Making a difference in the lives and care of children…

A child care health consultant is a licensed or certified health professional (usually a physician, pediatrician, family nurse practitioner, registered dietitian, public health nurse or registered nurse with pediatric or out-of-home child care experience) who is trained as an expert in child care health, child development, and special needs in out-of-home child care settings.

"What Does a Child Care Health Consultant Do?"

A child care health consultant serves as a source of education, guidance and support to child care facilities; consumers, referral agencies, state/local health and licensing agencies dealing with child health and safety concerns.

Child care health consultants address a wide range of child health issues such as:

• Infant care
• Illness and injury prevention/treatment
• Health promotion
• Nutrition
• Mental Health 
• Developmental progress/problems
• Care for children with special needs
• Creating an environment that fosters growth
• Meets (new) daycare regulation for the administration of medications in the child care setting.

Child care health consultants assist individual child care facilities and other agencies in formulating and implementing written policies relating to child health and safety. Child care health consultants can ultimately utilize their training to train other health professionals as child care health consultants. They can also have training seminars on health and safety issues for providers, consumers, and other professionals. A child care health consultant can ensure implementation and compliance with APHA/AAP health and safety guidelines (Caring for Our Children - National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs. 

"What Does Consultation Typically Involve?"

The process of child care health consultation generally involves the following steps:

• Contact client (respond to request for consultation).
• Learn about the facility/client organization.
• Observe, ask questions, discuss and gather data on subjects of concern (as specified by facility/client).
• Assess the subject/diagnose problems.
• Recommend solutions (refer clients to the community health resources when necessary).
• Discuss solutions with clients.
• Advise and assist in implementation of (agreed upon) solutions.
• Evaluate the consultation results
• Receive evaluation from facility/client on effects/effectiveness of consultation.

By combining professional health experience with knowledge and training in child care, child health and development, child care health consultants work to support, assist and problem solve with child care providers in order to achieve safer, quality child care and healthier, happier children.