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Health & Safety Advisory Committee

Dept. of Health Home

Healthy Child Care Washington believes every child deserves to live in an emotionally- and physically-healthy environment. A child’s well-being is dependent on the knowledge, involvement, and commitment of the caregivers and health professionals in their lives.

Working with key partners at the national, state and local levels, HCCW serves as a catalyst for improving the lives of children in Washington State. In recent years, HCCW has developed a statewide system linking parents and child care providers to a host of services. The intent is to unite the efforts of child care providers, parents, educators, policymakers, advocates, researchers, pediatricians, social service agencies, and health professionals to maximize the resources focused on creating healthy and nurturing environments for children.

Consultation Services

Working through the Local Health departments and districts and child care resource and referral programs (R&Rs) in each area of the state, Healthy Child Care Washington offers consultations to child care providers on topics such as:

• brain development
• communicable diseases
• nutrition and feeding
• environmental safety
• social/emotional issues
• oral health
• sleep patterns and positions 
• speech, hearing and vision

Following the initial consultation, health care professionals then follow-up with child care providers to reinforce the concepts which were discussed and to ensure identified improvements were made in the child care setting.

When appropriate, HCCW links children and their families with mental health specialists, nutrition and feeding programs, low-cost health insurance, and other community resources which are available for families with children. The goal is to ensure that children have access to all the services available to promote their health and well-being.

Local Health Jurisdictions

The Department of Health was formed in 1989 as the state’s agency responsible for preserving public health; monitoring health care costs; maintaining minimal standards for quality health care delivery; and planning activities related to the health of its citizens. 

Public health services are population-based, focusing on improving the health status of the population, rather than simply treating individuals. This responsibility is shared by the Department of Health and 34 local public health jurisdictions serving Washington’s 39 counties.

• Washington State Health Consultant List
• Washington State Public Health Offices 

 The Impetus for Action

Responsive child care must take place in a setting that is consistently healthy and supportive. When in a safe, nurturing, and interactive setting, children feel confident to fully explore and learn from their environment. Children who have a stimulating, and caring place to spend their early years, are more likely to flourish in school and continue to succeed throughout their lives.

With this in mind, the Washington State Department of Health spearheads an effort to promote and enhance healthy development in child care and early learning programs, called Healthy Child Care Washington (HCCW). The campaign creates a partnership of families, child care providers, and health professionals that is focused on developing comprehensive and coordinated services that nurture children.

Our Goals

• Increase the resources available to train child care providers and offer them technical assistance, information and referrals.
• Enhance child care providers’ use of practices that promote the social, emotional, physical, health and cognitive development of children.
• Expand the use of skills and standards for child care health consultants.
• Improve communication between child care providers and parents about child care quality and their children’s development and behavior.

• Educating all Washington child care providers about using the health and safety standards and resources within:

• "Caring for our children: The National Health and Safety Performance Standards-Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs"
• "Stepping Stones to Using Caring for Our Children"

• Providing training for the child care community through a statewide network of consultants and other resources.
• Collaborating with the state initiatives to expand both the enrollment of uninsured children in Medicaid and the connections to providers.