Frequently Asked Questions
Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs
What additional steps should families that have a child with an underlying medical condition or special health care need take?
In addition to following the recommendations to prevent getting
sick and running
essential errands, families should take extra steps recommended for persons with
higher risk of severe COVID-19 illness and steps outlined for those with
potential COVID-19 exposure or confirmed
illness.

Identify potential alternative caregivers, if you or other regular caregivers become sick and are unable to care for your child. If possible, these alternative caregivers would not be at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 themselves.
Try to have at least one month of medication and medical supplies on hand. Some health plans allow for a 90-day supply of prescription medications. Consider discussing this option with your child’s healthcare provider.
Review any care plans for your child, such as an asthma action plan, and make sure caregivers and backup caregivers are familiar with these plans.
If you do not have care plans or an emergency notebook, try to make them. They typically include important information about your child’s medical conditions, how to manage those conditions, how to get in touch with your child’s doctors, allergies, information on medications (names, dosages, and administration instructions), preferences (food and other) or special needs, daily routines and activities, friends, and details about routines that are important to support behavioral and emotional health.
Learn if your child’s healthcare providers, including doctors and therapists, have new ways to be contacted or new ways of providing appointments. If they offer telemedicine visits, find out how those are arranged and any additional information you need.
If your child receives any support care services in the home that need to be continued, make plans for what you will do if those direct care providers get sick, or if persons in your household are sick.
Discuss with the support care agencies and the providers ways to minimize risk for exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19. 
If your child or other persons in your household are sick with COVID-19 and are able to recover at home, inform your direct care providers and consider postponing or rescheduling services until the criteria for discontinuing home isolation have been met.
Ask service providers if they are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, or if they have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19.
Tell the service provider to: 
Wear a cloth face covering if they will be close (less than 6 feet) to you or persons in your household. Their cloth face covering helps protect you if they are infected but do not have symptoms.
Ask them to wash their hands with soap and water or, if unavailable, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol when they enter your home, before and after helping your child (dressing, bathing/showering, transferring, toileting and/or diapering, feeding), after handling tissues, and after changing linens or doing laundry. Learn more about proper handwashing.
Service providers and families should: 
Routinely clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces (counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, bedside tables), and equipment such as wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, oxygen tanks and tubing, communication boards, and other assistive devices. Refer to CDC’s recommendations for Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Home.