COVID-19 Response
While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable confusion and disruption to our daily lives, we at Tender Years have compiled this page to help our parents stay up-to-date on our centers and programs. Please check back regularly for new and revised information. As always, if you have questions or concerns, please contact your center director.
ATTENTION:
If your child has tested positive for COVID-19 or has come into contact with someone who is, or may be, positive, please notify us immediately by completing our COVID-19 Case Reporting Form…
Center Operations
All Tender Years Child Development Centers are currently operating during our normal hours of operation: Monday – Friday, 6:30am – 6:00pm with modifications, as outlined on this page.
All Tender Years centers are following the recommendations of the PA Department of Human Services (DHS) and The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL). You can review OCDEL’s guidance here, and PA Department of Health guidance here. We are also following the latest CDC guidance regarding isolation/quarantine, which you can find here.
Masks
To maintain our normal hours of operation and keep our facilities open to parents, we must do so as safely as possible. Therefore, we will continue to follow CDC and PA Department of Human Services recommendations.
In accordance with the latest CDC guidance for masking, and now that Dauphin and Cumberland County have moved to low community spread, we are moving to optional face coverings as of March 7, 2022.
By default, children over the age of two will continue to wear a mask. However, if you prefer that your child not be required to wear a face covering, please notify your center’s director.
For more information regarding the CDC’s guidance on masking, click here.
Modified Drop-Off & Pick-Up Procedures
We recommend that parents designate a single person to drop off and pick up a child. We also recommend that the designated person is not a “vulnerable” person (older person such as a grandparent or a person with serious underlying medical condition) or a person at high risk of contracting COVID-19 (such as a healthcare worker exposed to ill patients).
Drop-Off Procedures
All children shall be brought to the front door of the center for a health check before being allowed to stay for care. Front doors will remain locked, and key pads or pin code pads will not allow access to parents. A designated staff person will screen your child and take him/her to their classroom. We ask that you please wait until a health check has been completed. Please note, it is at the discretion of Tender Years staff to determine whether your child is healthy, based on our current policies.
Health screening checks are administered to all children before they are taken to their classrooms. These checks include a visual inspection for signs of illness (including cough, shortness of breath, chills or repeated shaking with chills, new loss of taste or smell), as well as temperature screening. We utilize temperature scanning kiosks to provide fast and accurate temperature readings, supplemented by touchless thermometers when necessary. If a child has cold or flu symptoms, or fever of 100.4°F or higher, they will not be permitted to attend childcare.
Pick-Up Procedures
At the end of the day, please come to the front door, and a designated staff person will bring your child to the front for pick up.
Building Access & Face to Face Communications with Your Child’s Teachers
Parents are permitted inside our buildings, with some restrictions in place to limit potential transmission of COVID. Time within the buildings will be limited to 15 minutes.
Travel Policy
If you have traveled outside Pennsylvania recently, we ask that you please comply with Pennsylvania’s quarantine/testing mandate upon returning home. Please visit the PA Department of Health website for the latest information. If you have questions or concerns, please contact your center’s director for guidance.
Notifications of Potential Exposure to COVID-19 & Case Reporting
Attention: If your child has tested positive for COVID-19 or has come into contact with someone who is, or may be, positive, please notify us immediately by completing our COVID-19 Case Reporting Form.
We will inform our staff and families of possible exposure to a positive COVID-19 case. Parents and staff will be notified through the emergency alert system on Tadpoles. The alert will specify possible exposure, exposure or a positive case, as well as guidance for center closures, quarantine and exclusion (per the PA Department of Health, DHS and OCDEL).
Tender Years, Inc. will report COVID-19 cases to the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Human Services (DHS) within 24 hours of notification. We will inform parents of enrolled children and staff when there is a suspected or positive case of COVID-19 in our childcare center. Notification will include the appropriate guidance from the Department of Health and Department of Human Services. For your reference, please download the PA DOH Covid-19 Patient Instructions for Self Isolation below.
Quarantine Policy
Effective Monday, August 8th, we are making the following changes to our COVID-19 Policies:
- Symptoms of COVID will continue to require a negative COVID test or a doctor’s note, as well as following the illness policy timeline for improvement of symptoms.
- Positive cases in children that are younger than 2 years old will need to stay home for the full 10 days. If children are 2 years of age and older and can properly wear a mask, they are able to test on day 5 and return on day 6 with a negative test, masking for the full 10 days. A note from a physician is preferred but not required.
- Tender Years will continue to clean regularly and use our Clorox 360 machine.
- Parents will continue to be notified via Tadpoles with exposures to positive cases and positive cases in the center.
- Exposed children, ages 2 years of age and older, can attend care provided they have no symptoms. However, we encourage testing on day 5 and masking while in care for up 10 days.
- Children under the age of 2 years can attend care provided they have no symptoms. However, we encourage testing on day 5 and/or quarantine for up to 10 days.
- Tender Years encourages all eligible children to vaccinate for COVID-19 as recommended by their pediatrician.
COVID-19 Policies Acknowledgment Forms
Additional Resources
Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services (DHS) and Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) have released an FAQ for Families considering child care. You can access the document here: Child Care FAQs for Families in Need of Care
Traveling out of state? Pennsylvania’s Department of Health provides a list states with high case counts. To see the latest information, CLICK HERE.
