What is the current guidance for child care group sizes and activities?

As of May 6, 2021, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) has updated its Guidance for Child Care Programs.

For the purposes of this guidance, child care programs refers to all group care facilities for children who are not yet in elementary school. This includes child care centers; child development facilities; family child care homes; and preschools, transitional kindergarten, pre-kindergartens and kindergarten programs that are not part of an elementary school.

Key updates include:

Groups/Cohorts

• Child care programs no longer need to limit the number of children and staff in a group or "cohort." A cohort is a stable group that has the same staff and children each day, stays together for all activities (lunch, recess, etc.), and avoids contact with people outside the group.
• Children and youth who are not vaccinated for COVID-19 are encouraged, but not required, to
  limit the number of programs they participate in within any 3 week period.
• SFDPH suggests keeping cohorts as small as feasible. For more information, see this CCLD Provider Information Notice released on 3/19/2021. 
• Staff may work with more than one cohort. Try to assign staff to as few cohorts as feasible, to limit staff exposure and prevent the spread of COVID-19 across cohorts. 

Activities & Spacing

• During individual activities, keep children 3 feet apart as much as possible, subject to state requirements. 6 feet of distance should continue to be maintained between adult staff and with children in shared spaces and during limited group activities. 
• Children and youth may use shared supplies and equipment such as computers, books, games,
  play areas, and area rugs. Have children and youth wash or sanitize their hands before and after
  using shared supplies and equipment.
• Outdoor field trips are allowed as long as they do not require shared vehicles or public transportation. For example, field trips that involve walking to a nearby park are allowed. Do not let children mix with people outside their cohort on field trips.
• Children can participate in no more than 2 in-person extracurricular cohorts, in addition to child care, at the same time. This is true even if the programs are on different days of the week. For example, a child may not attend a music program on Monday, a dance class on Thursday, and a Saturday language program.
  • • Children who play indoor moderate- or high-contact sports in a program outside of their child care may NOT participate in a 2nd extracurricular program at the same time. Indoor high-contact sports like basketball and hockey are higher risk for spread of COVID-19, and have been associated with outbreaks in children and youth.