The Child Care Health Outreach Program (CCHOP) offers distance-learning classes to child care providers. The classes meet provider requirements toward 10 hours of continuing education, called STARS credits, each year. As approved in the SHD 2020 annual budget, providers are charged $10 per STARS credit to receive continuing education credit. 

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the need for credible, reliable information and guidance for child care providers regarding COVID 19, the CCHOP is asking the Board to waive the $10 per credit charge and allow SHD to offer a COVID-19 class for 1 STARS credit at no cost to the child care providers. This will enable us to provide an important community service at a time when many child care providers are either out of work and struggling financially or are providing a much-needed service for our community.

Benefits to the Public and the Health District:

1. The informational class will provide an overview and specific set guidelines for child care providers and the families they serve.

2. The program has an opportunity to market the other 46 classes on the platform. Each person who takes the course will have to register on SHD’s learning-management system and will therefore be able to receive updates and promotions via email on other classes.

   DSHS has agreed to send notice to all the licensed child cares in Washington State if a COVID-19 course is offered at no cost. This offer provides SHD an opportunity to increase revenue from online classes if all Washington State child care providers are made aware of continuing education opportunities.

    

There will be no additional cost incurred by SHD for up to 500 active users per month on the learning platform. The highest number of users in a month when classes were free was 283. The CCHOP team will monitor the numbers regularly and will confer with administration if and when the numbers come close to 500. Administration will be able to make the decision on whether to deactivate the class or continue to offer it with a new cap of active users. Each additional active user will come at a cost of $4 per active user.

Consistent with Resolution 19-20 and the revised Division of Responsibilities (10/8/19), the Board of Health has authority over the Health District budget.

MOVE TO authorize the Administrative Officer to approve the Child Care Health Outreach Program online COVID-19 class at no cost to child care providers.