Health Policies

Reporting illness

Any individual affiliated with the Child Development Lab (CDL) must immediately report illness and/or communicable diseases by:

Message on Procare

Email CDL administrators

Illness and exclusion policies

Illness and exclusion policies at the Child Development Lab are designed to protect the health and safety of all participants. A child must be kept home if there is any indication he/she is too ill to comfortably carry out the day’s routine (including outside playtime) or has other symptoms of illness.

Each child, upon arrival at the center, must be observed by a staff person for symptoms of illness and sent back home if ill. Staff will record the health check on the daily sign in sheet.

Fever of 99.8 degrees or higher (for children under 6 months of age) and 100.4 degrees or higher (for children over 6 months of age). Children should be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications before returning to school
Strep throat
Diarrhea (three or more diarrhea stools within an 8-hour period)
Vomiting (that is more than “spitting up” or mild digestive disturbances)
The presence of nits

Significant changes in the child’s activity level
Excessive irritability
Complaints of sore throat or stomach ache
Inflammation of the eyes
Rash
Persistent coughing, discolored runny nose, and fatigue

Respiratory illnesses

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) lists common respiratory viruses:

Respiratory virus guidance

The following symptoms may result in a child being sent home per the CDL’s Illness and Exclusion Policy to prevent the spread of viruses and illness. Please monitor for symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, decrease in appetite, sore throat, vomiting, new loss of taste or smell, headache, muscle or body aches, diarrhea, and weakness.

Furthermore, the American Academy of Pediatrics offers guidance to help families distinguish between RSV, flu, and COVID-19.

Communicable disease

Communicable diseases, as defined by the Wisconsin Department of Health, “also known as infectious diseases or transmissible diseases, are illnesses that result from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic (capable of causing disease) biologic agents in an individual human or other animal host.”

The CDL uses the charts provided by the Wisconsin Department of Health for guidance when a communicable disease is present or if there are questions/concerns regarding possible communicable disease. Since communicable diseases or infectious diseases are easily spread from individual to individual, the CDL will also take into account developmental ability of the child when deciding exclusion due to illness. An exposure notice will be sent to families when a communicable disease is diagnosed.

Unless exempt based on religious beliefs, requirements for children are as follows:

Each child under 2 years of age has an initial health exam not more than 6 months prior to nor later than 3 months after bring admitted to the school, and a follow-up health exam at least once every 6 months after admission.
Except for a school-age child, each child 2 years of age and older shall have an initial health exam not more than 1 year prior to nor later than 3 months after being admitted to the school, and a follow-up health exam at least once every 2 years after admission.
Families provide the child’s health history [PDF] on the required “Health History and Emergency Care Plan” enrollment form, which is kept on file at the school.
Families provide a record of the child’s immunization history [PDF], which is kept on file at the school. All children must be current in their immunizations.

Unless exempt based on religious beliefs, requirements for staff are as follows:

All staff and volunteers that work directly with children shall have a health examination within 12 months prior to beginning work. The healthcare provider signed report [PDF] indicates that the staff is free from any communicable disease which presents a safety or health risk to children, including tuberculosis, and that the person is physically able to work with young children. Staff and volunteers will update these records every 2 years. Staff will submit a copy of their current level of immunization records.

Please contact us with questions or concerns regarding illness or health policies.

Call 608-263-4579

Email CDL administrators