Day care center illness: policy and practice in North Carolina.

We surveyed 62 North Carolina day care centers (DCCs) to determine their policies for excluding children. We found that the addition of a temperature of 100-101 degrees F to each of eight symptoms was associated with an increase in the percentage of DCCs choosing "immediate pick-up." Non-profit centers were more likely to send children home (70 per cent) than for-profit centers (48 per cent). Centers with and without written illness policies did not differ in their management of sick children.