When a child is ill or must be absent from school, parents/guardians are requested to call the center by 8:30 a.m. When a child has extended absences without a reported reason, your family may lose their placement at the center. Departure – Only authorized providers may pick-up your child from care. No child will be released to an individual suspected to be under the influence of any intoxicating substance and #911 will be called.
We appreciate a phone call when children will be absent from the center so that we can better plan for the daily program. If your child is absent due to a communicable illness, we need to know so we can inform other families (i.e., flu, thrush, strep throat, ringworm, etc.).
All children are encouraged to arrive at the center by 9:00 each morning. Arrangements for your child to arrive later must be discussed with your child’s teacher. This is for the benefit of classroom planning.
As part of the response to flattening the curve for the pandemic, our illness policy will strictly follow guidelines for the Colorado Department of Public Health. This includes daily temperature logs at drop off, voluntary isolation for exposures and mandatory medication free symptom free for a 72-hour period prior to returning to child care settings
If a child has a fever at or above 100.4 degrees, and ANY COVID related symptoms such as a dry cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, that child should remain home. In order for a child to return to care, they must:
• Have had NO fever for at least three (3) days without taking medication to reduce fever during that time; AND
• There is improvement in their respiratory symptoms (cough and shortness of breath) for three (3) days; AND
• At least ten (10) days have passed since their symptoms began.
If a child has a fever at or above 100.4 degrees, and NO other symptoms, that child may return to care once they have had NO fever for at least three (3) days without taking medication to reduce fever during that time
Please do not bring your child to school when he/she is sick.Although we understand the pressure for you to be at work, we are responsible for the health and safety of all the children at the facility. Bringing a sick child to school is not only difficult for the child, but also places stress on the staff and may place the other children in an unsafe situation. We strictly adhere to our illness policy which is mandated by the State of Colorado Department of Health and Environment for continued operation of our facility. Our illness policy is also in accordance with the Children’s Hospital School Health Program Denver, Colorado 2005, and has been reviewed and approved by San Juan Basin Health’s epidemiologist December, 2010.
There are three reasons to keep (exclude) sick children out of child care or school:
We will contact you for immediate pick-up of your child in the event of ANY of the following:
If your child contracts an infectious disease, please call the center director so that other children in contact with your child may be notified of potential exposure.We will keep the name of your child confidential.
Please communicate with your child’s provider if your child has not been feeling well or has or had any of the above mentioned symptoms in the last 24 hours or at any time over the weekend. This does NOT mean your child will be excluded from attending, but it is a way to alert staff of potential needs your child may have for that particular day.
As general policy, staff members are not trained or expected to administer medications to your child. If your child needs medication, it is recommended that it be given prior to or after care. In limited circumstances, and with the approval of the center director, you must submit a Medication Administration form from your physician to have medications given to your child during the school day. Medications must remain in their prescription container with doctor’s information, prescription dosage, child’s name and date filled.
When a child has not been picked-up on time, parents will be immediately contacted. In the event an emergency has occurred preventing the family from picking up the child, the emergency contact provided will be called. If no person authorized to pick-up the child has arrived within thirty minutes after closing, and no family or emergency contacts have been reached, Child Protection will be called to assume responsibility for the child, an action mandated by Colorado State Law.