What is AB 676 and How Does it Affect Your Child Care Business?

Every publically-funded child care program will be affected by AB 676 – and I’m glad. If two hours of training can help minimize Workers’ Compensation claims and costs to your child care business, you should be too.

The AB 676 Child Care Caregiver Safety Training Act was recently passed in the California State Assembly. It affects early educators who are licensed or care for children under a publicly funded child care program. So what does this mean for you? Here’s a breakdown of the new act and how it will affect you.

Why was AB 676 created?

The main goal of AB 676 is to reduce workplace injuries by requiring every early educator to participate in peer-led occupational health and safety training. Think a workplace injury won’t happen for your employees? Think again.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that workers in the child day care services industry are 18% more likely than the working population as a whole to experience a lost-time injury on the job. Back injuries are by far the most common, occurring at nearly double the rate of the general working population.

What does AB 676 require?

All caregivers must attend a one-time, two-hour training on occupational safety and health risks specific to the child care profession. This two-hour training will provide information to the caregivers about identifying and avoiding risks from illness, stress, toxic chemicals, and physical hazards.

When do you need to complete the training?

Caregivers will need to complete this training within four years of when it is first offered, or within three months of the provider beginning to care for children in a publicly-funded child care program, whichever occurs later. The two-hour training will also count towards satisfying the 105 hours of professional growth activities that are necessary for early educators needing to renew Child Development Permits.

To learn more about AB 676, view the fact sheet here: https://cappa.memberclicks.net/assets/StateLegislation/ab%20676%20fact%20sheet.pdf

Visit www.caqualityearlylearning.org/ and join CQEL to learn more about AB 676 and other tools to stay informed.