INTRODUCTION

Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs, 2nd Edition, was released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association and the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care (NRC) in January 2002. The full edition of Caring for Our Children, 2nd Ed. contains 707 standards and recommendations on all aspects on the health and safety of children in child care settings. These standards were developed by leading health and safety experts over a period of four years. Each standard includes the rationale behind the need for such practices. The full edition is available on the NRC web site at http://nrckids.org/CFOC/index.html. Print copies can be purchased from the American Academy of Pediatrics (www.aap.org) and the American Public Health Association (www.apha.org).

In an effort to make select subject areas more accessible to intended users, the NRC is developing smaller documents on specific subject areas. This document is a compilation of the standards related to transporting children in child care settings.

Intended audiences

The intended audiences for this document are:

child care providers who want to know what are the recommended practices in transporting children safely while in their care;

state policy makers who are looking for guidance in setting state rules on this issue; and

parents who need to understand the importance of appropriate practices in transporting their child while they are attending a child care program.

Throughout this document there will be references to other standards contained in the full edition of Caring for Our Children, 2nd Ed. For example, Standard 2.029 (which is located in this document) is about the competence and training of transportation staff. Standard 2.029 refers to Standard 1.026 First Aid Training (which is not included in this document but is located in the larger, comprehensive Caring for Our Children, 2nd Edition). The reader would need to go to Caring for Our Children, 2nd Edition in order to find the description of Standard 1.026. In the web version, the user can click on the link to this standard to get to the full edition.

We would like to give special thanks to Phyllis Stubbs-Wynn, MD, Chief, Infant and Child Health Branch; R. Lorraine Brown, Public Health Analyst with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration and Nancy Netherland with the Academy for Educational Development for reviewing this compilation of standards on transporting children. We would also like to thank all those individuals who contributed to Caring for Our Children, 2nd Ed. A listing can be viewed at: http://nrckids.org/CFOC/PDFVersion/Acknowledgments.pdf

As with all areas in safety, new research comes forth on such topics as school bus and van safety issues. Readers who have Head Start children should also consult the Head Start Performance Standard, 45 CFR 1310, Head Start Transportation (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/performance/1310.htm). We recommend that users continue to visit the following web sites for the most up-to-date information on transporting children safely, related to health and safety concerns including but not limited to purchasing and proper installation of age-appropriate safety seats in automobiles and/or on school buses:

American Academy of Pediatrics

http://www.aap.org

Head Start Transportation Toolkit

http://www.headstartinfo.org/infocenter/tran_tkit.htm

Moving Kids Safely in Child Care

http://www.healthychildcare.org/cps.cfm

National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

http://www.cpsc.gov

For questions or assistance on these standards or Caring for Our Children, 2nd Edition, please contact:

National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care

1-800-598-5437

info@nrckids.org