Action | Amend Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers to Address Federal Health and Safety Requirements |
Stage | Final |
Comment Period | Ended on 5/12/2021 |
K. The center shall develop written procedures for prevention of shaken baby syndrome or abusive head trauma, including coping with crying babies, safe sleeping practices, and sudden infant death syndrome awareness.
Comment: Will this be required for all centers, or only for centers serving infants?
[ 9. 8. ] Prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and use of safe sleep practices;
Comment: Will all staff need to be trained in this, or only staff at centers serving infants?
E. Within 30 days of the first day of employment, staff must complete orientation training in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), as appropriate to the age of the children in care. ]
Comments: Will increased availability and cost reduction be available to centers for this training? As a one classroom center, we do not have an internal trainer and we have used many different avenues for completing this training. It is very difficult to find available seats and available courses, and to not be able to hire staff if no course is available within the 30 days when needed would potentially mean that our center could not be open. Additionally, we already struggle with finding enough substitute teachers, and to add this requirement (when not easily available) for a staff person who might work only once a month would potentially reduce those willing to be subs. We have had to not hold school on some days or times in the past because we didn’t have a sub.
C. When children are regularly in ongoing mixed age groups, the staff-to-children ratio and group size applicable to the youngest child in the group shall apply to the entire group.
AND
O. The ratio for balanced-mixed-age groupings of children shall be one staff member for every 14 children provided:
Comment: How can both C. and O. be the regulation at the same time? In a mixed age group with 3 year olds, the ratio would be 1:10, as required by C. .As required by O, however, the ratio would be 1:14. Although our normal ratio is lower than both, it would be beneficial to understand the regulation. Please clarify.
4. For children diagnosed with specific learning disabilities or speech or language impairments: one staff member to eight children.