Use this updated checklist to identify hazards in indoor and outdoor active play areas. The checklist is followed by a table to use to plan corrective actions, and suggestions for how to finance any that require seeking additional money to cover costs. Updated 3/27/2014. Reviewed and reaffirmed 6/2018.

ECELS Safety Checklist Planning Tool for Active Play Areas

This is a one page list of suggestions to enhance the quality of observations of early education programs by health professionals.  Reviewed and reaffirmed 6/2018.

Classroom Observation Guidelines

Use this document on a daily and monthly basis to make sure your active play area is free of hazards.  Identify any areas that need fixing and make a plan to correct the hazard.  Reviewed and reaffirmed 6/2018.

Daily & Monthly Playground Maintenance Form

The California Childcare Health Program developed the Health and Safety Checklist for Early Care and Education Programs to conduct an onsite assessment in a period of about 2 hours. Child Care Health Consultants in the states of California, Arizona and North Carolina pilot-tested the checklist. A corresponding User Manual is available along with the checklist in PDF format on the California Childcare Health Program website.

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The Health and Safety Checklist is a 112-item tool developed to assess key health and safety standards and identify ways to improve health and safety in early care and education (ECE) programs. The Checklist includes 72 out of the 138 key health and safety standards in Stepping Stones, 3rd.Ed. The Checklist was reviewed by an advisory committee of health and safety experts before being pilot tested by child care health consultants. The Checklist has links to the Caring for Our Children standards and other related resources.   It can be used on a computer, electronic tablet or smart phone or printed on paper and filled out by hand. The User Manual provides background information and guidelines for rating each item.

This checklist is a quality improvement tool for home-based child care programs. Sharing the checklist results with families of children in child care is likely to help them appreciate what their child’s caregiver is doing to keep their children safe. They may want to use the checklist to see how to make their homes safer for their children. They may offer to help make the improvements the home-based child care facility needs. 

Family Child Care Health and Safety Checklist

The federal Office of Child Care developed the National Program Standards Crosswalk Tool to help States and Territories to align early childhood (EC) program standards operated by different funding sources. This tool helps Federal, State, and local entities to create a common vision for early education and child care programs. National Program Standards Crosswalk Tool makes several sets of national standards available in one online database with an easy-to-use search mechanism. Partnering organizations included national child care associations, national organizations that accredit centers and home-based child care, Head Start, and the U.S. Department of Defense. To access the tool, go to:

 https://ecquality.acf.hhs.gov/crosswalk.