Information from the Healthy Child Care Pennsylvania ECELS Program

National Poison Prevention Week is a chance to highlight the dangers of poisonings. Substances most commonly involved in poisonings of children are cosmetics, personal care products, cleaning products, and medications. Fifty percent (50%) of all exposures involve children younger than age 6!

To avoid poisonings when caring for children:

• Store medicines and all cleaning products in areas that are completely inaccessible to children.
• Supervise children at all times!
• Never carry something that can be poisonous, e.g., medicine, in a purse where a child may find it.
• Safety latches on drawers/cabinets and child resistant caps on bottles help keep poisons out of the hands of children.

When accidents happen with chemicals, medicine, or household items, call Poison Help 1-800-222-1222.

Post the number by the telephone where it is visible for early care and education staff.  Program the poison control center number into cell phones so you have the number when you need it. Get help right away from a local poison expert. If someone is unconscious or has trouble breathing, call 911.

When you call 1-800-222-1222, you will reach specially trained poison experts at a poison center that serves your area. They provide free, confidential help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Interpretation services are available in 161 languages.

For safety tips to keep children safe from poisons see Child Tips.

Share this information with families too!

An Eco-Healthy Child Care® endorsed provider creates and maintains an early childhood learning environment that is healthy and safe by reducing children’s exposure to toxic chemicals. These changes immediately benefit the health and well-being of the children in care. Learn more about how to apply online to become an Eco-Healthy Child Care® endorsed provider.

Start creating a healthier early care and education (ECE) environment today!

The summit was broadcast on-air via the North Carolina Channel and through a livestream provided by UNC-TV. Recordings of the NC Early Childhood Summit are available now at: NC DHHS Early Childhood website.

Experts in childhood health, education and child welfare spoke, including:

• North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper,
• former Gov. Jim Hunt,
• NC DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, and
• Dr. Jack Shonkoff from the Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University.

They and others encouraged the crowd to take action to improve outcomes for young children.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) shared information about child care rule changes taking effect March 2019. Rules address minimum requirements for two through five star rated licenses.

For details regarding these changes, view the March 2019 Child Care Rulebook and enroll in the DCDEE Moodle training tool. Each individual user will need to have an NCID to participate in Moodle training. If you do not already have an NCID, use this link to get one: https://ncid.nc.gov/ncidsspr/

Rule training modules can be found in the same course as the October 2017 Child Care Rule Rollout. If you are unfamiliar with the Child Care Rule Rollout within Moodle and how to navigate, please visit:

https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Learning-Resources/How-to-Navigate-Moodle.

Click here to go directly to DCDEE’s Moodle page. You can also access Moodle through DCDEE’s website homepage.

If you have any issues with logging into Moodle, please contact Brenda Williamson (Brenda.Williamson@dhhs.nc.gov) or Justin Berrier (Justin.Berrier@dhhs.nc.gov). You can also reach Brenda or Justin by phone at 919-814-6300 or 1-800-859-0829 (toll-free in NC).