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The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, and community efforts.

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Florida - Choose Safe Places

Choose Safe Places



Florida Choose Safe Places celebrates Children's Environmental Health Day! Share our flyer and help raise awareness about children's environmental health.

Florida Choose Safe Places celebrates Children's Environmental Health Day - 1MB PDF Opens in a new window



RESOURCES




Florida Choose Safe Places Reports

Preschool Children seen in a class setting

What is Choose Safe Places?

The Florida Department of Health aims to protect children and staff in Early Care and Education (ECE) programs by encouraging more careful consideration about the location of child care programs. The Florida Choose Safe Places initiative is part of a national program by The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Florida Choose Safe Places provides ECE programs with tools and education on best practices to reduce exposure to environmental hazards.

Florida Choose Safe Places aims to:

  • Create guidelines to select safe ECE program locations.
  • Provide education to ECE programs about potential environmental hazards at or around child care sites.
  • Develop tools that child care providers can use to work towards creating a safer environment for children in their care.

Why is this important?

Because children are still growing and developing, they are especially vulnerable to exposures to harmful environmental substances where they learn, grow and play. Children also spend much of their time in care outside their homes.  In the United States, more than eight million children less than five years of age are cared for in licensed ECE programs for an average of 36 hours per week (National Association of Regulatory Administration, 2014). Florida Choose Safe Places provides resources and tools for child care providers and parents in order to help protect children from environmental hazards.


For more information, please email ChooseSafePlacesFlorida@flhealth.gov or call the toll free number: 1-877-798-2772.
 

REFERENCES

ATDSR (2018). Last update 10-30-2018.

National Association of Regulatory Administration (2014). Research Brief #1, Trends in Child Care Center Licensing Regulations and Policies for 2014. 26pp.
 

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