5.4 Pre-Service or Orientation Training on Health and Safety Standards

Lead Agencies must have requirements for all caregivers, teachers, and directors at CCDF providers to complete pre-service or orientation training (within 3 months of starting) on all CCDF health and safety standards and child development. The training must be appropriate to the setting and the age of children served. This training must address the required health and safety standards and the content area of child development. Lead Agencies have flexibility in determining the minimum number of training hours to require, and are encouraged to consult with Caring for our Children Basics for best practices. Exemptions for relative providers’ training requirements are addressed in question 5.8.1. 5.4.1 Health and safety pre-service/orientation training requirements Lead Agencies must certify staff have pre-service or orientation training on each standard that is appropriate to different settings and age groups. Lead Agencies may require pre-service or orientation to be completed before staff can care for children unsupervised. In the table below, check the boxes for which you have training requirements. -- Is this standard addressed in the pre-service or orientation training? Is the pre-service or orientation training on this standard appropriate to different settings and age groups? Does the Lead Agency require staff to complete the training before caring for children unsupervised? a. Prevention and control of infectious diseases (including immunizations) [x] [x] [x] b. SIDS prevention and use of safe sleep practices [x] [x] [x] c. Administration of medication [x] [x] [ ] d. Prevention and response to food and allergic reactions [x] [x] [ ] e. Building and physical premises safety, including identification of and protection from hazards, bodies of water, and vehicular traffic [x] [x] [ ] f. Prevention of shaken baby syndrome, abusive head trauma and child maltreatment [x] [x] [x] g. Emergency preparedness and response planning and procedures [ ] [ ] [ ] h. Handling and storage of hazardous materials and disposal of [x] [x] [x] m. If the Lead Agency does not certify implementation of all the health and safety pre- service/orientation training requirements for staff in programs serving children receiving CCDF assistance, please describe: OSSE received a Preliminary Notice of Non-Compliance on Sept. 29, 2023, indicating that 1) OSSE does not indicate that volunteers are required to complete the emergency preparedness and response planning for emergency pre- service or orientation training and 2) OSSE has not established requirements for pre- service or orientation training that addresses all of the domains of child development. OSSE affirms that it needs additional time to come into compliance with these findings. To come into compliance, OSSE published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM) for the District’s child development facility licensing regulations on May 17, 2023, that adds volunteers to the existing requirements for emergency preparedness and response planning for emergency per-service or orientation training and that adds ￿Child development, including the major domains of cognitive, social, emotional, physical development, and approaches to learning￿ to the list of required orientation and annual health and safety training topics. OSSE anticipates a Final Rule later this year. In the meantime, OSSE is currently reviewing and updating the training in OSSE’s Learning Management System (LMS) and working with external training partners on the required updates. Training on ￿child development￿ is currently available to child care providers at no charge through courses offered in OSSE’s Learning Management System (LMS) and through OSSE grantees, and OSSE widely promotes training on topics related to child development, including early learning standards, effective behavior management, high- quality interactions, and promoting social and emotional learning, with the early childhood workforce. n. Are there any provider categories to whom the above pre-service or orientation training requirements do not apply? [x] No [ ] Yes. If yes, describe: biocontaminants i. Appropriate Precautions in transporting children, if applicable [x] [x] [ ] j. Pediatric first aid and pediatric CPR (age- appropriate) [x] [x] [x] k. Child abuse and neglect recognition and reporting [x] [x] [ ] l. Child development including major domains of cognitive, social, emotional, physical development and approaches to learning. [ ] [ ] [ ]