RWCFS Health & Wellness Resources
Head Start Performance Standards
- 1302 Subpart D—Health and Mental Health Program Services
- 1302.40 Purpose.
- 1302.41 Collaboration and communication with parents.
- 1302.42 Child health status and care.
- 1302.43 Oral health practices.
- 1302.44 Child nutrition.
- 1302.45 Supports for mental health and well-being.
- 1302.46 Family support services for health, nutrición, and mental health.
- 1302.47 Safety practices.
Headstart.gov
- Head Start Health Services Modules
- Supporting Community Health Partnerships
- Learn how to identify the people and agencies who can assist in strengthening Head Start health services, and learn about the importance of creating partnerships with local health care providers and agencies to meet the needs of children and families.
- How to Find and Use Health Data
- Learn about the importance of using community, programa, and child health data to deliver health services. Health data can help programs make improvements and develop approaches to ensure every family receives the health care they need.
- Creating a Culture of Staff Wellness
- In this module, explore how to create an environment that enhances staff physical and mental health. Learn how ensuring staff wellness can reduce stress or depression, unhealthy weight, and infectious diseases.
- Fundamental Values, Conocimiento, and Skills to Manage Health Services
- To manage health services effectively, leaders should understand how health influences school readiness and how their own beliefs may affect their interactions with others in their Head Start program. This module will prepare those who manage health services to reflect on their own understanding of health and wellness, and to consider how to use requirements and regulations to identify important health practices to implement and model for others.
- Principles of Health and Wellness
- Understanding the general principles of health and wellness promotion, prevention, early identification, and intervention will help leaders and staff implement effective health services. Explore this module to learn more about how health services can contribute to healthier children, las familias, and staff.
- Health Education for Children, Las familias, and Staff
- Health education requires knowing what information is important, providing information in a way that others can understand, and ensuring the information is culturally and linguistically responsive. Explore this module to learn how to provide children, personal, and families with health education that will empower them to make good health choices.
- How to Find Science-Informed and Evidence-Based Health Information
- Families and other staff members look to health services staff for health information they can trust. Use this module to learn how to find and use current, accurate, and consistent health information to support the health and safety of children and develop evidence-informed program policies and procedures.
- Supporting Community Health Partnerships
- Health Competencies
- Health Manager Orientation Guide
- Use this guide to orient Head Start health managers to their role and to strengthen the provision of health and behavioral health services across your program.
- Head Start Health Services Competencies
- These tools, for new and experienced staff, address science-informed practices for early childhood health staff. Each is indicative of an attitude, knowledge, or skill. Use this for professional development.
- https://headstart.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/03930-health-competencies-pdf.pdf
- Head Start Health Services Year-at-a-Glance
- Review this timeline to learn more about planning for health services and tasks associated with health services activities.
- Fundamental Values, Conocimiento, and Skills to Manage Health Services
- Explore how leaders can better manage health services when they understand how health impacts school readiness. Reflect on leaders’ own role in health services and find ways to promote program health practices.
- Education Requirements for Health Services Managers and Health Professionals
- Use this brief to review the Head Start regulations and education requirements for health services managers and professionals (p.ej., mental health consultants and staff or consultants who support nutrition services).
- Head Start Health Services Competencies Professional Development Assessment
- Read this companion document to the Tool to Support Health Managers and Staff. Program directors, health managers, and health staff can use it to promote successful job performance and support career development.
- Principles of Health and Wellness Virtual Presentation
- Understanding the general principles of health and wellness promotion, prevention, early identification, and intervention will help leaders and staff implement effective health services. Explore this module to learn more about how health services can contribute to healthier children, las familias, and staff. Learn the difference between promotion, prevention, early identification, and intervention. Understand how different types of Head Start health services support mental, físico, familia, and social wellness.
- Text version of lesson: https://headstart.gov/sites/default/files/learning-modules-resources/principles-health-wellness-transcript.pdf
- Health Manager Orientation Guide
National Head Start Association
- The Academy’s Health and Safety Courses
- NHSA’s Health Services Essentials course is designed to support health managers and staff in developing the fundamental knowledge they need to meet the expectations of the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) and support children and families on their path to a healthy future. The course covers requirements in physical and oral health, de salud mental, nutrición, discapacidad, seguridad, and staff wellness.Learners will walk away with concrete suggestions on how to ensure the HSPPS are met through well-child checks, vision and hearing screenings, dental exams, and more. They will also develop an understanding on how to support others in their role and to train teachers in supporting child safety and development through daily health checks, acute care, and classroom safety checks.
- Estado y Tribal Child Care Requirements
- In addition to being familiar with the HSPPS, every program should know their state and/or tribal child care requirements. You can visit the National Database of Child Care Licensing Regulations to search and find national and state information about child care licensing regulations, agency policies, and requirements for licensed child care centers, family child care homes, and group child care homes. You can also view the Minimum Health and Safety Standards: A Guide for American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care and Development Fund Grantees. These two resources can help you ensure you are meeting the basic health and safety needs to remain a licensed child care facility.
- Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades
- If you are a health manager, you will hear a lot of myths about health and safety practices. (Have you ever heard someone say the best way to get rid of lice is to put mayonnaise on your head?) Demystify your role by going straight to the source: the CDC is the nation’s leading science-based, data-driven service organization that protects the public’s health. For more than 70 años, they have put science into action to help children stay healthy so they can grow and learn.
- NHSA Mental Health Toolkit
- 9 Ways to Celebrate Mental Wellness: https://nhsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024MentalWellness9Ways.pdf
Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
- Materials to Decrease Stress Levels: Relaxation Resources
- Materials to Promote Knowledge of Social-Emotional Health in Children 0-5:
- Everyday Ideas for Promoting Social and Emotional Development
- Social Emotional Tips for Providers Caring for Infants
- Social Emotional Tips for Providers Caring for Toddlers
- Tutorials:
- Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior
- Choose and Use Guides:
- Classroom Posters to Increase Positive Social-Emotional Interactions | En Español
- Cultural and Linguistic Competence Self-Assessment Checklist for Early Head Start and Head Start Programs
- “My 1st Year Baby Book” y “Discovering Feelings” booklet
- Infant Toddler Tempera
- Models/Tutorials:
- Resources for:
- Recursos adicionales:
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
- Breastfeeding Initiatives
- Ten Steps to Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care Centers, P-00022
- Breastfeeding Friendly Child
Care - Active Early: A Wisconsin Guide for Improving Childhood Physical Activity,
- Healthy Bites: A Wisconsin Guide for Improving Childhood Nutrition PDF
- Access the Spanish version of Healthy Bites PDF
- Active Out-of-School Time: A Wisconsin Guide for Improving Childhood Physical Activity for School-Age Children PDF
- Improving Physical Activity and Healthy Eating During Out of School Time, P-03472
- Supporting Healthy Beverage Choices in Out-of-School Time Programs in
Wisconsin - Gardening Initiatives
Wisconsin Early Childhood Health Consultation
- Health Policy Template Wizard: An easy-to-use tool that allows you to create a childcare center health policy. Available in English and Spanish. Take a look here.
- Healthychildren.org: Health and safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Vista here.
- Caring for Our Children: Searchable standards of best practices for health and safety. Vista here.
National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety
- The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center is a partner in the National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety (NCHBHS), supported by the Office of Head Start, the Office of Child Care, and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
- The Difference Between Oral Exams and Oral Health Screenings
- Using Silver Diamine Fluoride on Children’s Teeth
- A Guide to the Dental Periodicity Schedule and Oral Exam | Guía para el cronograma de periodicidad dental y el examen oral
- Applying Consultation Skills to Oral Health Promotion
- Brush Up on Oral Health | Póngase al día con la salud oral
- Checklist for Child Care Staff: Best Practices for Good Oral Health | Lista de verificación para el personal del cuidado infantil: Buenas prácticas para una buena salud oral
- Cooks Corner: Recipes for Healthy Snacks—Compiled from Brush Up on Oral Health | El rincón de la cocina: recetas para refrigerios saludables
- Dental Hygienist Liaison Project
- Getting to Know Me: Information for a Pregnant Woman’s Dental Office | Conocerme Información de su consultorio dental para su embarazo
- Getting to Know Me: Information for Your Child’s Dental Office | Conóceme Información para el consultorio dental de su hijo
- Healthy Habits for Happy Smiles | Hábitos sanos para sonrisas felices
- Helping Children Brush Their Teeth | Cómo ayudar a los niños a cepillarse los dientes
- How Dental Hygienists Can Improve Oral Health for Head Start Participants | Cómo los higienistas dentales pueden mejorar la salud oral de los participantes de Head Start
- How Dentists Can Improve Oral Health for Head Start Participants | Cómo los dentistas pueden mejorar la salud oral de los participantes de Head Start
- How Medical Providers Can Help Improve Oral Health for Head Start Participants | Cómo los proveedores médicos pueden ayudar a mejorar la salud oral de los participantes de Head Start
- I Like My Teeth | Pósteres sobre el flúor Me gustan mis dientes
- Oral Health Forms
- Oral Health: Tips for Families. Also available in Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Burmese, Chinese, Hmong, Marshallese, Polish, Somali, Español, Vietnamese, y Yiddish.
- Oral Health: Tips for Health Managers | Salud Oral: Consejos para Gerentes de Salud
- Questions to Ask When Looking for a Dental Office | Preguntas que hacer cuando busque un consultorio dental
- Resources to Make You Smile! (boletín de noticias)
- Steps for Toothbrushing at the Table: Growing Healthy Smiles in Early Care and Education Programs (video), available with Spanish subtitles and transcript
National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center
- Welcome to Open Wide: Oral Health Training for Health Professionals and Early Childhood Professionals—Second Edition, a series of four modules designed to help professionals working in programs (p.ej., Head Start, home visiting, WIC) promote oral health in the course of promoting general health for children from birth to age 6 and their families.This curriculum offers early childhood professionals information to help them prevent tooth decay, which still afflicts many children, especially children from families with low incomes, children from certain racial and ethnic groups, and children with special health care needs. The modules present professionals with information about tooth decay, risk factors, and prevention; explain how to perform an oral health risk assessment and screening; and highlight anticipatory guidance to share with parents.
Centers for American Indian & Alaska Native Health
- The Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health (CAIANH) was established in 1986 and is the largest, most comprehensive, and longest standing program of its kind in the country. Our mission is to promote the health and well-being of American Indians and Alaska Natives, of all ages, by pursuing research, entrenamiento, continuing education, technical assistance, and information dissemination within a biopsychosocial framework that recognizes the unique cultural contexts of this special population. CAIANH houses numerous projects funded by a wide range of private, estado, and federal agencies, and partners with human service organizations in more than 200 urban, rural, and reservation communities.
Disciplina Consciente
- Free Resources: Conscious Discipline fully understands the existing financial barriers to access the help you need; that’s why one of our founding principles is the idea of paying it forward. While we offer hundreds of purchasable products from live events to eCourses to classroom tools, we also offer hundreds of free resources such as webinars, printables, correlations, and self-assessments. Listed below are a few of our favorites geared toward Mental Health Professionals like you.
- Handling Frustration Letters: https://consciousdiscipline.com/resources/handling-frustration-letters/
- Safe Place Breathing Icons: https://consciousdiscipline.com/resources/safe-place-breathing-icons/
- Story Hand: https://consciousdiscipline.com/resources/story-hand/
- Shubert’s School: https://consciousdiscipline.com/free-resources/shubert/
- Supporting Administrators and School Leaders with Conscious Discipline: https://consciousdiscipline.com/supporting-administrators-and-school-leaders-with-conscious-discipline/
- Why Your MTSS is Failing and How Conscious Discipline Can Help: https://consciousdiscipline.com/why-your-mtss-is-failing-and-how-conscious-disicipline-can-help/
- DA Magazine Podcast Features Chief Growth Officer Jill Molli: https://consciousdiscipline.com/district-administration-magazine-da-magazine-podcast-features-director-of-development-jill-molli/
- Conscious Communication with Families Webinar: https://consciousdiscipline.com/e-learning/webinars/conscious-communication-with-families/
- Creating Emotionally Intelligent Schools Webinar: https://consciousdiscipline.com/e-learning/webinars/creating-emotionally-intelligent-schools/
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- Early care and education (ECE) providers can improve children’s development and act as a protective factor for lifelong health. To do this important work, ECE providers need support and resources. CDC provides resources for ECE providers, including free trainings, and works with partners to understand how to help ECE providers support children and families.
- Resources for Early Care and Education Providers
- Partner support
- Trainings
- Clean Hands and Spaces Web-Based Training
- GO NAP SACC – Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care
- Healthy Kids, Healthy Future On Demand Modules in English and Spanish
- Mental and Emotional Health Module for PreK–12 | Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT)
- Prioritizing Educator Well-being Through COVID and Beyond — Better Kid Care | Penn State Extension
- Supporting the Child Vaccination Decision Process—Better Kid Care | Penn State Extension
- CDC Train – Public Health Training Resources

