Pillars of Governmental Environmental Public Health | A Guide to Scalable Environmental Public Health Programs
tain vaccination records and ensure attendees and staff are properly vaccinated. Facility closures due to unsatisfactory conditions could be seen as a measure of program performance. Facilities remaining open could indicate good compliance. Like other EPH inspection programs, tracking the number and types of violations cited provides important outcome measures. Research participants did not feel that illness or outbreak numbers would be good measures of program success or effectiveness. Diseases such as norovirus, influenza, and hand, foot, and mouth disease inevitably occur in these types of facilities, especially for diseases where no vaccine currently exists. Tracking outbreak control timeframes from detection to resolution could provide insight into facility preparedness. While not the consensus opinion, EPH pro- grams might find it useful to track how long it takes to con - trol an outbreak once detected and whether it has spread to the community. Shorter control periods could indicate that facility staff were trained in infection control measures and had proper protocols to prevent ongoing transmission. Inspection completion rates represent another practical outcome measure. Some research participants mentioned that their programs aimed to complete 90% of required childcare and school inspections per year, which leaves flexibility for seasonal camps and similar facilities that might not operate during certain seasons. Such facilities maintain licenses but do not require inspection when non-operational.
mentioned by participants, can use these metrics to iden- tify when staffing adjustments are necessary. For some participants, being able to track the amount of time in each type of facility (i.e., childcare, family care homes, group care) can help determine the amount of staffing needed for this program. Research findings indi - cate that 3–4 early childcare or daycare facility inspections per week were considered reasonable by both staff and managers for full-time staff.
Education/Training/Certifications
A bachelor’s degree in a field of science was identified as the preferred minimum education requirement for early childcare and daycare programs. REHS/RS credentialing was also recommended for professionals working in this program area. Participants suggest a playground safety inspection cer- tification as it provides good training for a setting where there are many hazards to child health and safety. Having some type of IPM training (not necessarily a certificate) would be useful, as EPH professionals would be more informed about pesticide applications in areas where chil- dren are exposed. On-the-job training was valued for early childcare and day- care programs. Participants mentioned considering a person to be a fully trained EPH specialist after 2 years of training. Participants noted that if departments make registration a mandatory educational requirement, it is important that they build in the resources to enable staff to pursue and maintain this registration. Equipment Needs Early childcare and daycare inspection programs will likely require standard EPH equipment to assess facility condi-
Staffing
Adequate staffing levels might enable programs to com - plete required facility inspections within established time- frames. Programs that track inspection completion rates, such as achieving 90% of required inspections annually as
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