Connecticut Daycare Food Handling, Diaper Changing, and Immunization Requirements

Food Handling in a Home Daycare

Meals and snacks served as part of family child care operations are subject to the OEC's child-care health and safety requirements. If you sell food separately to the public, check the applicable Connecticut food-sale requirements.

For day-to-day food safety, use practices such as:

• Store food at proper temperatures. Refrigerated items below 40°F, frozen items at 0°F or below.
• Separate raw meats from ready-to-eat foods during storage and preparation.
• Wash hands before preparing food and before serving. Children wash hands before eating.
• Serve age-appropriate portions and textures. Infants get food suited to their developmental stage.
• Document and manage allergies. Every enrolled child's allergy and medical disclosure must be current and accessible to caregivers.

If a parent provides their child's food, store it safely and follow the same cross-contamination precautions. Label each child's containers and keep them separated — particularly critical when one child has a severe allergy.

Food sold separately to the public is a separate compliance track from meals served to enrolled children. Check the applicable Connecticut requirements before selling shelf-stable baked goods or preserved foods.

Diaper Changing Standards

Set up a designated diaper changing area separate from food preparation and eating surfaces. This means you should not change diapers on the kitchen counter or the dining table — even with a changing pad.

The changing surface should be non-porous, easily cleanable, and sanitized after every use. Most providers use a commercial changing table with a washable pad, but any stable surface that meets the sanitation standard works.

Use a consistent sanitary procedure, such as:

1. Wash your hands and put on disposable gloves
2. Place the child on the clean changing surface
3. Remove the soiled diaper and dispose of it in a covered, hands-free container
4. Clean the child, then remove and discard gloves
5. Diaper the child
6. Wash the child's hands
7. Sanitize the changing surface
8. Wash your own hands again

Keep diaper supplies (wipes, clean diapers, disposal bags) within arm's reach of the changing area so you never need to step away from the child. Soiled diapers go in a lined, covered container that's emptied daily — or more often if odor becomes an issue.

Immunization Records

Connecticut requires immunization documentation for every enrolled child. Your records must show the month, day, and year of each state-mandated vaccination, along with evidence of age-appropriate immunizations, immunizations in progress, or approved exemptions.

If a child has an approved exemption, keep the supporting documentation on file alongside their enrollment records.

One important exception: homeless children and youths may be enrolled for up to 90 days without meeting immunization requirements. This grace period gives families time to obtain records or schedule vaccinations without losing access to care.

Review immunization records at enrollment and continuously against school admission guidelines. When a child reaches a milestone age that triggers new vaccination requirements, follow up with the family to get updated documentation.

Emergency Evacuation Planning

Keep an emergency evacuation plan that identifies two safe means of escape from every room used for child care — and make sure those escape routes actually work. Basement windows used as emergency egress need a clear opening of at least 5.7 square feet, with minimum dimensions of 20 inches wide and 24 inches high, and a sill no more than 44 inches above the floor.

Your evacuation plan should cover:

• Primary and secondary exit routes from each room used for care
• A designated meeting point outside the home (far enough from the building to be safe)
• How you'll account for every child after evacuating
• Emergency contact information for parents and local emergency services
• How you'll handle evacuation for non-mobile infants (carriers, cribs on wheels)

Practice evacuation drills regularly and keep the procedure familiar to the children in your care.

The Connecticut Home Daycare Process Guide covers each of these operational requirements in detail, with checklists designed to match exactly what the OEC licensing specialist evaluates during inspections.

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