Initiative for healthy environments in child care facilities and preschools

A critical oversight has occurred by failing to protect children outside of the K-12 public school environment, specifically for children enrolled in licensed and unlicensed child care and preschools. Child care and preschool settings are especially important environments to evaluate as many children spend several hours a day in these settings. In 2004, the Children's Environmental Health Network (CEHN) initiated Healthy Environments for Child Care and Preschool Settings (HECCP), a national training program educating child care providers, administrators, teachers, and parents about environmental health and possible strategies for preventing and alleviating environmental health hazards. This project aims to raise awareness of the importance of protecting children within these environments and encouraging others to become advocates for children. Based on the success of the HECCP in California, the project is currently being adapted for the Atlanta-metro region. This session will address the need for targeted programs for child care and preschool settings and the importance of this issue for future public health endeavors. HECCP demonstrates the ways a national training program can address the gaps in child care and preschool trainings within the field of environmental health and safety. This program, although educational in scope, will encourage the need to affect change through appropriate policy-oriented activities focused on protecting children within these environments.