California's Regional Stay-At-Home Order and Child Care

On December 3, 2020, California rolled out a new Regional Stay-At-Home Order impacting the entire state. This new order says that when a region reaches less than 15% ICU availability, they will be placed into Regional Stay-At-Home. You can also read the full details here as well as see which regions have been placed in Regional Stay-At-Home at this time. We’ve summarized below how Regional Stay-At-Home impacts child care businesses and schools.

Child Care (Daycares, Preschools, School-Age Care)

During Regional Stay-At-Home, child care facilities can remain open as they are considered essential businesses. This includes daycares, preschools, and school-age child care providers operating in both home and center settings. With this new order, providers must abide by the following rules:

• Childcare must be carried out as a stable group of 14 or fewer children and two or fewer childcare providers at all times.
• Children and childcare providers shall not change from one group to another, and should avoid contact with anyone not in their group. 
• If more than one group of children is cared for at one facility, each group needs to be in a separate room. 
• Individuals in one group should not mix with another group. This rule applies to children, teachers, other staff, and parents.

K-12 Schools

During Regional Stay-At-Home, K-12 schools that are already open for in-person learning can remain open. K-12 schools that were operating virtually will remain virtual.

Child care providers serving school age children can continue to do so provided they are following the guidelines listed above. Child care facilities operating at public schools can also continue to operate following the guidelines listed above.

If you need care and distance learning support for elementary age kids, please visit winnie.com/school-care. If you’re a provider who can provide care or distance learning support for elementary age kids, please follow these instructions to get your program added to Winnie’s directory.

Resources

At Winnie, our first priority is the safety and sanity of both parents and child care providers. If you find yourself impacted by this new stay at home order, we’ve put together some resources that can help you navigate these challenging times.