or not allowed to do outside? • What are the providers’ personal protective equipment (PPE)? • What is the procedure for parent pick-up and drop-off? • Are parents allowed in the centers or homes? • How do parents socially distance from other parents?
NYC Child Care Centers Have Success During Pandemic
W
hen Governor Cuomo announced that public schools throughout New York State will open in the fall, parents became concerned about having their children go back to school in the age of COVID-19. Although the pandemic shut down New York City’s 1,800 schools (including Pre-K), there were 93 regional enrichment centers open to serve the child care needs of first responders and essential workers. Later, the city opened emergency child care programs located in community-based organizations and home-based family child care provider programs. These schools have been on the frontline in providing safe child care for New York City’s families during the COVID-19 crisis. The nonprofit Day Care Council of New York (DCCNY) has worked with publicly funded New York City child care centers and family childcare programs (UPK, 3K, Head Start, early Head Start, etc.) for over 70 years. It decided to examine 13 emergency child care programs in Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx to determine how they were operating during this pandemic. The research included nine center-based providers and
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The Positive Community Summer 2020
BY FERN GILLESPIE
four family child care providers. The goal was to determine how these centers established successful health, safety, and instructional practices. This July, DCCNY released their report Child Care in a Pandemic: What We Learned from Emergency Child Care Programs and How We Can Safely Reopen Our Early Education System. “There’s been a lot of talk and a lot of anxiety from child care providers, families and the public about what it’s going to be like to go back to school,” said DCCNY Senior Research Analyst Mai Miksic, who co-authored the report. “We felt there was a lot to be learned from the emergency child care centers operating during this entire pandemic. I think it’s a good starting point around discussions of what is necessary to keep children and their family safe. Also, how we continue to provide quality care for those families.” What the DCCNY discovered was that no one in the study – neither child nor adult – was diagnosed with COVID-19. In fact, the centers had enhanced the CDC protocols to ensure a safe learning environment. The cleaning procedures were part of the new normal of operating under pandemic conditions. Deep www.thepositivecommunity.com
