Our commitment to health and safety
With guidelines in place based on recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and our funding partners, Erie House can now safely resume limited in-person programming.
Erie House will be re-opening for staff and participants in a five-phased approach to gradually and safely get back to "business as usual." During this phased re-opening period, Erie House is implementing policies, procedures and guidelines for all staff and participants to follow. These guidelines are based on recommendations from the CDC and the IDPH.
Capacity is limited to only essential staff and select participants during the re-opening period to allow for as much physical distance as possible. Erie House is also creating health checkpoints for all staff and participants before entering the buildings, providing PPE to staff and participants, increasing cleaning and sanitizing of spaces, displaying signage so all guidelines are clear, and designating dedicated isolation spaces to ensure safety.
If we all continue to do our part in following guidelines and taking basic steps like wearing a mask and frequently washing our hands, we can ensure our families and entire community will be safe and healthy.
A Five-Phased Approach
Phase 1
- July 27, 2020: Select School-Age Program and Early Childhood Education staff return
- August 3, 2020: School-Age Programs reopen at limited capacity
- August 31, 2020: Early Childhood Education reopens at limited capacity
Phase 2
- April 12, 2021: Little Village facility reopens in a hybrid capacity for READS and Proyecto Cuídate youth programming
- May 2021: ESL evening classes reopen in a hybrid capacity
Phase 3
- Summer 2021: YOU, Legal Services, and select administrative staff return and reopen for in-person programming
Phase 4
- July 15, 2021: Early Childhood Education (fully open); School Age Program (fully open); YOU (hybrid); READS (hybrid); Health + Leadership (fully open); Adult Education + Community Literacy (hybrid); Proyecto Cuídate (hybrid)
Phase 5
- Date TBD: All remaining staff, programs, and participants return to Erie House facilities
We will continue to offer virtual services until programs are open for all participants.
As we continue to closely monitor the situation, all dates are subject to change to ensure the health and safety of our staff and participants is prioritized.
We'll continue to update this page as needed.
Safety Procedures
As we reopen, we're implementing policies, procedures, and guidelines based on recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) including:
Limiting capacity to only essential staff and select participants during our reopening period to allow for as much physical distance as possible.
Creating health checkpoints for all staff and participants to pass before entering an Erie House facility, including a temperature check.
Enhancing and increasing the frequency of cleaning and sanitization of spaces.
Providing PPE to staff and participants.
No-Contact Payments
Until further notice, all Erie House co-payment transactions will be made by contactless methods. This includes credit cards over the phone or money orders mailed to the attention of the Finance Dept.
To make your co-payment or if you have any questions, please call (312) 563-5800 and ask for the payment office.
Co-pays for Early Childhood Education/Child Care have returned to their original amount as of March 1, 2021.
Pagos sin Contacto
Hasta nuevo aviso, todas las transacciones de copago de Erie House se realizarán por métodos sin contacto. Esto incluye tarjetas de crédito por teléfono o giros postales enviados a la atención del Departamento de Finanzas.
Para realizar su copago o si tiene alguna pregunta, llame al (312) 563-5800 y pregunte por la oficina de pagos.
Los copagos para la educación infantil / cuidado infantil han vuelto a su monto original al 1 de marzo de 2021.
Early Childhood Education (Childcare) Information
As we reopen our Early Childhood Education (Childcare) program, here's how we're keeping children safe and healthy at Erie House:
Every Erie House staff member is receiving personal protective equipment (PPE), new health and safety training, and must pass a health assessment before coming back to work.
Every adult or child who comes into the building must go through the health checkpoint at the entrance and have their temperature checked before entering.
In our classrooms, we’re limiting the number of people who are allowed in each day. Our staff will escort students through the health checkpoint at the building entrance to the classroom, and back outside for pickup at the end of the day. Parents will not be allowed into the building.
We’re enhancing and increasing our cleaning and sanitizing in classrooms and on the playground. All items that cannot be sanitized have been removed from the classrooms, and every item will be sanitized before it is shared with another student.
At meal times, our students’ meals will be safely plated individually in the kitchen instead of “family style” as before.
Students will wear masks in the classroom and will wash their hands between every activity. Our teachers will be reinforcing these good habits, and we encourage parents to model good mask-wearing behavior at home and talk to their children about wearing a mask and washing their hands.
If you are an Erie House Early Childhood Education (ECE) parent and have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your family advocate.
Información sobre educación infantil (cuidado infantil)
A medida que reabrimos nuestro programa de Educación de la Primera Infancia (Cuidado de Niños), así es como mantenemos a los niños seguros y saludables en Erie House:
Todos los miembros del personal de Erie House estaran recibiendo equipo de protección personal (EPP), nuevo entrenamiento en salud y seguridad, y deben aprobar una evaluación de salud antes de regresar al trabajo.
Cada adulto o niño que ingresa al edificio debe pasar por el punto de control de salud en la entrada y controlar su temperatura antes de ingresar.
En nuestros salones, estamos limitando el número de personas que están permitidas cada día. Nuestro personal acompañará a los estudiantes a través del punto de control de salud en la entrada del edificio al salon y de regreso afuera para que los recojan al final del día. Los padres no podrán ingresar al edificio.
Estamos mejorando y aumentando nuestra limpieza y desinfección en los salones y en el patio de recreo. Todos los artículos que no se pueden desinfectar se han eliminado de los salones, y todos los artículos se desinfectarán antes de compartirlos con otro estudiante.
A la hora de las comidas, las comidas de nuestros estudiantes se colocarán de forma segura individualmente en la cocina en lugar de "estilo familia" como antes.
Los estudiantes usarán máscaras en el salon y se lavarán las manos entre cada actividad. Nuestros maestros reforzarán estos buenos hábitos, y alentamos a los padres a que demuestren un buen comportamiento de uso de máscaras en casa y hablen con sus hijos acerca de usar una máscara y lavarse las manos.
Si usted es un padre de Erie House de educación de la primera infancia (ECE) y tiene alguna pregunta o inquietud, no dude en comunicarse con su defensor de familia.
Our Reopening Playbook
Read the Erie House manual for reopening, which describes what we're doing to ensure the health and safety of our staff and participants.