Rule 5101:2-12-21 | Evening and overnight care for a licensed child care center.
(A) When is a licensed child care center considered to be providing evening and overnight care?
Evening or overnight care is provided when children are in attendance anytime between the hours of seven p.m. and six a.m.
(B) What is required when evening and overnight care is provided?
If a licensed child care center has evening or overnight care, the following are required:
(1) Child care staff members shall remain awake at all times.
(2) The center shall provide adequate lighting indoors in all areas, including bathrooms, hallways, and sleeping rooms to ensure that child care staff members are able to see all children at all times.
(3) The center shall ensure that parking areas, outdoor walkways, and all building entrances be adequately lighted for safety and security.
(4) The center shall develop and follow bedtime routines in consultation with the parents of the children.
(5) The center shall provide a written security plan that ensures that access to the center is limited to parents and guardians of children in care and authorized persons.
(6) The center shall provide sleeping arrangements so that sleeping children are cared for separately from children who are awake, and so that sleeping children are not disturbed by arrivals and departures.
(7) The center shall ensure areas where children sleep during evening and overnight care are on the building's ground floor unless another floor has been approved for the care of sleeping children by the local fire official having jurisdiction.
(C) What sanitary environment and additional hygiene stipulations shall be followed by the center?
The center shall:
(1) Ensure that each child who sleeps at the center for four or more hours has clean comfortable sleeping clothes.
(2) Ensure that child care staff members assist children during washing and changing clothes according to children's developmental needs.
(3) Separate school-age boys from school-age girls during washing and while changing clothes to ensure privacy.
(4) If the child has a bedtime routine occurring at the program, ensure that each child has a clean, individual washcloth, towel and toothbrush, as appropriate for the age of the child, and labeled with the child's name.
(5) Provide children access to running water, liquid soap and toothpaste.
(6) Ensure bathtubs and showers are equipped to prevent slipping, if the center provides bathing. The center shall also have written permission from the parent prior to allowing the child to bathe.
(7) Ensure bathtubs and showers are cleaned and sanitized after each use. The tub or showers do not have to be sanitized between uses if the children are siblings and the parent has provided written consent. All children shall bathe separately unless the children are siblings and the parent has provided written consent that the children can be bathed together.
Last updated October 29, 2021 at 8:37 AM
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