Implementing a Community-Based Childcare Program Utilizing the Healthy Homes Rating System (50m Lecture)

The principals of healthy homes or creating healthy living and working environments are especially important in childcare settings. While implementing our healthy homes program in over 2,800 homes, we identified a need for an expanded program for home-based and small childcare providers. Consequently we created a new healthy childcare assessment program that addresses multiple environmental, health and safety hazards and increases our community’s capacity to reduce children’s environmental exposures. In addition through a partnership with the Tucson Fire Department, the assessments qualify as the required fire inspection needed for certification. We conduct our activities through our community health advisor program, which is a proven method of addressing community needs, receiving feedback, making changes and promoting decision-making. We assess childcare providers utilizing the Healthy Home Rating System (HHRS), which rates 29 housing related hazards for their potential to harm residents and enables those risks to be mitigated. Hazards include items such as mold and moisture, lead, excess heat, fire, domestic hygiene and pests. We utilize an in-house developed computerized version of the HHRS that automatically calculates the hazard scores from the data collected during the inspection, eliminating much of the subjectivity. We supplement this housing-based program with education to promote behavioral change. We have assessed over 200 providers and conducted interventions ranging from repairing leaking plumbing, to supplying fire extinguishers, to installing engineering controls to prevent cooking fires. The program is helping to characterize home-based and small childcare providers and creating healthier environments for children.