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CHILD CARE IMMUNIZATIONS

Vaccines help people become immune to diseases without having to get sick. Making an informed choice about immunization is key to protecting your family’s health.

High immunization rates in a community also provide protection for those who cannot be vaccinated because of age restrictions or medical conditions.

Since children can be especially vulnerable to disease, and since child care settings often make it easy for illness to spread, vaccinations are required for children to enroll in school or child care.

Schools, preschools, and child cares must complete and file an immunization status report to the Department of Health by November 1 of each year. WAC 246-105-060.

The Child Care Health Outreach program can help! For questions or assistance with immunization tracking and reporting or other child care health and safety topics please reach out at 425.252.5415 or by email at shd.childcarehealth@co.snohomish.wa.us.

We are currently recommending that communities request vaccine clinics through the Care-a-Van website

The Care-a-Van is a mobile health clinic that serves people across Washington state. They work closely with community partners and local health departments to increase access to vaccines for priority communities. To submit a request to have a DOH Care-a-Van at your event, please fill out the online form below and someone will reach out to you within 5-10 business days from the date of submission.

To help us better coordinate, we ask that you submit your requests at least 15 days in advance of the event. You do not need to have all the event details finalized before submitting a request form. Requests will be fulfilled based on Care-a-Van staff and vaccinator availability. For questions about the Care-a-Van, email care-a-van@doh.wa.gov.

Care-a-Van Mobile Health Services | Washington State Department of Health

Reducing Challenging Behaviors in The Child Care Setting

It is often difficult to decide how best to respond to challenging behaviors. We don’t want to do or say the wrong thing that may worsen the situation or cause harm, but we also need to figure out something that will work.

In this article, you will find three environmental issues to consider in your efforts to increase desired behaviors. Hopefully, these simple ideas will help you think through additional ways to modify your classroom environment to reduce challenging behaviors.

The first issue to consider is overstimulation in the environment. Overstimulation may cause sensory overloads resulting in meltdowns, shutdowns, and inexplicable behavior that doesn’t seem triggered by anything specific. Any of the senses can be overloaded - hearing, sight, smell, taste, and/or touch. A child may react to a tactile sensation such as the feeling of a particular fabric against the skin or to being touched. Are the lights too bright? Is there an overabundance of purposeless color and clutter?

For those of you who provide care to infants, remember that they are more easily overstimulated than toddlers, who are more easily overstimulated than preschoolers, and so on, right up into adulthood. Consideration of these factors is particularly important if you look after children who are diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, or other sensory-related diagnoses.

You might also consider room layouts and traffic patterns in your child care. Do you have long open spaces inside that may indicate a runway to a young child? If inappropriate indoor running is an issue, consider changing up the space. Do you notice a particular area of the room where unwanted behaviors tend to repeatedly occur? Perhaps rearranging the layout or contents of that area would reduce challenging behavior.

Finally, consider creating a space where children can go to be alone, such as a calming cube, quiet corner, or a designated safe space. Think of this as time-out 2.0. This space isn’t used as a punishment, but as a place where a child can go to regroup and learn to return to a calm state. When designating this space in your child care, be sure it is in a place where you can maintain appropriate supervision.

Check out the articles below for more information on implementing a calming space in your child care.

A Quiet Place for Rough Moments

Are Time-Outs Helpful for Young Children

Reminder Poster Available

Remember that children and staff who are sick should stay home. Here is a poster that you can print to remind families. If you need printed copies of this poster, please send an email to shd.childcarehealth@co.snohomish.wa.us and we will be happy to provide them.

COVID-19 Information

WA DOH has released an updated version of guidance for childcares (Guidance to Prevent and Respond to COVID-19 in K-12). Child cares in Snohomish County are still required to report every case to the Snohomish County Health Department.

All schools and child cares should establish a core set of infectious disease prevention strategies as part of everyday operations.

Please contact the Snohomish County Health Department to report cases at the Call Center (425-339-5278) or email SHD.ChildCareHealth@co.snohomish.wa.us

NO-COST COVID-19 TEST KITS FOR CHILD CARE FACILITIES

Child care facilities that are in need of rapid antigen tests (home tests) can now contact the Snohomish County Health Department to make a request for those tests. Tests are provided at no charge to child care facilities through Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) program funding.

You must call the COVID-19 Call Center (425-339-5278) or email SHD.ChildCareHealth@co.snohomish.wa.us to request your kits and discuss the pick-up process.

Tests are NOT available on a drop-in basis. Test kits can be picked up at our downtown Everett office or delivered to the childcare facility.

We appreciate your patience as we continue to update our courses to enhance your learning experience. Classes are being offered AT NO COST at this time.

For questions about our online classes, contact our team at SHD.ChildCareHealth@co.snohomish.wa.us or via phone at 425.252.5415.

This Month's Featured Classes

Contact Information

Snohomish County Health Department
3020 Rucker Ave., Ste. 202, Everett, WA 98201

Email: SHD.ChildCareHealth@co.snohomish.wa.us

Program Phone: 425.252.5415

Website: http://www.snohd.org/238/Child-Care-Providers

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The Child Care Health Outreach Program staff are available to consult with you on these and other health, safety, and nutrition topics by phone, by email, or at your child care.