Protect Your Health
Child Care Testing
Child care programs are a vital part of communities and provide safe, supportive environments that support development, provide access to important services, and improve outcomes for children. VDH is committed to providing guidance that ensures a safe and healthy environment for all students, teachers, and staff in child care centers.
COVID-19 Testing Support For Child Care Facilities
VDH is providing at-home rapid COVID-19 test kits to child care facilities through their Local Health Districts. Child care facilities may distribute test kits to be sent home with students (age 2+), staff, and parents to have on hand if they need to consider testing. Examples include: developing signs/symptoms of COVID-19, being exposed to COVID-19, during an outbreak (under guidance of your Local Health District), returning to school after vacation periods (i.e. Thanksgiving break) or before or after attending a large school gathering (i.e. preschool graduation). Facilities may also consider distributing test kits at school events, so families have them on hand when needed.
For child care facilities interested in receiving test kits, please reach out to your Local Health District.
As of August 2022, the VDH Child Care Testing program is funded by the CDC ELC Reopening Schools Award.
At-Home Antigen Test Kit Information
VDH is providing two types of at-home rapid antigen tests to local health departments to distribute to child care facilities. Both tests may only be used for those 2 years of age and older.
eMed-proctored BinaxNOW Antigen At-Home Test Kit
- Contains 1 test per kit
- Requires use of the eMed telehealth proctor
- Results may be read in 15 minutes
- An adult will need to collect the sample for testers aged 2-15. Testers aged 15 and older may self-collect
- Does not require use of a CLIA waiver to perform testing on-site
- VDH Informational Session on eMed BinaxNOW At Home Test Kits
- VDH Child Care Facility Guide to eMed BinaxNOW At-Home Tests (Updated 7/5/22)
- VDH Parent Guide to Using eMed Tests (Updated 7/5/22)
OraSure InteliSwab COVID-19 Rapid Test Kit
- Contains 2 tests per kit
- An over the counter (OTC) test that does not use a telehealth proctor
- Results may be read in 30 minutes.
- An adult will need to collect the sample for testers aged 2-18. Testers aged 18 years and older may self-collect.
- Child care facilities will need to obtain a CLIA waiver in order to perform testing on-site with OraSure InteliSwab Kits. Facilities distributing test kits for at-home use do not need a CLIA Waiver.
- How to obtain a CLIA Waiver: Document on how to obtain a certificate of waiver
- CMS quick start guide to help complete the form
- Submit form CMS-116 to: Virginia Department of Health Office of Licensure and Certification 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 401, Richmond, Virginia 23233
Sample Consent Forms
VDH recommends sending test kits home with parents/guardians for at home testing. However, child care facilities may choose to test on-site if they have the resources to do so. Sample consent forms for teachers, staff, and students for on-site testing can be found here.
(DOCX) (1 pp, 315 KB)
General COVID-19 Guidance for Child Care Facilities
- VDH Interim COVID-19 Guidance for K-12 Schools, Child Care, and Day Camps Spanish (Updated 8/22/22)
- VDOE guidance (PDF) (2 pp, 334 KB)
- CDC Guidance
Test to Stay is no longer routinely recommended as per the VDH COVID-19 Interim Guidance for K-12 Schools, Child Care, and Day Camps. If a child care facility is interested in implementing Test to Stay, VDH is able to provide guidance and testing resources. Please email testinginfo@vdh.virgina.gov with any questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
eMed will provide on-demand telehealth sessions available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with a Certified Guide to proctor the testing process. Child care centers do not need to have a prescriber or CLIA waiver. The proctoring service must be used, and the proctor has received specialized training to properly administer these tests.
Additional VDH guidance on how to use the test kits is available in the VDH Guide to eMed proctored BinaxNOW Antigen At Home Test Kits and the VDH/VDOE Parent Guide for at-home use of eMed proctored BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Test Kits.
In addition, eMed has a Spanish translated website available here. Navica’s website is also available in Spanish. VDH has created a guide in Spanish to assist child care facilities with the testing process. eMed Certified Guides are available in Spanish and English. The "create an account" option on the Navica website is available in Spanish. There is a toggle on the top near the toolbar to switch between English and Spanish: https://www.mynavica.abbott/.
Child care facilities are strongly recommended to send test kits home with parents, teachers, or staff to conduct testing at home. Child care facilities with the resources to do so may offer testing on-site as per their facilities policies. The telehealth proctored eMed BinaxNOW test kits may be used on-site without obtaining a CLIA waiver but the telehealth proctor must be used. To perform testing on-site using the OraSure InteliSwab test kits, child care facilities must obtain a CLIA Waiver.
Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 should not attend the child care facility and should report positive results to their child care facility immediately. For more information, please see VDH COVID-19 Guidance for K-12 Schools, Child Care, and Day Camps, VDH Guidance on COVID-19 Antigen Tests Results (PDF) (2 pp, 250 KB) and Next Steps and What to do if you have confirmed or suspected coronavirus disease (COVID-19)?
VDH encourages child care centers to develop a secure mechanism (i.e., phone call, encrypted email, password-protected document-share) for receiving results from at-home proctored tests, to protect Protected Health Information (PHI) such as name, date of birth, test results, etc. Child care centers may also consider alternative options such as obtaining parental attestation of the test results before the individual may proceed with participation in child care. For any questions regarding liability around obtaining test results or conducting testing, child care facilities should consult their legal counsel.
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