HEALTH
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Health and Nutrition

Health and Nutrition Services include:

• Health, wellness, safety, and nutrition education for families and children.
• Vision and hearing screenings.
• Height and weight measured twice during the school year.
• Nutritious breakfast, lunch, and snack served each school day.
• Accommodations made for special dietary needs.
• Referrals to medical, dental assistance and health insurance providers.

Well Child Care

Head Start believes that having ongoing access to medical and dental care is essential for all children. We want to assist you in securing a medical and dental provider. Please be sure to inform your Family Advocate of any barriers that have prevented you from getting medical or dental care. Together, we can develop a plan to overcome those barriers. If you already have a medical and dental provider, we will ask that your medical and dental providers complete a brief form that indicates whether your child is up to date on well childcare. If your provider indicates that your child is not up to date, your Family Advocate will work with you on a plan to update your child’s records.

Immunizations

New Jersey State Law requires that children must have specific immunizations before they enter the classroom. If you need assistance to arrange for your child’s immunizations, please request to speak with a Health Assistant staff or your Family Advocate.  They will work with you to make sure that your child has all the required immunizations. We look forward to working with you to ensure that the immunizations are up-to-date and that your child will be ready to transition to kindergarten.

Healthy Habits

Healthy habits are established in the classroom with daily tooth brushing and an emphasis on hand-washing, and other habits that help reduce the spread of illnesses.

Family style eating with balanced, nutritious meals gives children an opportunity to learn about healthy eating habits. Our classrooms are used for teaching children to practice healthy habits.

We also discuss playground rules and significance of wearing safety devices such as helmets and using car seats.

We encourage parents to become involved in the Health Services Advisory Committee so that you can help develop policies that foster a healthy environment for all of the children in Head Start.

When Your Child is Ill

All families have the right to a safe and healthy environment for their children in Head Start.  It is essential for parents to know and understand that sick children can not be adequately care for in our Head Start setting when the illness prevents the child from participating comfortably in routine activities, and when the illness requires more care than the teacher and aide is able to provide without compromising the health and safety of the other children.

Symptoms that require exclusion of the child from a center:

• Fever and sore throat, rash, vomiting, diarrhea, earache, irritability or/and confusion
• Body rash with fever
• Severe coughing
• Vomiting (more than two times within 24 hours)
• Diarrhea (more than two times in 24 hours)
• Eye discharge, mucus or pus draining from eye.
• A communicable disease (be sure to let us know also)
• Note: Be sure to keep your emergency contact information updated so that we can let you know when your child becomes ill.

Head Lice

Head lice are common among pre-schoolers. Head lice are usually transmitted by direct, physical, head-to-head contact.  Check your child’s head regularly for lice and/or nits (eggs).  If your child has head lice, you will be contacted to come and pick your child up from the center.  Children with head lice may not return to the class until the child is lice free.  Ask your health assistant or family advocate about the most effective treatments for head lice. Remember to check regularly and to treat quickly.

Mental Health