Parents and staff share the responsibility for reducing exposure to, and the spreading of, communicable diseases. Our illness policy, developed in consultation with Lane County Health Department, states that children need to be free and clear of the following symptoms and illness for 24 hours before returning to childcare. Therefore, if your child becomes ill with any of the symptoms listed below, they will need to miss at least the following day at Moss Street Children’s Center.
State regulations require that a child who has any of the following symptoms cannot remain at the center:
- Fever over 100.4 degrees F
- Diarrhea* (more than one abnormally loose stool per day)
- Vomiting*
- Nausea
- Severe cough
- Unusual yellow color to skin or eyes
- Skin or eye lesions or rashes that are severe, weeping, or pus-filled
- Stiff neck and headache with one or more of the symptoms listed above
- Difficult breathing or wheezing
- Complaints of severe pain
*Diarrhea: three or more watery or loose stools in 24 hours OR sudden onset of loose stools OR student unable to control bowel function when previously able. May return after 48 hours after diarrhea resolves OR after being seen and cleared by a licensed healthcare provider or LPHA for specific diarrheal diagnoses.
*Vomiting: at least 1 episode that is unexplained. May return after 48 hours after last episode of vomiting OR after being seen and cleared by a licensed healthcare provider.
Any child showing any of the above signs will be isolated, and a parent will be notified. It is your responsibility to pick up your child immediately or to make arrangements for someone to do so. These precautions are taken to protect the health of your child and the other children at the center.
To attend the program, your child must be able to participate fully in program activities, including playing outside. If your child has mild cold symptoms which do not impair their functioning, they may remain in the program, and you will be notified when you pick up your child.
State regulations also require exclusion from care for a child who has or is a carrier of day-care-restricted diseases, including but not limited to:
- Amebiasis
- Diphtheria
- Giardiasis
- Haemophilus influenzae
- Hepatitis A and type unspecified polio
- Measles
- Meningococcal disease
- Mumps
- Pediculosis (lice)
- Rubella
- Salmonellosis
- Scabies
- Shigellosis
- Staphylococcal
- Streptococcal
- Tuberculosis
If your child will be absent due to illness, please call the center to notify us. If your child contracts a communicable disease, please notify us so that we may inform staff and other parents to watch for symptoms. To maintain consistent staffing, your account will still be billed for your usually scheduled hours. When you have prior knowledge that your child will have an extended absence due to illness (i.e., scheduled hospitalization), please contact us to see about possible reductions in payment.