To:

• OCDEL Staff

From:

Barbara G. Minzenberg, Ph.D.
Deputy Secretary, Office of Child Development & Early Learning

Issue Date: March 10, 2014
Effective Date: March 10, 2014
End Date: N/A

View this full announcement as a PDF. >

To share information on a collaborative effort between the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) called the “Healthy & Green” Child Care Siting program.

Child care centers are obligated to ensure that the locations where they are doing business are safe and free from environmental hazards. Regulations at 55 Pa. Code 3270.21 relating to general health and safety state that conditions at the facility may not pose a threat to the health or safety of the children.

As a state, Pennsylvania has a rich industrial history. Locations now being used for other business purposes, such as child care centers, may have once been industrial properties where harmful chemicals were used.

Children, especially young children, are more vulnerable when exposed to chemicals in the environment. The purpose of the Healthy and Green Child Care Siting program is to ensure that new child care centers seeking to open a facility at or near old industrial sites where potential hazards might exist are identified before becoming licensed so the hazards can be addressed and children are not exposed.

OCDEL will make a one-page flyer “Is your child care center safe?” available on the DPW website, at new provider orientations and to new child care providers submitting an application for a child care license. See Attachment 1.

Child care providers applying for a child care license are encouraged to complete a preliminary survey by going to surveymonkey.com/s/childcarecenters. Providers should try to gather as much information as possible about the property they will be using as the location for their facility so they have it available when completing the survey.

The Pennsylvania DOH will review completed surveys and cross reference their data bases to identify any properties where a hazard might exist. If a potential hazard is identified, DOH will work with the appropriate authorities and the provider to remediate the problem.

Lastly, while the Healthy & Green Initiative is targeted at new child care locations that have not started operating, OCDEL certification staff will be able to refer existing facilities to DOH if they observe conditions at existing facilities that might present a hazard to the children in care. To do this, they will complete a referral to DOH for follow-up. See Attachment 2 “Child Care Center Siting – Tip Sheet for Child Care Inspectors”.

1. Review this memo and share it with staff as
2. Make the one-page flyer “Is your child care center safe?” available to child care applicants and at new provider orientations.
3. Find this memo in the Certification shared folder under “Emails Sent from Headquarters to All Staff’
4. Direct questions to your supervisor or director.

View full announcement as a PDF. >