As a Virginia parent with children in child care, I am writing to express serious concerns about the proposed mandatory stock epinephrine requirement.

Child care already represents one of largest monthly expenses of a family's budget. The costs associated with this mandate, purchasing EpiPens, training requirements, and ongoing replacement, will inevitably be passed on to families. Working families are already struggling with child care affordability. This mandate could price some families out of quality care or force parents to leave the workforce.

While I appreciate the intention to keep children safe, I am uncomfortable with the idea of child care providers, who are not medical professionals, making decisions about administering powerful medication to a child without a prescription or specific doctor's guidance. Epinephrine can cause serious side effects, and the risk of administering it unnecessarily or incorrectly worries me as a parent.

I am also concerned that this mandate could force some providers to close or reduce enrollment due to costs and liability risks. Losing quality child care providers would be devastating for working families in our community. The child care shortage is already a crisis and therefore any policies that might reduce availability should be carefully considered.

I believe the current system works well: parents of children with known severe allergies provide prescribed EpiPens with clear doctor's instructions. I would support improvements to emergency response times and training providers to recognize allergic reactions and call 911, but I do not support requiring providers to stock and administer medication without prescriptions.

I respectfully ask that you reconsider this mandate and work with providers and families to develop more practical solutions that balance child safety with financial sustainability and appropriate professional boundaries.

Thank you for considering a parent's perspective on this important issue.