As an affiliate of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), NVAEYC supports increasing quality through requirements for educational qualifications (22VAC40-185- 190), ongoing training (22VAC40-185-245), and maximum group sizes (22VAC40-185- 350). We know that these are features of high-quality programs that have the potential to support the healthy development and quality of care for young children and their families.  

However, while we support these improvements in quality, we also believe that these regulations are an unfunded mandate that may have serious unintended repercussions to the already tenuous system of child care in our state. We believe that not only is quality important, but so is access, and that careful implementation of increased requirements requires a plan for funding and compensation. This is especially true for a field with high teacher turnover, low pay, and challenges to access for families.  

We request the VDSS to consider the findings from the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget Economic Impact Analysis: “Increasing training requirements, and instituting maximum group sizes, increases the cost of continuing to provide child care services which may cause marginally profitable businesses in this field to close.”

22VAC40-185-245. Ongoing training

NVAEYC Response: As you can see from the many comments to this regulation, the cooperative preschool community, a valuable and low-cost structure for involving parents in a child’s preschool, is quite concerned that their programs will be required to ensure that every participating parent will obtain 20 hours of training per year. Such a requirement would lead to the closure of many programs who cannot incur the time and financial burden of this. NVAEYC requests that VDSS keep the language below, removing the phrase, “who are not considered staff,” and ensure that cooperative preschools are clearly exempted from 22VAC40-185-245.A and 22VAC40-185-240.

C. In a cooperative preschool center that is organized, administered, and maintained by parents of children in care, parents who are not considered staff shall complete four hours of training each year.

22VAC40-185-10. Definitions.

"Volunteer" means a person who works at the center and:

1. Is not paid;

2. Is not counted in the staff-to-children ratios; and

3. Is in sight and sound supervision of a staff member when working with a child.

Any unpaid person not meeting this definition shall be considered "staff" and shall meet staff requirements.

NVAEYC Response: We are hearing from centers, colleges, and universities, that there are wildly varying interpretations of who counts as a volunteer. Specifically, some programs are closing their doors to college and university practica and intern students because they are unsure whether or not they are volunteers and if they are required to have fingerprinting. This goes against the current push for teachers who are more prepared to work in early care and education environments, and we are concerned more programs will opt out of hosting students because of ambiguity in regulations. We request that VDSS include specific language for programs about what requirements are needed for student interns and observers, and that this language is communicated clearly to college and university education programs.

22VAC40-185-80. Attendance records; reports.

2. The center shall inform the department's representative as soon as practicable, but not to exceed two business days, of any serious injury to a child while under the center's supervision.

NVAEYC Response: We request clarity over the definition of “serious injury.”

22VAC40-185-500. Hand washing and toileting procedures.

5. Disposable diapers shall be used unless the child's skin reacts adversely to disposable diapers.

NVAEYC, following recently updated guidelines on diapering from NAEYC, supports the use of cloth diapers as an economical and healthy option for families to choose.

Background Checks for Child Welfare Agencies (22VAC40-191).

NVAEYC supports the use of background checks and fingerprinting. We believe this is an essential step in ensuring safe care for young children.

We request additional information sharing and streamlining of the current system. We are hearing from constituents that there is still confusion, long response times, and lack of communication in this area. We request that specific information be written directly into the licensing regulations for ease of reference for program administrators.

Thank you for your work on these regulations and your efforts to keep young children safe and healthy while in early care and education settings in the Commonwealth.