Key points
- In 2016, ATSDR created the Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education (CSPECE) program.
- The CSPECE program encourages careful consideration about where to locate early care and education (ECE) sites.
- CSPECE gives towns, cities, and states a framework to adopt practices that ensure ECE programs are located away from chemical hazards.
Why is it important?
Even if ECE programs meet current state licensing regulations, this is not a guarantee there are no harmful environmental exposures. The programs may still be located in places where children and staff can be exposed to environmental contamination. As a result, a new ECE program might open in a chemically contaminated industrial building that was never cleaned up. A new ECE program could also open next door to a business using harmful chemicals. This can put staff and children, who are more sensitive to the effects of chemicals, at risk of health problems.
After exposures happen, children may have negative health effects and ECE programs may be forced to shut down. Therefore, preventing the problem beforehand is vital. Safely located ECE programs ensure the health, economic, and social well-being of families who rely on them.
What is ATSDR's role?
ATSDR is committed to promoting the healthy development of children. In 2017, ATSDR's Partnership to Promote Local Efforts to Reduce Environmental Exposure (APPLETREE) program expanded its cooperative agreement. The expansion included Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education (CSPECE). Through this funding, national and state programs are being created to ensure safe ECE siting. ATSDR, also provides technical support and guidance to help states start their own Choose Safe Places Program.