Activities and Equipment
Activities: These rules address the daily planned activities of the children in care during both daytime and evening hours which includes the variety, the area of development, the age appropriateness of the activities, and activities that are provided for both indoors and outdoors, to include children with special needs. This rule addresses the routines and schedules within the classroom as well as staff interactions with children in care and the amount of media time children have throughout the time they are in care.
Equipment and Toys: These rules address the equipment and toys used by and accessible to children.
Swimming Pools and Water-Related Activities: These rules address requirements if a child care program has a pool on the premises, the accessibility of the pool, and the requirements if children participate in any water activities.
Children’s Records
Children’s Records: These rules address the program’s written documents for the enrollment of children at the facility both currently enrolled and for a period after the child has withdrawn from the program. This includes identifying information for the child and their parents or guardians, immunizations status, attendance records, and individuals authorized to remove the child from the program and emergency contacts. This rule also addresses the program’s practices regarding confidentiality and the documentation of incidents or injuries.
Facility
Bathrooms: These rules address the number and location of bathrooms available to children in care. Additionally, this rule addresses the ventilation, supplies, cleanliness and the use of child-sized toilets and sinks and non-child sized toilets and sinks.
License Capacity: These rules address the size of classrooms to include 35 square feet of usable space per child (Example: 500 square foot classroom would have a licensed capacity of 14 children). The 25 square feet of usable space rule addresses the program’s use of designated space for children ages 3 years of age and older, during designated before and after-school care, no more than two hours per day.
Physical Plant: These rules address the program to ensure it is clean, in good repair, proper temperature is maintained, free of debris, no hazards are accessible to children, doors to unapproved areas are secured and that children have individual storage for their belongings.
Playgrounds: These rules address the outside play area to ensure the area and equipment is clean, free from litter, and free of hazards. The play area must be protected by at least a four-foot barrier. The equipment needs to be age appropriate and provide the children with a variety of activities.
Food Service
Food Service & Nutrition: These rules address food prep, food storage, nutrition, and kitchen operations.
Kitchen Operations: These rules address the condition, preparation and service of food and include how and where food is stored and the temperature at which food is stored and served. This rule also addresses the kitchen’s ventilation, lighting, storage of cleaning products, handling of garbage, dishwashing and staff hygiene. Additionally, this rule inspects the children’s access to the kitchen.
Health and Hygiene
Children’s Health: These rules address the programs exclusion of sick children, parental notification of a sick child, and the response to a child showing symptoms and signs of illness or injury. This rule addresses written plans for medical emergencies and the programs use of potentially hazardous items the child may wear on their clothing or around their neck.
Diapering Areas and Practices: These rules address the diapering area, teachers diapering methods, as well as the cleaning and sanitation steps associated with diapering.
Hygiene: These rules address handwashing practices of both staff and children, as well as, children’s personal hygiene, storage of personal belongings, procedures for handling of wet clothing and other soiled items. Additionally, this rule addresses practices in the general hygiene of bathtubs and showers, drinking fountains and cups, laundry areas, garbage storage and disposal and the use of potty chairs. This rule also inspects any symptoms of contagious disease of any staff while at the facility.
Medication: These rules address the program’s parental authorization and the required documentation, by staff, of any medication administered at the program. This rule addresses the storage and handling of current medication being administered and any unused medication, as well as
any non-emergency injections.
Organization
Admission and Enrollment: These rules address the admission and enrollment practices of the program based on the needs of the child in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the individual needs of the child and to protect the health and safety of the child.
Enforcement and Adverse Actions: These rules address when DECAL may refuse to grant a License or Permit, including suspension or revocation of the License or Permit based on frequency and severity of violations. Also included in these rules are adverse actions DECAL may issue, including but not limited to fines, restrictions, suspensions, revocations, or emergency closures both within the Compliance and Enforcement Chart as well as actions not subject to the chart.
Governing Body & Licenses: These rules ensure that programs operate legally and within the guidelines of the rules and regulations to obtain and maintain a license or permit from DECAL.
Investigations and Inspections: These rules detail when DECAL is authorized to conduct inspections and investigations and includes rules on what shall occur if the program fails to allow access or cooperate with an inspection or investigation or is found to give false or misleading information.
Policies and Procedures
Operational Policies and Procedures: These rules address the program’s description of services to be provided, the enrollment and admission requirements, polices for reporting child abuse, safe sleep practices and written plans for handling emergencies. This rule addresses the program’s documentation of these policies, as well as their practice of providing the parents with a copy and maintaining a signed acknowledgement from parents that they received a copy.
Parental Access: This rule inspects the custodial parents’ access to the childcare areas and parental communication with staff prior to removing the child from the program.
Posted Notices: These rules address that the program has the required postings up to date and located in an area for the public to see near the front entrance.
Required Reporting: These rules address that the program reports cases of suspected child abuse, communicable diseases, serious injury to a child requiring medical attention, or an arrest of a staff member within 24 hours to DECAL.
Safety
Animals: These rules address the program’s practice regarding the type of animals, use, confinement, and vaccinations of animals within the child care program.
Discipline: These rules observe the teacher’s interactions with the children and what forms of discipline are used.
Field Trips: These rules inspect the parental authorization, emergency medical form, and documentation of all adult and child participants on field trips.
Transportation: These rules address transportation requirements that apply to all transportation provided by the child care program or on behalf of the child care program. The rules include transportation training, vehicle safety, including child safety restraints, staffing requirements while transporting and documentation.
Staffing and Supervision
Staff:Child Ratios and Supervision: These rules address the number of staff required for different age groups of children, including what age groups can be combined and appropriate supervision of children while in care.