Before Your First Day: A Safety Checklist for New California Childcare Providers

Getting your childcare license is a major milestone, but being licensed and being ready for your first day are two different things! Before the first child arrives, take some time to walk through your childcare space as if you were seeing it for the first time. A few simple preparations can prevent emergencies, make communication with parents easier, and help your first days of operation run much more smoothly.

Make Sure Emergency Information Is Easy to Access

You should have current emergency information for every child in your care. Don't wait until an emergency to discover that a parent's phone number has changed or that you don't have the information you need.

Review each child's records and make sure you have the required information, including emergency contacts and any important health information provided by the family. You should also know exactly where these records are kept so you can access them quickly when needed while still protecting confidential information.

Learn About Allergies Before the Child Arrives

Food allergies and other serious allergies should never be something you discover during snack time. Talk with parents or guardians about known allergies, dietary restrictions, medications, and any special instructions that apply to their child. Keep a record or this information for each child and take extreme caution to avoid allergic reactions.

If a child has an emergency care plan or prescribed emergency medication, make sure you understand the documentation and procedures required for your childcare setting. Anyone responsible for supervising that child should know what to do in an emergency.

Check Your Emergency Supplies

Having a well stocked first aid kit is important, but simply owning one isn't enough. You should frequently open it to ensure nothing has been used up, damaged, or expired. Keep the kit somewhere adults can access quickly but children cannot.

You should also know where your fire extinguisher, AED if you have one, and other required emergency equipment are located.

Look at Your Space From a Child's Point of View

Get down to a child's height and look around (infants are quite low to the ground typically). You may notice hazards that aren't obvious when you're standing up.

Look for accessible electrical outlets, cords, sharp corners, unstable furniture, cleaning products, medications, choking hazards, small objects, and anything else a young child could reach, pull down, swallow, or climb. Do safety checks regularly to ensure all hazards must be eliminated from the childcare environment.

Remember that children's abilities change quickly. A space that is safe for an infant may not be safe for a toddler who has suddenly learned to climb.

Know How You Will Account for Every Child

Develop a system for knowing which children are in your care at all times. This becomes especially important during transitions—going outside, coming back inside, moving between rooms, preparing for naps, or loading children for an approved outing. Going on field trips and other similar types of activities can make this especially challenging.

Do not rely solely on memory, a system helps us remember things that can easily be overlooked. Good attendance and supervision procedures make it easy to confirm that every child is accounted for.

Practice Your Emergency Plan Before You Need It

Knowing that you have an emergency plan isn't the same as knowing how to use it. Think through what you would actually do during a fire, earthquake, medical emergency, power outage, or other emergency affecting your childcare program.

• Where would the children go?

• What would you take with you?

• How would you contact families?

• How would you safely evacuate infants or children who cannot move quickly on their own?

Practicing your procedures can expose problems that aren't obvious on paper. Click here for The California Child Care Disaster Plan, a document to help with planning for emergencies and disasters. The required EMSA approved 8-hour CPR and First Aid training is a great way to build the skills you need to respond to life threatening emergencies. Make sure you ask questions and leave confident in responding to emergencies.

Be Careful With Medication

Medication should never be administered casually. Make sure you understand the applicable licensing requirements, have the appropriate authorization and instructions, and store medication safely and securely.

• Click here for the “PARENT CONSENT FOR ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATIONS AND MEDICATION CHART” and maintain these records for each child in your care.

Never assume that because a medication is available over the counter it can automatically be given to a child in your care. Things like sunscreen and diaper rash cream are still considered medications!

Establish a Clear Pickup Procedure

Know who is authorized to pick up each child and have a procedure for verifying identity when necessary. If someone arrives whom you don't recognize, don't rely on the person's statement that a parent sent them. Following your established authorization procedures protects the child, the family, and your childcare program.

Keep Important Numbers Available

Don't depend entirely on the contacts stored in your phone. Important emergency and facility information should be available in a way that can still be accessed if your phone is lost, damaged, has a dead battery, or isn't immediately available. Post them in clearly marked locations and ensure all staff know where to locate.

Understand the Difference Between Training and Preparedness

Completing your required training gives you important knowledge about health and safety, but good childcare requires putting that knowledge into practice every day.

Before opening your doors, ask yourself a simple question: If something unexpected happened five minutes after the first child arrived, would I know exactly what to do?

If the answer is no, that's something worth addressing before opening day.

Start With Good Habits

Some of the most important childcare safety practices aren't complicated. They're habits: checking attendance, updating records, communicating with families, inspecting your environment, documenting incidents, maintaining emergency supplies, and paying attention to changes in the children you care for.

Building those habits from your very first day can make your childcare program safer, more organized, and easier to manage as it grows.

Licensing requirements can change, and requirements may differ depending on the type of childcare facility you operate. Always use current California Community Care Licensing and EMSA guidance when determining the specific requirements that apply to your program. Click here to sign up for Provider Information Notices (PINs) which help you stay up to date on any childcare licensing updates or changes.