Texas daycares have seen some of the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases in the past week. It's forcing many across the state to continue figuring out safe and creative ways to connect with children.
Daycare centers along with before-school and after-school programs have to report COVID-19 cases to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Those cases are reported daily here.
While it took until Nov. 9 to have the first day with more than 100 cases for both employees and children combined, there have now been eight consecutive days where that mark has been reached.
State officials most recently reported there were 166 new cases of COVID-19 in these facilities Wednesday.
Early Care and Education is an organization that has five daycares in North Texas in three different counties.
Director and owner Tym Smith said his team has been constantly making changes and adjustments since the pandemic began.
"It's been pretty amazing to watch the transformation," said Smith.
Smith said it's important for his teachers and staff members to gain the trust of the children.
"We rely on the human face quite a bit when it comes to connecting and making children feel safe because we know that children can't meet expectations until they feel safe," said Smith.
But now his staff members have been wearing masks to protect both the adults and children from potentially spreading the COVID-19 virus. For younger children, this has created challenges in establishing this feeling of safety.
"We've really had to focus on eye contact and the importance of eye contact with the children," said Smith.
Smith's daycares have all dealt with positive COVID-19 cases, with one location, in particular, having 16 children and five employees who have gotten COVID-19 since tracking began in March. This is tied for the third-most among licensed childcare centers in Texas.
Smith said his team has increased all of its safety measures to abide by state laws, which include screening people before they enter a daycare, regularly cleaning and disinfecting inside the facilities and increasing the time a child or staff member has to be fever free before returning to the daycare.
While Smith's daycares have dealt with some COVID-19 cases, they are dealing with fewer sick kids overall.
"We've seen a huge reduction in our illnesses at the program," Smith said. "We're not sending kids home sick as much. A lot of illnesses that we've had in our programs are typically brought in by the adult and not the child. The one group of people that come in and out of our programs every day that's not regulated are the parents."
That's why Smith said he has been consistently reminding parents that his daycares are built on a partnership with the parents of the children.
"The decisions that you make at home affect every single person in the school," Smith said. "If families are not making healthy choices, it defeats everything that we do."
Smith said one of the most difficult times during the pandemic happened early on when he could only take in children whose parents were essential workers.
"Never in my career did I think I would be in a position where I could take some families but not all families," said Smith.
What remains difficult for Smith to this day is the actions his daycares have to take after there is a COVID-19 cases.
Smith said his daycares are "at the mercy of the health department" when it comes to these steps after a positive test result. Since Smith has daycares in Dallas, Tarrant and Denton counties, the orders and guidelines are constantly changing for each respective county.
"We have a case, we get through it and then we have another one and then the direction is different or the quarantine time is different," Smith said. "There is a lot of inconsistency. Every single case is handled differently, and the guidance that we get has no similarities at all."
Dr. Gary Floyd of the American Academy of Pediatrics said Texas daycares have not been a main source of the spread of the virus. He also said that children are least likely to contract the disease.
However, not only are there many adults involved in the daycare industry, it can still be a place difficult to maintain social distance.
"With bed babies, it's easy," Floyd said. "But after you get out of the bed until they are about 3 or 4, it's difficult to keep them separated."
Smith said his teachers have started to come up with creative ways to connect with children and their families through videos and social media.
"The teachers have really taken it and run with it and they've really enjoyed that part of it," said Smith.
Smith said even though it's been a difficult year, it's challenged his team to make their daycares a safer place for everyone.
"There are so many changes that are going to happen to all of us after this," Smith said. "We are definitely in a different mindset."
To learn more about this North Texas daycare, you can visit earlycareandeducation.com.