Caring for Our Children (CFOC) is a set of national standards that represent the best practices — based on evidence, expertise, and experience — for quality health and safety policies and practices in early care and education settings. CFOC Basics represents the minimum health and safety standards required in Head Start and is a subset of the CFOC national standards. Explore this collection to learn more about these important resources.
Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards
Caring for Our Children (CFOC) is a set of national standards that represent the best practices — based on evidence, expertise, and experience — for quality health and safety policies and practices in early care and education settings.
Caring for Our Children Basics
Caring for Our Children Basics (CFOC Basics) represents the minimum health and safety standards required in Head Start and child care programs, family child care homes, and other places children receive care outside of their home.
CFOC Basics: Program Review Tool
Use this fillable form to review your program's current practices against the minimum health and safety standards in CFOC Basics. This tool can be used to identify a program’s practices that should be stronger and to develop strategies for improving them.
Health and Safety Basics: Exploring Caring for Our Children
Watch this webinar to learn more about CFOC, CFOC Basics, and how to use these resources to improve health and safety practices in Head Start and early child care settings.
Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting
Use these resources to help you with cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting. This reduces the risk of spreading infectious diseases to children, staff, and visitors.
Read more:
Resource Type: Article
National Centers: Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety
Program Type: Child Care Programs
Last Updated: December 20, 2023