Raising the bar for health and safety in child care.

During the past few decades, this country has experienced many socio-economic changes including a rise in the number of dual-income families and single parent homes. Combined with a fluctuating economy and drastic reforms in welfare, one of the results has been an ever-increasing number of children being cared for in out-of-home settings. With almost 75% of all children under age 5 years and 50% of infants in some form of child care on a regular basis, opportunities abound for nurses to promote optimal health and safety in child care. To ensure quality child care for these children, health care professionals are uniquely positioned to provide consultation services to centers and family child care settings. With expertise in child development, infection control, disease prevention, and health promotion, pediatric and public health nurses can provide many types of child care health consultation services to impact the care of these children positively.