Our Illness Policy
- All children must be well enough to participate in daily activities to attend the CDL.
- Children will be sent home if they have a temperature of 100.4°+ ; vomiting/diarrhea; unusual lethargy, persistent crying, or other signs of severe illness; or any contagious disease (pink eye, impetigo, strep throat, etc.).
- Children must be fever free without the use of fever reducing medicine for 24 hours of wellness before returning to school.
- Parents must notify the CDL of the reason for all their child’s absences, as we are required to report some illnesses to the Public Health Department. Parents will be informed of any cases of contagious diseases at the CDL.
- The CDL staff may administer necessary medication to your child. These medicines must have the full pharmacy label, the child’s first and last name (if over-the-counter), and the name(s) of the medication and directions for use clearly readable. Parents must also sign a “Permission to Administer Medication” form, giving clear directions regarding when and how much medication to administer.
To Prevent the Spread of Illness
- Staff, parents, and children must wash their hands with soap/water each time they enter the classroom, after toileting, after outside play or playing with sensory items, before/after eating, or coming in contact with germs.
- No shoes are permitted in the infant rooms to keep the environment clean for crawling infants. Walking infants wear shoes during outside play.
- All classroom items that come in contact with children’s mouths are removed for sanitization.
- All CDL children are required to wear sunscreen and all infants/toddlers are required to wear sunscreen and hats outdoors. Children under six months of age are not exposed to direct sunlight.
- Children are involved in activities throughout the day that can be messy or involve rough-and-tumble play. We ask that parents dress children in comfortable, weather-appropriate, easily washable clothes, and non-skid shoes, and provide a seasonally appropriate change of clothes as well.
- When the wind chill is below 0 degrees F for children two and older, and 32 degrees F for infants and toddlers, children will not go out. When the temperatures climb above 100 degrees F for children two and older, or above 90 degrees F for infants and toddlers, we will restrict them to indoor activities.
- Typically, the CDL will not close due to weather conditions such as snowstorms or high heat indexes. However, if the University of Illinois officially indicates essential/critical/emergency services/personnel only, the CDL will be closed.
- A child will be released from the facility only to the child’s parent(s) or guardian or to a person designated in writing by the parent(s) or guardian to receive the child. Persons not known to the staff shall be required to provide a driver’s license (with photo) or photo identification card issued by a governmental agency prior to a picking up a child.
- Visitors are required to sign-in upon entering the lab. A log for this purpose is maintained at each site.
- Paid staff, practicum students, student staff, work-study students, volunteers, and researchers all wear nametags to identify that they belong in the classrooms. Researchers and all other classroom visitors must schedule their activities and classroom participation through either the Associate Director or Program Coordinator. Any paid staff member who sees an unfamiliar adult in the building will question the person’s purpose for being in the building.
- All full-time staff members are CPR and First Aid certified.
Nutrition at the CDL
- The CDL food program is USDA approved and menus are periodically evaluated by dieticians.
- Due to DCFS licensing regulations, the CDL is required to provide all food for enrolled children. Parents are not permitted to bring food from home.
- Meal service includes mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks and lunch.
- Snacks are prepared on site and lunches are catered.
- Infants are on an on-demand schedule. We provide iron-fortified formula and one brand of baby food.
- Breast-feeding: We will serve expressed milk or mothers may come in to breast-feed their babies.
- We will make every effort to accommodate special dietary needs within our capacity.