Safe Sleep

Every year, about 3,400 babies in the United States die suddenly and unexpectedly while sleeping, often due to sudden infant death syndrome or accidental deaths from suffocation or strangulation, according to How to Keep Your Sleeping Baby Safe: AAP Policy Explained.¹ A majority of states have at least one safe sleep standard in their licensing requirements, and many states have multiple standards for establishing safe sleep environments.

Programs that are exempt from licensing still need to meet health and safety requirements for safe sleep, as outlined by their state, if they care for a child for whom they receive federal child care financial assistance. Child care providers can champion safe sleep practices and environments, not only in their programs, but also with parents and families. The following links have information and resources on best practices for states, providers, and families on safe sleep.

• Information for State, Territory, and Tribal Lead Agencies
  Resources to support best practice in the development of safe sleep standards, policies and training.
• Information for Child Care Providers
  Resources to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome and support best practice in the development of safe sleep program standards and policies.
• Information for Families
  Resources to be shared with families about ways to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome and increase the use of safe sleep practices.

Download the PDF with information for all audiences.

General Resources

• Ask the Pediatric Expert Series: Safe Sleep
  This webinar was held on September 29, 2022. The Office of Child Care’s National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance welcomed Dr. Rachel Moon, an American Academy of Pediatrics’ subject-matter expert, to discuss recommendations and to answer questions about Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2022 Recommendations for Reducing Infant Deaths in the Sleep Environment.
• Cribs for Kids
  The mission of Cribs for Kids is to prevent infant sleep-related deaths by educating parents and caregivers on the importance of practicing safe sleep for their babies. It also provides portable cribs to families who otherwise cannot afford a safe place for their babies to sleep.
• Safe Infant Sleep: Reducing the Risk of SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths (Health and Safety Notes Series)
  Health and Safety Notes provide health and safety information for professionals working in the field of early care and education. Information was developed by the California Childcare Health Program, a community-based program of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Nursing, Department of Family Health Care Nursing. Information is available in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

¹How to keep your sleeping baby safe: AAP policy explained. Healthychildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/A-Parents-Guide-to-Safe-Sleep.aspx

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