First Aid & CPR Course for Connecticut Childcare Providers

Updated March 22, 2022

Childcare Providers in Connecticut are required to be licensed with the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) – this includes Family Daycare Homes, Group Daycare Homes, and Child Daycare Centers. OEC has numerous requirements which focus on the safety and wellbeing of the children attending daycare.

There are a couple particular regulations that pertain to staff training requirements:

• Required CPR and First Aid training courses
• Medication administration courses (EpiPen as well as oral/topical medications)

The regulations surrounding the training requirements date back to 1994 and have encompassed several agencies that have overseen child daycare licensing.  Currently OEC licenses childcare organizations but it was under control of the Connecticut Department of Public until recently.

OEC requires participants to complete an approved First Aid course that is 6 hours in length.  There are a few courses that have been approved by the agency including the American Heart Association’s Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid course. Childcare providers complete a portion of the course online with a live instructor and then come to a Code One Training Center for a skills appointment.

The approved 6 hours does not include the CPR AED course.  We typically offer this component as part of the course which makes the training a full 8 hour day (private classes can be split between two evening sessions that are four hours).

Medication Administration training is required for any Day Care that carries any oral, topical, or injectible (i.e. EpiPen) medications for children in the Day Care.  Providers must be trained on the Rights of Medication Administration as well as the documentation requirements when a medication is administered.  The topical/oral medication training lasts for 3 years while the injectible is covered annually.  The course must be taught by a Connecticut licensed Registered Nurse, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, Physician Assistant, or Medical Doctor. These courses are regularly offered virtually by Code One (Medication Administration / Epi Refresher)

Here is some helpful information from the OEC website:

State of CT OEC Definitions:

• Family Day Care Homes: Family day care homes are private family homes caring for not more than six children, including the provider’s own children not in school full time, where the children are cared for not less than three nor more than twelve hours during a twenty-four hour period and where care is given on a regularly recurring basis, except that care may be provided in excess of twelve hours but not more than seventy-two consecutive hours to accommodate a need for extended care or intermittent short-term overnight care. During the regular school year, a maximum of three additional children who are in school full time, including the provider’s own children, are permitted, except that if the provider has more than three children who are in school full time, all of the provider’s children are permitted.

• Group Day Care Homes: Group day care homes offer or provide a program of supplementary care (A) to not less than seven or more than twelve related or unrelated children on a regular basis, or (B) that meets the definition of a family day care home except that it operates in a facility other than a private family home.

• Child Day Care Centers: Child day care centers offer or provide a program of supplementary care to more than twelve related or unrelated children outside their own home on a regular basis.

Link to the Regulation Site for Family Daycare Homes: https://www.ct.gov/oec/lib/oec/licensing/childcare/family_statsregs.pdf

See page 17, part c, training requirements, specifically parts 1 and 4:

• (1) Any application for registration submitted to the Department on or after January 1, 1994 shall, before final approval of the application is given, include a copy of a valid certificate from an approved course in basic first aid appropriate for child care providers.
• (4) The Department shall approve a course in basic first aid if it meets the standards set for Group Homes and Day Care Centers as specified in the Child Day Care Unit Policy Manual of the Department of Health Services.