Key Questions

• Do all caregivers that supervise children have up-to-date first aid training? Are the caregivers' first aid training certificates on file for you to check?



• Do substitutes have up-to-date first aid training?



• Are first aid kits and children's life-sustaining medicines located close to the caregiver at all times including on trips outside the facility? Is a cell phone carried on trips outside the facility?



• If a child care center, does the program have a policy to review, on a regularly scheduled basis, caregivers' ability to perform first aid?



Notes:
Situations in which at least one staff member must be certified in CPR include:

• when children are involved in swimming and wading, and


• when at least one child is known to have a specific special health need, as determined by that child's doctor, that makes the child more likely to require CPR.

If your child has a health need that may require CPR, check with the caregiver to make sure staff that are supervising your child have up-to-date pediatric CPR certification.

Many states require that all caregivers have up-to-date CPR training in addition to pediatric first aid training but some states may only require the first aid training.

For detailed information on preventing injuries that require first aid see Injury Prevention Section.

For detailed information on Emergency Preparedness of which first aid is an important component, see Emergency Preparedness Section.