As of September 30, 2025, the federal funding for the National Resource Center (NRC) for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education, which hosted the Caring for Our Children (CFOC) Online Standards Database, was changed. This resulted in the Caring for Our Children (CFOC) Online Standards Database no longer being available. However, there are available resources on Health and Safety in Child Care.
The Caring for Our Children Basics (CFOCB) are available at no cost online at Caring for Our Children Basics Home | Child Care Technical Assistance Network. CFOC Basics (CFOCB) offers the basics. “By using CFOCB alongside other tools and standards, states and territories can build stronger health and safety policies and practices that better supports children, families, and providers.”
Child care providers should note that the diapering procedure in CFOCB omits the step about wiping the caregiver’s and child’s hands after putting on the clean diaper. The CDC diapering poster is referenced, but the CDC poster omits that step, as well.
Several recommended companion publications are also available.
Managing Infectious Diseases in Child Care and Schools (MIDDCS) 7th edition, March 2026 (AAP). This new 7th edition includes a diapering poster that captures best practices; it also covers hand sanitizers, noting their ineffectiveness against norovirus and some spore-forming germs like C. Difficile and Cryptosporidium. MIDDCS includes excellent forms for child care settings.
AAP Bookstore (e-book available)
Amazon (paperback only)
Healthy Young Children, 6th edition (NAEYC)
NAEYC Store (e-book available)
Amazon (book)
Model Child Care Health Policies, 5th edition, ECELS: Early Childhood Education Linkage System at the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Available at no cost online.
California Childcare Health Program. This website offers excellent evidence-based best practices, resources, forms, handouts for parents and providers. Available at no cost online.