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2011 Highlights: UC IPM Annual Report Photo by K. Windbiel-Rojas. Helping child-care centers implement IPMIN BRIEF
A new toolkit designed to help child-care providers implement IPM practices in their facilities is now available. In 2007, California Law AB 2865 extended the Healthy Schools Act to child-care centers, requiring them to notify parents of pesticide use, keep records, post treated areas, and designate an IPM coordinator in each facility. Surveys of child-care facilities revealed most providers were unfamiliar with IPM or how to implement an IPM program in their facility. To address this educational need, UC IPM teamed up with UC Berkeley’s Center for Children’s Environmental Health in a Pest Management Alliance led by the UC San Francisco School of Nursing’s California Childcare Health Program to develop and deliver an IPM curriculum and toolkit for child-care providers. The resulting toolkit, which is available in both English and Spanish, includes a colorfully illustrated IPM curriculum booklet, an IPM checklist, pest-specific information sheets, educational posters, and a slide presentation. Key goals were to show providers how they could prevent most pest problems by vigilantly inspecting for pests and correcting conditions that might favor them such as by sealing up entryways and eliminating food and water sources and pest hiding places. The specially developed IPM checklist guides this process with 85 observable items that help assess a facility’s pest management practices or identify actions that can be taken to protect against pests. A pilot test involving nine child-care centers showed an 80% reduction in pest-conducive conditions and elimination of all signs of earlier observed pest problems four to six months after training and initial use of the IPM checklist. Manager interviews showed positive attitudes about IPM, support for using IPM, and satisfaction with the program. Integrated Pest Management: A Toolkit for Early Care and Educational Programs including the curriculum, checklist, posters, and fact sheets is available on the California Childcare Health Program Web site at http://www.ucsfchildcarehealth.org/html/pandr/trainingcurrmain.htm. Key participants in this project included Abbey Alkon and Vickie Leonard of the UC San Francisco School of Nursing, Asa Bradman of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, Mary Louise Flint of UC IPM, and Nita Davidson of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Funding was provided through the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s Pest Management Alliance Program with the UCSF School of Nursing leading the effort. > Next article: UC IPM Builds Program for Retail Nurseries and Garden Centers |