Child care programs, summer camps are allowed to reopen under Phase 2. What you need to know.
“We understand that social distancing is not easy with infants and toddlers.”
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced Monday that child care programs and some summer camps will be part of the state’s second phase of reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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Staff for child care programs and summer day camps were immediately allowed to begin re-entering their establishments to prepare for reopening, which would be allowed as part of the start of Phase 2 on June 6 — depending on the state’s public health metrics for reopening.
“We all know how important both of those enterprises and operations are to families here in the commonwealth,” Baker said at a recent press conference.
Officials will decide on Saturday whether Phase 2 of the reopening plan will begin Monday or at a later date, depending on whether the rates of positive COVID-19 tests and hospitalizations in the state, among other key metrics, continue to decline.
Recreational day camps, as well as municipal or recreational youth programs that are not traditionally licensed as camps, will be allowed to open during Phase 2. Residential and overnight camps will not be permitted until Phase 3, which won’t begin before the end of June.
In order to reopen, the facilities are required to submit plans to the state Department of Early Education and Care for how they will meet the minimum requirements for “health and safety” aimed at preventing outbreaks and transmission of COVID-19 before reopening.
Those plans must include how programs would perform daily health screenings in order to identify children and staff members who are symptomatic, sick, or who may have been exposed to coronavirus, and what facilities would do to handle any possible staff absences, gaps in attendance, or closings due to COVID-19. Daily activities have to be redesigned to avoid close contact between children and encourage social distancing wherever possible.
Samantha Aigner-Treworgy, commissioner of Early Education and Care, said Wednesday that she and her colleagues understand that reopening child care and summer camps are “critical” for getting families and the local economy back to work.
“Child care will look different,” she said of the reopening amid the pandemic.
The commissioner said there is an understanding that it will “take time” for providers to adjust spaces and programs to meet the new requirements, and she encouraged facilities have conversations with parents to collaborate on how to meet the both the safety requirements and developmental needs of children.
Once they’ve implement the requirements, providers can decide when they want to reopen once Phase 2 begins, she said.
“We will continue to run our emergency child care program through the transition simply to ensure that essential families are not left without care as we reopen at scale,” Aigner-Treworgy said. “We intend for these requirements to be in place through the summer but we will amend them as the commonwealth’s COVID-19 status evolves and the public health experts learn more about the virus.
“We understand that social distancing is not easy with infants and toddlers,” she continued. “There will be many challenges in operationalizing these requirements. And I know that there is a lot of anxiety in the field. And I assure you that our approach is meant to be supportive, not punitive.”
Below, a look at some of the minimum requirements child care programs and summer camps will be required to meet before reopening.
Child care programs
Staffing and operations
- All staff and children must be screened with a temperature check before they are allowed to enter the child care space.
- Facilities must establish one point of entry to make sure no one gets in the building until they go through a health screening.
- Parents must wear masks or face coverings when picking up and dropping off their child, which the state says must happen on a staggered schedule. Parents and children will be met at the door by staff.
- Non-essential visitors, including parents and volunteers, will be restricted from entering into the child care program premises.
- Programs are being asked to make changes to operations, including canceling field trips, to limit involvement in events with multiple groups.
Face coverings
- The state is encouraging all staff members to wear masks or cloth face coverings at all times when caring for children and interacting with parents and families. If possible, the ECC is recommending staff wear transparent masks so children can see facial expressions.
- The EEC says children over the age of 2 should be encouraged to wear a face covering, at the discretion of their parents or guardians, if they can “safely” wear, remove, and handle masks. The state says masks do not need to be worn by children while playing outdoors if they are able to keep 6 feet apart.
- Children should not wear masks while eating, drinking, sleeping, or napping, according to the state.
Group sizes and staffing
- State officials say group sizes at child care programs must be restricted to a maximum of 10 children, with a total of 12 individuals including children and staff in each room.
- For groups with infants, maximum size is nine with a ratio of seven infants to two staff members.
- Children must stay within the same group each day and “at all times while in care.” Groups are not allowed to be combined at any time.
- Siblings should be kept in the same group when “suitable.
- Staff must stay with the same group each day. “Staff should not float between groups either during the day or from day-to-day, with some limited exceptions,” the state says.
Summer camps
- Daily health screenings must be conducted for campers and counselors, including temperature and other checks for signs and symptoms of illness. Camps are also required to have plans for if a staff member or child becomes sick.
- Camp spaces are required to be adjusted to ensure physical distancing.
- At least two health services staff are required to be on site at all times.
- Campers and counselors are required to stay together in their groups, with staff not permitted to float between groups unless needed to “provide supervision of specialized activities such as swimming.”
- All snacks and meals have to be either brought from home, pre-packaged, or ready-to-serve in individual portions to minimize preparation and handling. If not feasible, the meals must be prepared and served by staff. Family-style food service isn’t allowed.
- Camps must develop pickup/drop off procedures that maintain social distancing. Parents are required to wear face coverings.
- No field trips or offsite travel is permitted as part of camp operations.
The full list of minimum requirements and guidance can be found here.
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