(a) A program must provide high-quality health, oral health, mental health, and nutrition services that are developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate and that will support each child's growth and school readiness.

(b) A program must establish and maintain a Health and Mental Health Services Advisory Committee that includes Head Start parents, professionals, and other volunteers from the community.

(a) For all activities described in this part, programs must collaborate with parents as partners in the health, mental health, and well-being of their children in a linguistically and culturally appropriate manner and communicate with parents about their child's health and mental health needs and development concerns in a timely and effective manner.

(b) At a minimum, a program must:

(1) Obtain advance authorization from the parent or other person with legal authority for all health, mental health, and developmental procedures administered through the program or by contract or agreement, and, maintain written documentation if they refuse to give authorization for health and mental health services; and,

(2) Share with parents the policies for health or mental health emergencies that require rapid response on the part of staff or immediate medical attention.

(a) Source of health care. (1) A program, within 30 calendar days after the child first attends the program or, for the home-based program option, receives a home visit, must consult with parents to determine whether each child has ongoing sources of continuous, accessible health care—provided by a health care professional that maintains the child's ongoing health record and is not primarily a source of emergency or urgent care—and health insurance coverage.

(2) If the child does not have such a source of ongoing care and health insurance coverage or access to care through the Indian Health Service, the program must assist families in accessing a source of care and health insurance that will meet these criteria, as quickly as possible.

(b) Ensuring up-to-date child health status. (1) Within 90 calendar days after the child first attends the program or, for the home-based program option, receives a home visit, with the exceptions noted in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, a program must:

(i) Obtain determinations from health care and oral health care professionals as to whether or not the child is up-to-date on a schedule of age appropriate preventive and primary medical, mental health, and oral health care, based on: the well-child visits and dental periodicity schedules as prescribed by the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program of the Medicaid agency of the State in which they operate, immunization recommendations issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and any additional recommendations from the local Health and Mental Health Services Advisory Committee that are based on prevalent community health problems; and

(ii) Assist parents with making arrangements to bring the child up-to-date as quickly as possible; and, if necessary, directly facilitate provision of health services to bring the child up-to-date with parent consent as described in § 1302.41(b)(1).

(2) Within 45 calendar days after the child first attends the program or, for the home-based program option, receives a home visit, a program must either obtain or perform evidence-based vision and hearing screenings.

(3) If a program operates for 90 days or less, it has 30 days from the date the child first attends the program to satisfy paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) of this section.

(4) A program must identify each child's nutritional health needs, taking into account available health information, including the child's health records, relevant developmental or mental health concerns, and family and staff concerns, including special dietary requirements, food allergies, and community nutrition issues as identified through the community assessment or by the Health and Mental Health Services Advisory Committee.

(c) Ongoing care. (1) A program must help parents continue to follow recommended schedules of well-child and oral health care.

(2) A program must implement periodic observations or other appropriate strategies for program staff and parents to identify any new or recurring developmental, medical, oral, or mental health concerns.

(3) A program must facilitate and monitor necessary oral health preventive care, treatment and follow-up, including topical fluoride treatments. In communities where there is a lack of adequate fluoride available through the water supply and for every child with moderate to severe tooth decay, a program must also facilitate fluoride supplements, and other necessary preventive measures, and further oral health treatment as recommended by the oral health professional.

(d) Extended follow-up care. (1) A program must facilitate further diagnostic testing, evaluation, treatment, and follow-up plan, as appropriate, by a licensed or certified professional for each child with a health problem or developmental delay, such as elevated lead levels or abnormal hearing or vision results that may affect child's development, learning, or behavior.

(2) A program must develop a system to track referrals and services provided and monitor the implementation of a follow-up plan to meet any treatment needs associated with a health, oral health, social and emotional, or developmental problem.

(3) A program must assist parents, as needed, in obtaining any prescribed medications, aids or equipment for medical and oral health conditions.

(e) Use of funds. (1) A program must use program funds for the provision of diapers and formula for enrolled children during the program day.

(2) A program may use program funds for professional medical and oral health services when no other source of funding is available. When program funds are used for such services, grant recipient and delegate agencies must have written documentation of their efforts to access other available sources of funding.

A program must promote effective oral health hygiene by ensuring all children with teeth are assisted by appropriate staff, or volunteers, if available, in brushing their teeth with toothpaste containing fluoride once daily.

(a) Nutrition service requirements. (1) A program must design and implement nutrition services that are culturally and developmentally appropriate, meet the nutritional needs of and accommodate the feeding requirements of each child, including children with special dietary needs and children with disabilities. Family style meals are encouraged as described in § 1302.31(e)(2).

(2) Specifically, a program must:

(i) Ensure each child in a program that operates for fewer than six hours per day receives meals and snacks that provide one third to one half of the child's daily nutritional needs;

(ii) Ensure each child in a program that operates for six hours or more per day receives meals and snacks that provide one half to two thirds of the child's daily nutritional needs, depending upon the length of the program day;

(iii) Serve three- to five-year-olds meals and snacks that conform to USDA requirements in 7 CFR parts 210, 220, and 226, and are high in nutrients and low in fat, sugar, and salt;

(iv) Feed infants and toddlers according to their individual developmental readiness and feeding skills as recommended in USDA requirements outlined in 7 CFR parts 210, 220, and 226, and ensure infants and young toddlers are fed on demand to the extent possible;

(v) Ensure bottle-fed infants are never laid down to sleep with a bottle;

(vi) Serve all children in morning center-based settings who have not received breakfast upon arrival at the program a nourishing breakfast;

(vii) Provide appropriate healthy snacks and meals to each child during group socialization activities in the home-based option;

(viii) Promote breastfeeding, including providing facilities to properly store and handle breast milk and make accommodations, as necessary, for mothers who wish to breastfeed during program hours, and if necessary, provide referrals to lactation consultants or counselors; and,

(ix) Make safe drinking water available to children during the program day.

(b) Payment sources. A program must use funds from USDA Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Child Nutrition programs as the primary source of payment for meal services. Head Start funds may be used to cover those allowable costs not covered by the USDA.

(a) Program-wide wellness supports. To support a program-wide culture that promotes mental health, social and emotional well-being, and overall health and safety, a program must use a multidisciplinary approach that:

(1) Coordinates supports for adult mental health and well-being, including engaging in nurturing and responsive relationships with families, engaging families in home visiting services, and promoting staff health and wellness, as described in § 1302.93.

(2) Coordinates supports for positive learning environments for all children; supportive teacher practices; and strategies for supporting children with social, emotional, behavioral, or mental health concerns.

(3) Secures ongoing mental health consultation services and examines the approach to mental health consultation on an annual basis to determine if it meets the needs of the program.

(4) Ensures mental health consultation services are available at a frequency of at least once a month.

(i) If a mental health consultant is not available to provide services at least once a month, programs must use other licensed mental health professionals or behavioral health support specialists certified and trained in their profession or recognized by their Tribal governments, such as peer specialists, community health workers, promotores, traditional practitioners, or behavioral health aides, to ensure mental health supports are available on at least a monthly basis.

(ii) If the program uses other licensed mental health professionals or behavioral health support specialists, the program must ensure their regular coordination and consultation with mental health consultants.

(5) Ensures that all children receive adequate screening and appropriate follow up and the parent receives referrals about how to access services for potential social, emotional, behavioral, or other mental health concerns, as described in § 1302.33.

(6) Facilitates multidisciplinary coordination and collaboration between mental health and other relevant program services, including education, disability, family engagement, and health services.

(7) Builds community partnerships to facilitate access to additional mental health resources and services, as needed, including through the Health and Mental Health Services Advisory Committee in § 1302.40.

(b) Mental health consultants. A program must ensure that mental health consultants provide consultation services that build the capacity of adults in an infant or young child's life to strengthen and support the mental health and social and emotional development of children, including consultation with any of the following:

(1) The program to implement strategies that promote a program-wide culture of mental health, prevent mental health challenges from developing, and identify and support children with mental health and social and emotional concerns;

(2) Child and family services staff to implement strategies that build nurturing and responsive relationships and create positive learning environments that promote the mental health and social and emotional development of all children;

(3) Staff who have contact with children to understand and appropriately respond to prevalent child mental health concerns, including internalizing problems such as appearing withdrawn; externalizing problems such as behavioral concerns; and how exposure to trauma and substance use can influence risk;

(4) Families and staff to understand mental health and access mental health interventions or supports, if needed, including in the event of a natural disaster or crisis;

(5) The program to implement policies to limit suspension and prohibit expulsion as described in § 1302.17; and

(6) The program to support the well-being of children and families involved in any significant child health, mental health, or safety incident described in § 1302.102(d)(1)(ii).

(a) Parent collaboration. Programs must collaborate with parents to promote children's health and well-being by providing medical, oral, nutrition and mental health education support services that are understandable to individuals, including individuals with low health literacy.

(b) Opportunities. (1) Such collaboration must include opportunities for parents to:

(i) Learn about preventive medical and oral health care, emergency first aid, environmental hazards, and health and safety practices for the home including health and developmental consequences of tobacco products use and exposure to lead, and safe sleep;

(ii) Discuss their child's nutritional status with staff, including the importance of physical activity, healthy eating, and the negative health consequences of sugar-sweetened beverages, and how to select and prepare nutritious foods that meet the family's nutrition and food budget needs;

(iii) Learn about healthy pregnancy and postpartum care, as appropriate, including breastfeeding support and treatment options for parental mental health, including depression, anxiety, and substance use concerns;

(iv) Discuss information related to their child's mental health with staff, including typical and atypical behavior and development, and how to appropriately respond to their child and promote their child's social and emotional development; and,

(v) Learn about appropriate vehicle and pedestrian safety for keeping children safe.

(2) A program must provide ongoing support to assist parents' navigation through health and mental health systems to meet the general health and specifically identified needs of their children and must assist parents:

(i) In understanding how to access health insurance for themselves and their families, including information about private and public health insurance and designated enrollment periods;

(ii) In understanding the results of diagnostic and treatment procedures as well as plans for ongoing care;

(iii) In familiarizing their children with services they will receive while enrolled in the program and to enroll and participate in a system of ongoing family health care; and

(iv) In providing information about how to access mental health services for young children and their families, including referrals if appropriate.

(a) A program must establish, train staff on, implement, and enforce a system of health and safety practices that ensure children are kept safe at all times. A program should consult Caring for our Children Basics, available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ecd/caring_for_our_children_basics.pdf, for additional information to develop and implement adequate safety policies and practices described in this part.

(b) A program must develop and implement a system of management, including ongoing training, oversight, correction and continuous improvement in accordance with § 1302.102, that includes policies and practices to ensure all facilities, equipment and materials, background checks, safety training, safety and hygiene practices and administrative safety procedures are adequate to ensure child safety. This system must ensure:

(1) Facilities. All facilities where children are served, including areas for learning, playing, sleeping, toileting, and eating are, at a minimum:

(i) Meet licensing requirements in accordance with §§ 1302.21(d)(1) and 1302.23(d);

(ii) Clean and free from pests;

(iii) Free from pollutants, hazards and toxins that are accessible to children and could endanger children's safety;

(iv) Designed to prevent child injury and free from hazards, including choking, strangulation, electrical, and drowning hazards, hazards posed by appliances and all other safety hazards;

(v) Well lit, including emergency lighting;

(vi) Equipped with safety supplies that are readily accessible to staff, including, at a minimum, fully-equipped and up-to-date first aid kits and appropriate fire safety supplies;

(vii) Free from firearms or other weapons that are accessible to children;

(viii) Designed to separate toileting and diapering areas from areas for preparing food, cooking, eating, or children's activities; and,

(ix) Kept safe through an ongoing system of preventative maintenance.

(2) Equipment and materials. Indoor and outdoor play equipment, cribs, cots, feeding chairs, strollers, and other equipment used in the care of enrolled children, and as applicable, other equipment and materials meet standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) or the American Society for Testing and Materials, International (ASTM). All equipment and materials must at a minimum:

(i) Be clean and safe for children's use and are appropriately disinfected;

(ii) Be accessible only to children for whom they are age appropriate;

(iii) Be designed to ensure appropriate supervision of children at all times;

(iv) Allow for the separation of infants and toddlers from preschoolers during play in center-based programs; and,

(v) Be kept safe through an ongoing system of preventative maintenance.

(3) Background checks. All staff have complete background checks in accordance with § 1302.90(b).

(4) Safety training—(i) Staff with regular child contact. All staff with regular child contact have initial orientation training within three months of hire and ongoing training in all state, local, tribal, federal and program-developed health, safety and child care requirements to ensure the safety of children in their care; including, at a minimum, and as appropriate based on staff roles and ages of children they work with, training in:

(A) The prevention and control of infectious diseases;

(B) Prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and use of safe sleeping practices;

(C) Administration of medication, consistent with standards for parental consent;

(D) Prevention and response to emergencies due to food and allergic reactions;

(E) Building and physical premises safety, including identification of and protection from hazards, bodies of water, and vehicular traffic;

(F) Prevention of shaken baby syndrome, abusive head trauma, and child maltreatment;

(G) Emergency preparedness and response planning for emergencies;

(H) Handling and storage of hazardous materials and the appropriate disposal of biocontaminants;

(I) Appropriate precautions in transporting children, if applicable;

(J) First aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and,

(K) Recognition and reporting of child abuse and neglect, in accordance with the requirement at paragraph (b)(5) of this section.

(ii) Staff without regular child contact. All staff with no regular responsibility for or contact with children have initial orientation training within three months of hire; ongoing training in all state, local, tribal, federal and program-developed health and safety requirements applicable to their work; and training in the program's emergency and disaster preparedness procedures.

(5) Safety practices. All staff, consultants, contractors, and volunteers follow appropriate practices to keep children safe during all activities, including, at a minimum:

(i) Reporting of suspected or known child abuse and neglect, as defined by the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) (42 U.S.C. 5101 note), including that staff comply with applicable Federal, State, local, and Tribal laws;

(ii) Safe sleep practices, including ensuring that all sleeping arrangements for children under 18 months of age use firm mattresses or cots, as appropriate, and for children under 12 months, soft bedding materials or toys must not be used;

(iii) Appropriate supervision of children at all times;

(iv) Only releasing children to an authorized adult; and

(v) All standards of conduct described in § 1302.90(c)(1)(ii).

(6) Hygiene practices. All staff systematically and routinely implement hygiene practices that at a minimum ensure:

(i) Appropriate toileting, hand washing, and diapering procedures are followed;

(ii) Safe food preparation; and,

(iii) Exposure to blood and body fluids are handled consistent with standards of the Occupational Safety Health Administration.

(7) Administrative safety procedures. Programs establish, follow, and practice, as appropriate, procedures for, at a minimum:

(i) Emergencies;

(ii) Fire prevention and response;

(iii) Protection from contagious disease, including appropriate inclusion and exclusion policies for when a child is ill, and from an infectious disease outbreak, including appropriate notifications of any reportable illness;

(iv) The handling, storage, administration, and record of administration of medication;

(v) Maintaining procedures and systems to ensure children are only released to an authorized adult; and,

(vi) Child specific health care needs and food allergies that include accessible plans of action for emergencies. For food allergies, a program must also post individual child food allergies prominently where staff can view wherever food is served.

(8) Disaster preparedness plan. The program has all-hazards emergency management/disaster preparedness and response plans for more and less likely events including natural and manmade disasters and emergencies, and violence in or near programs.

(9) COVID-19 mitigation policy. The program has an evidence-based COVID-19 mitigation policy developed in consultation with their Health Services Advisory Committee (HSAC) that can be scaled up or down based on the impact of COVID-19 in the community to protect staff, children, and families from COVID-19 infection.

(10) Exposure to lead in water and paint prevention practices. A program must develop a plan to prevent children from being exposed to lead in water and paint in Head Start facilities. In facilities where lead may exist, a program must implement ongoing practices, including testing and inspection at least every two years, with support from trained professionals. As needed, a program must pursue remediation or abatement to prevent lead exposure.

(c) A program must report any safety incidents in accordance with § 1302.102(d)(1)(ii).