COVID-19 Resources

Resources for Early Childhood Policymakers on Preventing and Preparing for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

For Parents and Teachers

Early Learning Nation, A parent’s guide to surviving COVID-19: 8 strategies to keep children healthy and happy

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Caring for Preschoolers at Home

Washington Post, Parenting During Coronavirus: What to Know About Play Dates, Education and More

New York Times, Children and Coronavirus: Research Finds Some Become Seriously Ill

North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation, Resources for Talking with Children About Coronavirus

Bedtime Math, Fun at Home

The Lancet, Mitigate the effects of home confinement on children during the COVID-19 outbreak

Smithsonian Magazine, What Happened When Hong Kong’s Schools Went Virtual to Combat the Spread of Coronavirus

Broadway World, Met Opera To Launch Free Nightly Streams During Coronavirus Closure

New Jersey Association of School Librarians, Tools and Resources for Remote Instruction

NASA, NASA Kids’ Club

Smithsonian, Fun Stuff for Kids Online

Dr. Zeynep Isik-Ercan, Survive and thrive with your young children (Ages 4–10) at home

ASCD, Transitioning to Online Learning: What You Need to Know

ASCD, The Resilient Leader

ASCD, A Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Approach to Responding to Health Crises

ASCD, Summertime Strategies Can Help Schools Respond to Coronavirus

ASCD, School Communities Rely on Calm and Thoughtful Leadership

Story Line, children’s literacy site

PBS, Resources to support children’s learning searchable by age

Colorin Colorado, Bilingual site for educators and families, host of activities to do with children

Paper Pinecone, 101 Activities to do with Toddlers & Preschoolers at Home

ZERO TO THREE, Screen Sense

ZERO TO THREE, Choosing Media Content for Young Children Using the E-AIMS Model

ZERO TO THREE, Play Activities for 12 to 24 Months

NAEYC, Technology and Media

U.S. Department of Education, Early Learning and Educational Technology Policy Brief

Education Development Center, Checklists on Integrating Technology

Association for Library Service to Children, Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award – 2019 Winners

Understood, 9 Indoor Activities for Hyperactive Kids

Boston Public Schools, Department of Early Learning, New: Resources for At-Home Learning

Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Instructional Continuity Plan includes resources for K-5

New York City, Department of Education, Early Childhood Learn at Home

From and For States

National Governors Association, Coronavirus: What You Need to Know

Indiana Department of Education, COVID-19 Resources for Indiana Schools

Kansas Department of Health and Environment, COVID-19 Resource Center

Nebraska Department of Education, Coronavirus Resources

Oregon Department of Education, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Resources

Vermont Department of Health, Early Childhood Care and Education Programs Closure and Dismissal During A Novel Coronavirus Outbreak: Technical Guidance for Child Care, Head Start and public and private Prekindergarten Education Program

Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families, Coronavirus COVID-19 Updates

Washington, DC Mayor News Release, Guidance Related to COVID-19: Child Care Provider Closures and Public Funding

Illinois State Board of Education, School Closure Guidance, March 13, 2020

Illinois State Board of Education, School Closure Guidance, March 14, 2020

Maryland Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood, Child Care in Maryland During COVID-19 State of Emergency

State of Oregon, Office of the Governor, Updated Mitigation Measures on Coronavirus Response

State of Pennsylvania, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Child Care Works Payment Modifications Due to Impacts related to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Boston Public Schools, Department of Early Learning, New: Resources for At-Home Learning

From National Organizations and Federal Agencies

American Academy of Pediatrics, Preparing Child Care Programs for Pandemic Influenza

American Academy of Pediatrics, Healthy Futures: Managing Infectious Diseases in Early Education and Child Care Settings

Center for Disease Control (CDC), Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Center for Disease Control (CDC), Child Care and Preschool Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist

Center for Disease Control (CDC), Resources for K-12 Schools & Child Care Programs

Center for Disease Control (CDC), Frequently Asked Questions and Answers: Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) and Children

Center for Disease Control (CDC), Workplace, School and Home Guidance downloads

Center for Disease Control (CDC), Interim guidance for Administrators of US Child Care Programs and Public Schools

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC’s general COVID-19 website

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Resources for K-12 Schools and Childcare Programs

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Implementation of Mitigation Strategies for Communities

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Keeping School Safe

Child Care Aware, Coronavirus Updates and Resources for Child Care Providers and CCR&RS

Child Care Aware, Coronavirus:  How Does It Impact Child Care Providers and CCR&Rs

Child Care Aware, Coronavirus:  What Child Care Providers Need to Know

Child Trends, State Laws that Address How Schools Should Respond to Pandemics

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Coronavirus: Make Infection Control a Priority

Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies, Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak: Education Resources and Update

National Conference of State Legislatures, State Action on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Using USDA Food During a Human Pandemic Outbreak: Options for Schools and Communities

U.S. Department of Education, COVID-19 Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel

World Health Organization, Guidance to Protect Children and Support Safe School Operations

Zero to Three, Tips for Families: Talking About the Coronavirus

Administration for Children and Families, Flexibility in Spending CCDF Funds in Response to Federal or State Declared Emergency Situations

Administration for Children and Families, CCDF Frequently Asked Questions in Response to COVID-19

Administration for Children and Families, CSBG Dear Colleague 2020-15 Partnership to Address COVID-19 Spread

Administration on Children and Families, Office of Child Care, Flexibility in Spending CCDF Funds in Response to Federal or State Declared Emergency Situations

Benefits.gov, Disaster Unemployment Assistance

Child Care Aware, The Latest Coronavirus News & Resources for Child Care Professionals, Families and Policymakers

Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center, Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, Center for Children and Families, CMS Releases FAQ on COVID-19 for Medicaid and CHIP

NAEYC, Child Care is Essential and Needs Emergency Support to Survive

NAEYC, Child Care Challenges: Coronavirus / COVID-19 Survey

The Ounce of Prevention, The Ounce issues policy recommendations to states in light of COVID-19

Letter from the Office of Early Childhood Development and Office of Head Start, March 12, 2020

Dear ECD Colleagues –

We are sharing this message with you from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Thank you for your continued engagement and partnership with us to address and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We highly value our strong ongoing partnership, and hope to continue to be a resource to you as you implement community mitigation techniques. As you might imagine, a number of HHS divisions are releasing COVID-19-related information on funding and guidance. We thought it would be helpful to batch up information on key issues to keep you up-to-date.

Funding for States to Address COVID-19

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced upcoming action by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide resources to state and local jurisdictions in support of our nation’s response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The $8.3 billion dollar Supplemental passed by Congress included statutory language which prescribed the exact formula for disbursing the money: states will receive 90% of their 2019 CDC PHEP grants.  This marks the first tranche of funding to states from the $8.3 billion supplemental.  Today, CDC is contacting State Health Officers to move forward with awarding over $560 million to states, localities, territories, and tribes. CDC will use existing networks to reach out to state and local jurisdictions to access this initial funding. To view the list of CDC funding actions to jurisdictions, click here.

Helping Communities Know Mitigation Strategies

Yesterday, CDC released their “Implementation of Mitigation Strategies for Communities with Local COVID-19 Transmission.”  Essentially, this is a guide describing possible mitigation strategies for communities dealing with transmission at three different levels: (1) None/Minimal, (2) Moderate, or (3) Substantial.  Community mitigation strategies, which are non-pharmaceutical interventions, are often the most available interventions to help slow the transmission of COVID-19 in communities.  The Mitigation Plan includes a set of actions that persons and communities can take to slow the spread of respiratory virus infections. The Community Mitigation Plan can be found here.

Guidance on Infection Control For Healthcare Workers

Yesterday, CDC released updated guidance on infection prevention and control recommendations. Healthcare workers are fighting this outbreak on the front lines, and this guidance is intended to provide assistance to healthcare settings that are handling suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. This guidance is applicable to all U.S. healthcare settings, but not for non-healthcare settings. There is separate guidance for that. The new guidance on infection control can be found here.

Guidance for Preparing Workplaces

This week, the Department of Labor released practical guidance for how to prepare workplaces for COVID-19. This guidance will help to educate workers and employers about the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance can be found here.

Guidance for Laboratories

The CDC has been actively working to address the need for testing across the country. In addition to public health laboratories, private labs are doing testing. In addition to reviewing the Updated Guidance on Evaluating and Testing Persons for Coronavirus Disease 2019, the CDC recently updated the FAQ website for laboratories, and we encourage you to read through the site to answer preliminary questions, though we stand ready to answer other questions that you may have.

Guidance to Prepare Homeless Shelters

We recognize persons experiencing homelessness are an especially vulnerable population. CDC released guidance on March 9, to help homeless shelters plan, prepare and respond to COVID-19. The guidance can be found here.

OMB Flexibilities

On March 9, 2020, OMB issued a memo that provides administrative relief for recipients and applicants of Federal financial assistance who are directly impacted by COVID-19. The grant flexibilities include 10 actions that HHS can take to provide short-term administrative and financial management relief, allowing funds to be awarded quicker and giving grantees the ability to focus on their critical response, research, or services. More information can be found here.

General Preparation Information

On March 9, 2020, the White House Coronavirus Task Force released practical steps that we recommend posting and sharing to keep workplaces, school, home and commercial establishments safe. This information can be found here.

The COVID-19 response is a whole-of-government effort and each department has a number of specific resources. We encourage you to explore those resources as necessary to respond to the situation in your communities.

Thanks,

Dr. Deborah Bergeron

Director, Office of Early Childhood Development and Office of Head Start