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Valuable Websites are Just a Click Away...

·         General Links

·         Adult Health

·         Child Health

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General Links

Home Registration and Center Licensing

Locate Your Local DHS Office

Iowa Child Development Homes:
www.dhs.state.ia.us/policyanalysis/policymanualpages/manual_documents/master/comm143.pdf

This site publishes regulation guidelines for all registered child care home settings. To locate information on regulations applicable to home settings utilized for registered child care programs, refer to this DHS website.

Iowa Child Care Licensed Centers & Preschools: www.dhs.state.ia.us/policyanalysis/policymanualpages/manual_documents/master/comm204.pdf
This site publishes regulations for all child care facilities in Iowa. To locate child care rules on many topics and aspects of providing care for children in a child care facility, refer to this DHS website.

Iowa Quality Rating System

Business Practices

Advocacy

Professional Associations

Union

Professional Development

Early Childhood Initiatives


Adult Health Links

American Lung Association (ALA):www.lungusa.org
The American Lung Association is the oldest voluntary health organization in the United States. It has a National office as well as affiliate associations in all parts of the country, including Iowa. They support great education and resources for information on respiratory health issues (lung diseases and disorders, breathing concerns, allergies) current treatments for and prevention of lung and heart health problems. They support smoking cessation programs in local communities.

Dr. Evert Koop’s Health Site:   www.drkoop.com 
This is a reliable resource for general adult health information.  Dr. Koop, former U.S. Surgeon General, believes, “Information is Prevention”, and this site supports this motto.

Just Eliminate Lies (JEL):  www.JELiowa.org
Just Eliminate Lies (JEL), the statewide teen effort to fight tobacco use, is funded by the State of
Iowa from the Tobacco Settlement Fund and administered by the Iowa Department of Public Health Division of Tobacco Use Prevention and Control. JEL encourages all smokers of all ages wanting to quit smoking to call Quitline Iowa at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669), a statewide, toll-free smoking--cessation hotline, for more information about nicotine addiction and the deadly effects of tobacco. Additional information (including updated hours and services) can be found on our website, www.quitlineiowa.org.

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health:
www.nhlbi.nih.gov
This national health agency provides accurate information on diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and blood. This site also contains information on sleep disorders.

National Women’s HealthInformationCenter: www.4women.gov
This is a great site for general information on women’s health issues. Resource information is available in both English and Spanish. You can also access the National Woman’s
Health Information Center by calling:            1-800-994-9662.

United States Department of Health & Human Services
http://www.healthfinder.gov
HHS is the U.S. government's principal agency for protecting the health of
all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those
who are least able to help themselves. Check Health Finder for reliable
health information sponsored by this national agency.

Spanish version: www.healthfinder.gov/espanol
Encuentre aquí en el healthfinder® español las últimas informaciones y
respuestas a las preguntas hechas con más frecuencia . Seleccione una de las
letras del alfabeto para ver la información acerca de las enfermedades,
trastornos y procedimientos médicas que comienzan con esa letra. Para
recibir noticias por correo electrónico, suscríbase seleccionando el
rectángulo que aparece en la parte inferior derecha de esta página.

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Child Health Links

ABC's of Safe and Healthy Child Care: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/hip/abc/contents.htm
From the Center's for Disease Control and Prevention. A handbook that helps providers reduce illness, injury, and other health problems. Contains fact sheets on common childhood illnesses.

American Academy of Pediatrics-publications: www.aap.org
This site has two sections of interest to child care providers. "You & Your Family" has information about injury prevention, Healthy Kids magazine, and immunization. "Publications" contains a list of books for purchase and other child health materials.

American Dental Association: www.ada.org
The American Dental Association site has wonderful oral health information for child care providers and parents. It has a number of great resources specific for oral health education for children including videos, coloring sheets, and a flossing calendar.

American with Disabilities Act pertaining to child care: www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
The ADA site gives child care providers and families guidance on making the child care environment accessible to all children and accommodating to the physical, health, and developmental needs of children with disabilities.

Bright Futures: www.brightfutures.org
This site serves to promote and improve the health, education, and well-being of children and adolescents 0-21 and their families. A good source for many health subjects.

Caring for Our Children: http://nrc.uchsc.edu
The National Health and Safety in Child Care Performance Standards This site contains standards and guidelines for health and safety in child care. The rationale and background for each standard is included. Useful in developing program policy and activities.

Healthy Child: www.healthychild.net
This site contains information on many child care and children's health issues, including a wonderful resource guide and other health links.

Healthy Child Care Iowa: www.idph.state.ia.us/hcci/default.asp
This site offers information on head lice; insect repellents; Hawk-I medical insurance; weather charts for child care practitioners and parents; health exam forms for staff, school-age and preschool age children. The site also offers links to many other useful health and child care web sites.  Contact information about Child Care Health Consultants in your local region is located in this section of the Iowa Department of Public Health’s website.

Intelihealth www.intelihealth.com
This website offers Feature Articles and News Briefs on current children health issues.

Iowa Department of Public Health Immunization Program:              http://www.idph.state.ia.us/adper/immunization_products.asp?mode=new

The Iowa Department of Public Health Immunization Program offers free print products to assist you with immunization issues. There are two ways to order the immunization certificates and brochures listed on this website. Complete the ordering amounts and shipping information on this page and products will be sent to you. Print the Literature Order Form below, fill in the ordering quantities and shipping information, then FAX the form to (319) 861-2869.

Iowa Bureau of Lead Poisoning Preventionwww.idph.state.ia.us/eh/lead_poisoning_prevention.asp#childhood
This Iowa website addresses childhood lead poisoning and its significant effects on the health of children and on community health.  Lead has adverse effects on nearly all organ systems in the body.  It is especially harmful to the developing brains and nervous systems of children under the age of six years. 

Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadpdfe.pdf
This health brochure identifies many sources of lead exposure, the health consequences of lead exposure and ways to prevent exposing children to hazardous lead sources

KidsMeds: www.kidsmeds.com
This site is a great resource on pediatric drug information for child care providers and parents.

National Resource Centerfor Health and Safety in Child Care: http://nrc.uchsc.edu
The NRC seeks to improve the quality of child care by supporting state and local health agencies, child care resource and referral agencies, and child care providers. This site has various print and electronic resources to aid the child care provider in responding to health and safety issues.

National School-Age Care Alliance: www.nsaca.org
NSACA supports child care providers working with school-age children in before and after school and summer programs. The NSACA has national standards for quality school-age care.

 

Pediatric Dentistry: http://www.dentistry.uiowa.edu/public/patients/patients.html

This University of Iowa - College of Dentistry site offers information to support improvement of oral health for infants, children, adolescents and their families. It providesinformation on pacifiers, oral health habits, oral injuries and tooth brushing. The EPSDT Registry offers a list of Iowa dentists who accept Medicaid clients, who care for children under age three and children with disabilities. 

Picture Schedules: www.do2learn.com
This great site offers information on improving communication with children through use of picture schedules. It offers 350 free picture cards to download to make creating communication tools and schedules easy. Pictures can offer needed structure and reduced stress for children.

Team Nutrition: www.fns.usda.gov/tn
The website of the US Department of Agriculture’s new program to encourage children and adolescents to make positive food and physical activity choices for a healthy lifestyle. A great resource.

Universal (or Standard) Precautions: www.healthychild.net/articles/sh25universal.html
This section of the Healthy Child website has a useful article on how to implement Standard Precautions guidelines designed to prevent the spread of many infectious illnesses, including blood-borne diseases, in non-health care settings like child care and early education programs.

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families www.zerotothree.org
The nation's leading resource on the first three years of life to strengthen and support families, practitioners and communities to promote the healthy development of babies and toddlers.

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Safety Links

Consumer Product Safety Commission -- product safety and recallshttp://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html
This web site contains up-to-date information on products found to be unsafe for use. Child care providers may find the latest recalls and announcements or search for previously recalled products.

Iowa Child Passenger Safety Network:  www.blankchildrens.org/cps
This site contains information about different care seats, a car seat safety checklist, “Best Practice” guidelines for transporting children, and locations of car seat chick-up sites throughout Iowa.

National Safe Kids Campaign www.safekids.org
This site lists car seat safety information. Health/safety links and product recall lists.

National Program for Playground Safety www.playgroundsafety.org

Emergency Response Planning Guide for Iowa Child Care
www.idph.state.ia.us/hcci/products/emergency_response.pdf
This site at the Iowa Department of Public Health offers great planning assistance and policy support for many potential hazards and threats that impact children and programs for young children.

Ready to Respond; Emergency Preparedness Plan for Early Care and Education Centers www.brighthorizons.com/talktochildren(Choose: "Emergency Plan")
Bright Horizons Family Solutions offers this emergency preparedness assistance to early care and education centers as a valuable resource. This guide offers help with plans for many natural disasters and other potential crisis events that face those who care for young children in their businesses. This site, also, contains helpful information about talking with young children about disasters and tragedy.

Recalled Products
www.idph.state.ia.us/hcci 
Healthy Child Care Iowa maintains a list of recently recalled products reviewed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that relate to children and child care. To view recalled product information, first select a product category from the list provided. You can find information on over 4,000 general product recalls using the various searches on the CPSC web site at: http://www.cpsc.gov.

 

Disaster Preparation: A Training Program for Family Child Care Providers
A second supplement to Is Child Care Ready?, this guide is intended to assist Child Care Resource & Referral agencies and others in training family child care providers on disaster preparedness. It includes activities for training individuals who care for children in their homes.

 

 

Disaster Preparation: A Training Program for Child Care Centers
A supplement to Is Child Care Ready?, this guide is designed to assist Child Care Resource & Referral agencies and others in training child care centers on disaster preparedness. It includes specific activities for training individuals who direct and work in child care centers.

 

 

What’s the Plan?: Ask Your Child Care Provider Before A Disaster
This colorful brochure, sold in packs of 25, is designed to help parents ensure the safety and well-being of their children during a disaster. The perfect resource for Child Care Resource & Referral agencies and others who interact directly with parents, What’s the Plan walks parents through 10 questions they should ask about the what, when, where, and how of their provider’s disaster plan.

 

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