BATON ROUGE - As childcare facilities across Louisiana begin to reopen, the state government will equip them with supplies that will ensure each site is able to welcome children and staff into a safe and healthy environment. 

This week, the Louisiana Department of Education announced that all 1,649 child care providers in the state who offer services through Head Start, licensed child care centers, as well as in in-home and family-based settings certified to offer the Child Care Assistance Program will receive the following items:

-No-touch thermometers;

-Masks;

-Gloves;

-Hand sanitizer and pumps;

-Hand soap;

-Paper towels;

-Facial tissue; and 

-Cleaning products, including bleach.

The supplies, which were purchased with federal emergency relief funds, will help providers implement protective measures set by the Office of Public Health, such as assessing the health of staff and children upon arrival and boosting cleaning regimens. 

As the supplies continue to arrive, local resource and referral agencies will distribute them to qualified providers within their communities by the close of next week. 

In addition to equipping providers with supplies to help them carry out protective measures set by the Office of Public Health, the Department has provided supplemental guidance related to day-to-day operations as they reopen.

This assistance comes as the state continues to navigate Governor John Bel Edward's Roadmap to a Resilient Louisiana, which is his phased strategy for safely reopening the state. 

Though early childhood education sites were not required to close under the stay-at-home order, more than 70 percent of providers closed their doors.

With the stay-at-home order lifted, providers that previously closed are beginning to reopen.