On November 19, 2014, the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 was signed into law. The law reauthorized the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program to improve the health and safety of children in child care and improve the overall quality of early care and education settings. Below are some of the new federal guidelines for child care providers that provide care for working families through the CCDF child care subsidy program, including exempt child care programs in Alabama.
States must have in place policies relating to licensing or regulating child care providers that serve children receiving CCDF subsidies, including:
- For licensed CCDF programs, there must be one pre-licensure visit and an annual, unannounced inspection for compliance with fire, health, and safety standards.
- For license-exempt CCDF programs, there must be an annual announced inspection for compliance with fire, health, and safety standards.
States must have policies and procedures in place to conduct comprehensive criminal background checks for child care providers and all child care staff members, including staff who don’t care directly for children but have unsupervised access to children.
States must provide the monitoring and inspection reports to the public by electronic means.
CCDF Resources
CCDF Final Rule Frequently Asked Questions
CCDF Health and Safety Requirements Briefs: The National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance (ECQA Center) has developed nine briefs addressing the health and safety topics specified in the law.
- Brief #1: Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases
- Brief #2: Administering Medications
- Brief #3: Prevention of and Response to Emergencies Due to Food and Allergic Reactions
- Brief #4: Reducing the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Using Safe Sleeping Practices
- Brief #5: Building and Physical Premises Safety
- Brief #6: Emergency Preparedness and Response Planning
- Brief #7: Handling, Storing, and Disposing of Hazardous Materials and Biological Contaminants
- Brief #8: Transportation of Children
- Brief #9: Health and Safety Training
