A Child Care Health Consultant is a health professional who works with early education and school-age practitioners to recognize and promote the health and safety of children, families and their teachers.
Child Care Health Consultants should be licensed or certified health professionals with knowledge in pediatrics and developmentally appropriate health and safety practices for non-parental child care. Examples of health professionals who may have the necessary knowledge and skills to be a child care health consultant: nurses, nurse practitioners, pediatricians, family physicians, health educators, oral health professionals (dentists, dental hygienists,) nutritionists (dietitians,) and sanitarians. See the attachment for a pamphlet about how to choose and use a child care health consultant.
ECELS recruits and mentors health professionals to work as child care health consultants. Then, ECELS supports these child care health consultants as they provide advice and professional development services to improve health and safety practices in child care programs that serve infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school age children.
Contact ECELS at ecels@paaap.org if you have any questions or are interested in becoming a Child Care Health Consultant.