As we are taking steps to prevent the spread of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the community, the safety of students, teachers, administrators, staff and families are our top priority. We recognize that early care and education, schools and higher education are critical components of communities and have tremendous impact on the health, growth, and development of children and the overall well-being of families. This COVID-19 Early Care and Education Toolkit is designed as a resource to help you prepare for and respond to COVID-19 for childcare center-based programs and family childcare homes. Guidance documents, templates and answers to frequently asked questions for the education setting as well as selected resources from local, state and national resources. The toolkit should enable you to manage community mitigation at your site and report COVID-19 cases if and when they occur at your site.
Early Care and Education providers are required to notify the Department of Public Health of employees and children with confirmed COVID-19 at the site. To complete this education sector reporting requirement, the provider should use the reporting method described below to provide information on (1) children and staff with confirmed COVID-19 who were on site at any point within the 14 days prior to the illness onset date and (2) persons at the site who were exposed to the infected person during the infectious period. The illness onset date is the first date of COVID-19 symptoms or the COVID-19 test date, whichever is earlier. All case notifications should be submitted within 1 business day of being notified of the case.