Questions from Provider Trainings Regarding EEC s New Regulations

Transcription

1 Questions from Provider Trainings Regarding EEC s New Regulations 1. Will the regulation training power point documents be available to educators? A. Yes; the family child care and group child care training power point documents are posted on the Regulations Resource page at 2. How can family child care providers access EEC s training and other resources if they are not computer savvy? A. Family child care licensees who do not have access to computer or internet technology at home or another convenient location such as their local library, may call their EEC Regional Office and make arrangements to view documents or trainings or obtain copies of resource materials there. 3. Will the educator registry be public information? A. Some information on the workforce registry may be public but EEC will be careful to protect the personal information of registrants and to inform all registrants which information is available to the public. 4. How is a younger school age child defined? A. A younger school age child is a kindergarten child or a child who is attending a public or approved private elementary school and who has not yet reached his/her ninth birthday Licensure and Approval 5. If my license expires in January or February of 2010, will I need to have all of my required written documents complete by that time? A. Beginning with the date of promulgation of these regulations (January, 2010), no new or renewed licenses will be issued by EEC unless the program is in substantial compliance with the new regulations, 606 CMR As always, when licensors complete a license renewal study they will discuss with the licensee areas where the program is not in compliance with the regulations, and will include those areas of non-compliance in the licensing study report. As in the past, the program must submit to EEC an acceptable plan for compliance with the regulations before a new or renewed license will be issued Administration 6. Can a program give a non-custodial parent copies of a child s records? A. If a parent has provided copies of court orders restricting another parent s access to a child or to a child s information, the program must comply with the provisions of those orders. 1 12/11/09

2 7. Must a licensee notify the Department if an ambulance responds to the program? A. In many communities the local fire department responds to ambulance calls. If this is the case or if an ambulance response is related to a death or serious injury, it must be reported to the Department. 8. The current regulations require that a copy of the applicable EEC regulations be maintained on site. Is this required by the new regulations as well? A. Yes. The new regulations require that the Enforcement Standards (102 CMR 1.00); the Background Record Check Regulations (606 CMR 14.00); and the Standards for The Licensure Or Approval Of Family Child Care; Small Group And School Age And Large Group And School Age Child Care Programs (606 CMR 7.00) all be maintained on site at the program. (See 606 CMR 7.09(17)(a)2c. 9. If we have internet access to the regulations, must we keep a paper copy on file? A. No, provided that all staff have access to the internet to review the regulations on request. 10. Can you explain the regulation regarding non-teaching administrative time in School Age Care? A. The new regulations require that programs whose licensed capacity is between 11 and 52 school age children have an administrator who is out of ratios at least 20% of the time. If the program s licensed capacity is 53 or more school age children, the administrator must be entirely non-teaching. In either case, one half of the required non-teaching time can be outside of program hours. 11. What are the administrative requirements if a program serves both school age and preschool (or younger) children? A. Administrative requirements vary, based on program licensed capacity and the ages of children served. However, generally speaking, a program must have administrative staff who meet all of the requirements for each age group served. These requirements may be met by one individual with both Director and School Age Administrator qualifications, or by separate individuals with appropriate qualifications (if a plan for share administration is in place). Programs should speak with their licensor about their individual program requirements. 12. Must parents give written permission for the use of wading pools? A. No, EEC does not require written permission for the use of pools that can be emptied after each use. However, EEC recommends that parents be informed about the use of wading pools in any program. 2 12/11/09

3 7.06 Curriculum and Progress Reports 13. The new regulations require periodic progress reports for children. Shouldn t parents be told immediately if there is a problem with a child s development? A. EEC regulations continue to require educators to bring special problems or significant developments regarding children to parents attention as soon as they arise. [See 606 CMR 7.06(5)] 14. If our program sends home activity reports daily, do we still need to do periodic progress reports? A. Yes. While daily activity reports help to maintain communication between parent and program, they do not provide an opportunity to evaluate a child s growth and development over a period of time as effectively as progress reports do. Periodic progress reports require the educator to make an assessment of how the child s skills and abilities have changed during the evaluation period, and to identify areas where the child s development may be lagging. In addition, doing this comparative assessment for all children at the same time allows the educator to identify areas where the program may need to strengthen curriculum. 15. How are educators to find the time to complete progress reports? A. Educators should keep samples of children s work or make occasional notes about children s interests, skills and abilities, and use these as the basis for their periodic progress reports. Samples of children s daily activity reports over time may also be used in this way. Some work on progress reports may be completed while supervising napping children. If an educator in family child care has an assistant, the licensee may be able to do some work on progress reports while the assistant is engaged with the children. As always, supervision and interacting with the children is the educator s primary responsibility. EEC has provided several sample progress reports that educators may use that do not require a great deal of time to complete. 16. What training will be available to assist family child care educators in completing proper progress reports? A. EEC has provided a technical assistance paper, a PowerPoint presentation, and several sample progress reports that educators may use to meet this requirement. EEC will continue to develop training and resources that address this topic. Please visit /11/09

4 17. Must parents sign progress reports? A. No, parents must be offered an opportunity to meet with an educator and discuss the 18. Instead of a narrative progress report, can a program use a checklist and add a sentence or two? A. If a program wishes to use a developmental checklist and include comments about the child s progress since the last report in each of the developmental domains, this will meet the current regulatory requirements. 19. How much physical activity is required of children in half day programs? A. EEC will develop a policy to address this. 30 minutes of physical activity in half day programs seems like an appropriate amount. 20. Does the 60 minutes of physical activity requirement apply to all age groups? A. Yes, although the nature of the physical activity will vary depending on the age of the child. Infants and toddlers should have at least 60 minutes daily during which they can move freely, explore their environment, and practice emerging skills in coordination, movement, balance, and perceptual-motor integration Physical Facility Requirements 21. How often must a family child care home distribute the lead paint disclosure information? A. The statement regarding the presence of lead paint in a family child care home must be distributed to each family at the time of enrollment / re-enrollment Family Involvement 22. How will the information for parents about the risks of lead poisoning be provided to educators? A. EEC will make arrangements to distribute this information and will inform educators when the information is available. 23. Can we use another family in the program to assist in communicating with a family whose language we do not speak? A. Depending on the nature of the information to be shared, another enrolled family may be a valuable resource in communication. General information that is being provided to all families is appropriate under these circumstances. However, personal information or concerns may not be appropriate to share with another family, unless both parties agree. 4 12/11/09

5 24. The regulations require that parents be informed in writing seven days prior to any change in program policy or procedure. Is it sufficient to post the change at the program site? A. No. Because parents may not be the ones transporting their children to care, it is not sufficient to post the change. However, EEC recommends that the change be posted in the program in addition to sending a notice home with each child. 25. Must programs maintain documentation that parents have received the written information required by EEC? A. EEC regulations do not require that programs maintain documentation that parents have received any required written information other than the lead paint disclosure statement. Programs may choose to do this on their own, however Educator Qualifications and Development 26. Will the provider orientation count for professional development hours? A. Yes. The on-line educator orientation will count for 2 professional development hours for educators in center-based programs. The 5 hour family child care orientation will count for professional development hours for family child care licensees and certified assistants. 27. Must currently approved regular assistants complete the on-line educator orientation? When? A. EEC is developing an on-line orientation for approved regular assistants. They should complete the on-line educator orientation before their current approval expires. Beginning in January, the on-line orientation will be available via the internet 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. 28. Will EEC provide a sample form that staff can sign to verify that they received and understand all of the elements of the required program orientation? A. Yes, EEC will develop a sample form and post it in Recommended forms on our Licensing Resource page. 29. Can an educator who attends a training later train other educators and have the training count for professional development? A. At this point, in-house training done by supervisory staff counts towards the required professional development hours provided that it meets the needs of the children and families in care and that it is documented. 5 12/11/09

6 30. Required professional development hours depend on the number of hours per week an educator works. Do hours spent in preparation and clean up count, or only the hours working directly with children? A. There are many important activities involved in operating a child care program that do not include working directly with children, including curriculum and activity planning, writing progress reports, supervising staff, maintaining required documentation, and clean-up, to mention a few. All of the hours spent in program-related activities must be included when determining the required level of professional development. 31. When will providers be expected to meet the new (increased) professional development hours? A. Family child care providers whose licenses expire before January 2011 will have two options. The first option is following the current regulations. They may show evidence of having completed 15 hours of professional development during the previous 3 years for family child care, 20 hours for family child care plus or 30 hours for large family child care. The second option is to follow the new regulations, and show that they have completed 10 hours of professional development in the year before license expiration. Family child care providers whose licenses expire after January, 2011, must meet the new requirement of 10 hours per year. 32. What kind of training will EEC licensors accept to meet the professional development requirements? A. All professional development must be designed to increase an educator s skills or knowledge, or assist the educator in gaining new competencies in his or her profession or in a field closely related to his or her profession. Educators should, in a planful way, identify their own areas of interest and the skills they feel they need to improve, and seek training in those areas. The format of the training may include workshops or college courses, and may be done in-person or on-line. The training must be documented, and the documentation should include the goals of the training, the hours spent in training, the name and qualifications of the instructor, and the date, time and place of the training. Completion of the training should be verified. Since the goal is to increase skills or knowledge or gain new competencies, repeated training in the same topic area will not be accepted. 33. How do requirements for professional development hours apply to temporary or agency staff? A. Programs using temporary or agency staff should include in their contracts provisions for professional development equivalent to EEC requirements. An individual s average hours per week across all programs to which s/he was assigned should be calculated to determine the required number of professional development hours. 6 12/11/09

7 34. Will professional development hours be measured by calendar year or program year? A. Programs may continue to measure professional development hours by program year, calendar, or date of hire. 35. The new regulations require that staff supervision include time observing educators while working with children. How much time must be spent observing educators? A. The amount of observation, like supervision depends on the professional development needs of the individual staff member and their supervisor. Inexperienced staff may need more supervision and observation than staff who have more extensive work experience. 36. Must supervision be documented? A. Yes, documentation of all observations of and consultations with staff must be documented in center-based child care. [See 7.09(17)(b)3.] 37. Must the Program Director receive regular supervision? A. Program Directors are responsible to the Licensee, which may be represented by an Executive Director or a Board of Directors, depending on the organization s structure. Although the regulations do not require supervision of the Program Director in the same way that they address supervision of program educators, EEC suggests that all Program Directors regularly receive information and support from their peers through area networking, professional and/or membership organizations, Directors Groups, etc Ratios, Group Sizes and Supervision 38. Can a program with a license to serve preschool children (only) enroll an older toddler aged child who is developmentally ready for the preschool group? A. Yes, provided the building inspection certificate reflects a use group appropriate for children younger than 2 years, 9 months old (I-2 in certificates issued prior to 9/08; I-4 in certificates issued after 9/08.) 39. Can a program enroll two toddler- aged children in an infant group without having an Infant- Toddler License? A. Programs wishing to add toddlers to their infant group should contact their licensor to add the mixed-grouping to their capacity. 40. The new regulations limit permission to leave the premises unescorted to children age 9 or older. Does this mean that a child younger than 9 cannot walk to the bus stop without an adult? A. Yes, unless the provider applies for and receives a variance of this regulation. 7 12/11/09

8 7.11 Health and Safety 41. Will EEC provide a sample form that programs can use to document annual observation of staff s ability to administer medication in accordance with the 5 Rights of Medication Administration? A. Yes, EEC will develop a sample form and post it in Recommended forms on our Licensing Resource page. Alternatively, programs may wish to include a statement regarding competence in medication administration in their annual evaluation of staff. 42. Some First Aid trainers are advising educators that they must not administer an epi-pen to a child. What do the regulations require? A. Every child who may need an epi-pen must have an individual health care plan, which specifies (among other things) the qualifications and/or training required for the staff who will administer the treatment. The affected child s health care provider must approve the plan, and specify in writing) who may train the designated staff: the practitioner him/herself; the parent or the program s health care consultant. EEC will accept the physician s written direction regarding appropriate training of program staff to administer medications or other health care treatments. Programs with additional concerns should check with their legal counsel. 43. Some First Aid trainers are advising educators that they must not administer an insulin injection to a child. What do the regulations require? A. Most children with diabetes will not require insulin injections in the child care program. It is much more common for a physician to require glucose monitoring (a simple finger stick) than to require insulin injections. Any child with diabetes must have an individual health care plan, which specifies the treatments or interventions that may be required and under what circumstances (among other things) as well as the qualifications and/or training required for the staff who will administer the treatment. The affected child s health care provider must approve the plan, and specify (in writing) who may train the designated staff: the practitioner him/herself; the parent or the program s health care consultant. In addition, EEC regulations require that anyone administering any medication other than an oral or topical medication or an epi-pen must be trained by a health care practitioner (or designee, as noted above) and must demonstrate competency annually.eec will accept the physician s written direction regarding appropriate training of program staff to administer medications or other health care treatments. Programs with additional concerns should check with their legal counsel. 44. How long is EEC s medication administration training good for? Must it be repeated annually? 8 12/11/09

9 A. EEC regulations do not require that the medication administration training be repeated annually. However, the licensee is responsible to verify annually that every staff authorized to administer medications is capable of doing so in accordance with the procedures outlined in the medication training. One way of doing this is to require that staff take the medication training annually. 45. The regulations require that parental consent for oral, non-prescription medication must be renewed weekly. Does weekly consent apply when a child has a chronic condition like allergies? Must the doctor also give written consent? A. Every child who has a chronic condition that may require medication or treatment on an ongoing basis must have an individual health care plan (IHCP) that specifies, among other things, the conditions under which the medication must be given. A child with an allergy requiring (occasional) Benadryl should have an individual health care plan, approved by the child s doctor. If the IHCP is on file, parental consent will not be required weekly, and the doctor s consent is included in the IHCP. (Note: Doctor s consent for oral, non-prescription medication is not required in family child care.) 46. Can programs use hand sanitizer to clean children s hands before and after water play? A. Hand sanitizer should only be used when soap and running water are not available. 47. Where must evacuation procedures be posted: on every door, or only on emergency exits? A. In large group and school age child care programs, emergency and evacuation procedures must be posted next to each exit. In addition, Exit signs must be posted in rooms that have direct access to the outside. 48. Must we ensure that every child participates in an evacuation drill monthly? What about staff? A. The licensee must ensure that evacuation drills are held monthly with all groups of children and all staff. This does not mean that a single child s absence should cancel or postpone an evacuation drill, or that an additional drill must be held for an absent child. However, licensees must document the number of children who participate in each evacuation drill, and should take extra measures to ensure that every child has an opportunity to practice evacuation drills regularly. The same holds true for staff. Children should never be left in the care of an educator who is unfamiliar with evacuation routes or procedures. 49. If we are doing emergency evacuation drills in the winter, should we stop on the way out of the building to put on children s coats? A. Evacuation drills should be conducted in the same way that a real evacuation would occur with haste and with caution. Depending on the amount of assistance children need 9 12/11/09

10 to evacuate, one educator could be assigned to collect children s coats which they can put on once they are outside the building. 50. Must we keep a mouth guard for performing CPR in each first aid kit? A. Yes. 51. If the approved play space is located across the street must staff carry a telephone with them? A. Yes. Whenever an educator is accompanied off-site by children from the program the educator must have a working telephone available for making and receiving emergency calls. 52. What can/should educators do about children who wear hair beads or clips that might present a choking hazard if dislodged or removed? A. Educators should talk with parents about the risk of hair ornaments, jewelry or items of clothing that might present a choke hazard to children in the program. Educators must be vigilant to protect children from choking hazards of any kind. 53. If a child comes to care wearing a hoodie with strings at the neck, should the provider remove the string? A. No; however the provider should provide alternative clothing appropriate to the weather if children will be using equipment that may present a strangulation hazard to a child wearing a draw-string at the neck. The provider should talk with the parent about removing the draw-string, or providing alternative clothing for the child to wear at the program. 54. Will EEC allow electronic monitoring of sleeping infants in lieu of direct visual supervision? A. No. Any child younger than six months old at the time of enrollment must be under direct visual supervision at all times during the first six weeks of care. 55. How will an educator know from the doctor s report if a child has an elevated lead level? A. Educators are not responsible for interpreting the results of a child s lead test, but rather must insure that the child has been screened as required. Pediatricians are required to follow up on elevated lead levels. Oral Health 56. Can a parent refuse to allow her child to participate in tooth brushing in child care? A. If a parent does not want her child to participate in tooth brushing in child care s/he must put her objection in writing to the program. The letter must be maintained in the child s 10 12/11/09

11 record. A program may not solicit such refusals from parents, and must be prepared to offer assistance with tooth brushing to every child in the program. 57. Who will supply the tooth brushes and tooth paste? A. Programs may supply tooth brushes and tooth paste or may ask parents to them, but must have available additional supplies in case a parent does not. Some providers have had success in securing donations from tooth paste manufacturers, and even from their local dentist. 58. Can programs raise their fees to cover the costs of a tooth brushing program? A. Programs are free to set their own fees, which must be clearly presented to parents in writing prior to enrollment of their child in care. Programs participating in the subsidized child care (contract or voucher) program may not charge parents additional fees, beyond the parent fee established by EEC. 59. Must school age children brush their teeth during full day sessions on school vacation and early release days? A. Yes if the children are in care for more than 4 hours or are given a meal while in care. 60. If a program offers two meals a day, must children brush their teeth twice? A. No. Although brushing after each meal is a good practice, EEC regulations only require that the child brush once during the child care day. 61. Will training for programs in implementing a tooth brushing program be free? When will it be available? A. EEC has contracted with Partners for a Healthier Community to provide training through their BEST Oral Health Program. BEST will offer three training sessions across the state to train trainers in their oral health curriculum in January and February Trainers from Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, Family Child Care systems, and organizations of center-based programs will be invited to these sessions. Once trained, these trainers will become a resource for other educators in their organizations and across the field. They may charge up to $10 for this 2 hour training. In addition, EEC will continue to post oral health resources at At what age should we start using fluoride tooth paste? A. There is disagreement among experts on this issue. A conservative view suggests that children younger than two years old should not use fluoride tooth paste. However, some pediatricians or pediatric dentists may recommend that particular children use fluoride 11 12/11/09

12 tooth paste earlier, based on their own individual circumstances. In any case, the amount of tooth paste (either fluoride or non-fluoride) used when brushing toddler s teeth should be limited to a light smear on the tooth brush. 63. If children are dismissed to home immediately following lunch, must they brush their teeth before leaving? A. Yes if the children are in care for more than 4 hours or are given a meal while in care Nutrition and Food Service 64. What should educators do if parents put vitamins in their baby s formula? A. Educators must follow parents wishes in regards to vitamin supplements. 65. If a parent wants a child to have over the counter vitamins, must the program comply? What if the program s medication policy says that the program will not administer over the counter medication? A. The new regulations include the existing regulation in group and school age child care that requires that educators follow the directions of parents in regard to vitamin supplements. Parents must provide the vitamins in their original, labeled container and the program may not administer the vitamins contrary to the directions on the package without written authorization from the child s health care practitioner. 66. If a program serves snacks but no meals, must educators be trained in USDA nutrition guidelines? A. All educators must receive basic training in USDA nutrition requirements for healthy growth, whether or not the program serves meals or snacks. 67. Who will do the USDA nutrition training? Can we have a URL for USDA? A. Programs that are part of the Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education s Food Program will receive nutrition training from the Food Program. Others should check with their health care consultant for nutrition training resources. For information about the USDA food pyramid, go to: Must programs keep documentation of an infant s feeding schedule? A. Programs must document the infant s feeding schedule, and should provide the documentation to parents at the end of the day. 69. What should program staff do if parents send in junk food for children? A. Programs must provide to parents, in writing at the time of admission, a list of nutritious items that may be part of a lunch or snack. The program must support parent choice regarding meals to the extent that such choice does not adversely affect a child s health. If a parent frequently 12 12/11/09

13 sends calorie rich, nutrition poor food for a child, the program may want to talk with the parent about the issue and offer referral to supportive services Transportation 70. Do we have to meet transportation requirements on field trips? A. Every licensee must have a written plan for the safety and supervision of all children during transport, including to and from the program, in an emergency, and on field trips. The details of what must be included in the plan are specified in the regulations. Transportation for occasional field trips need not conform to Massachusetts school bus requirements in the pertinent sections of M.G.L. c. 90 and 540 CMR 7.00 (Minimum Standards for Construction and Equipment of School Buses) or M.G.L. c. 90, 7(D). However, the other provisions 606 CMR 7.13 apply to all transportation provided or contracted by the licensee to children in care at any time. 71. Will EEC provide a sample transportation plan, or can we create our own? A. Programs should feel free to create their own children s individual transportation plan or to amend their enrollment paperwork to include the child s transportation plan. 72. Can EEC s Transportation Supplement Form be used as evidence of the required vehicle registration, inspection and insurance? A. No, the Transportation Supplement form alone is not sufficient. Documentation of the registration, inspection and insurance must be available for the licensor s review. 73. Must a program have a transportation plan if the public school is providing transportation for children? A. Each child must have an individual transportation plan approved by a parent. The child s individual transportation plan may be a statement as simple as: Michael Thomas will be transported to and from the program by his mother daily ; or Jennifer Whitcomb will arrive at the program by public school bus. Public school staff will be responsible for Jennifer until she enters our building. In addition, a program must have a detailed transportation plan if it contracts for or provides transportation at any time, including in an emergency and on field trips. Details of the transportation plan are listed at 606 CMR 7.13(2) /11/09