Regarding the comment about the importance of emergency plans and fire drills due to the lack of any annual fire safety inspection, the Department notes that an annual fire safety inspection is required under section 1016(c)(1) of the act, which increases fire and safety requirements for all child care facilities. Regulations at 55 Pa. Code 3270.115(a)(8); 55 Pa. Code 3280.115(a)(8) and 55 Pa. Code 3290.115(a)(8) require that facility persons who supervise children when swimming must complete water safety training on an annual basis. 3270.171. The Department, therefore, has revised the fiscal cost estimates for this final-form rulemaking. IRRC and several commentators requested that the Department clarify whether pre-certification professional development is a one-time requirement. Those providers have approximately 45,612 staff positions and a total licensed capacity to 53, No. The hours worked need not be consecutive because such language could frustrate the intent of this final-form rulemaking, which is to limit the number of hours one person may care for children in any given 24-hour period. 3280.17. The Department concurs with the observations of the IRRC and other commentators regarding the calculation of professional development costs in the proposed rulemaking. 3270.1. (a) A first-aid kit must be in a child care space. Section 16 of the act of December 28, 2015 (P.L. Liability insurance. One commentator requested clarification about whether the second unannounced inspection for technical assistance and STARS outreach was a full inspection or a brief pop-in visit. 92). The Department first notes that the three different chapters are largely similar, although there is still a need for the three separate chapters of regulations because each chapter relates to a different type of regulated child care facility: child care center; group child care homes; and family child care homes. Regarding regulatory alternatives, the Department considered the regulatory alternative of requiring the operator to have an additional staff person to ensure supervision. Most commentators suggested that procedures for a lock-down be added because it is a CCDBG requirement. A few commentators disagreed with the requirement, with most expressing concern over costs. A child care center is a facility in which seven or more children unrelated to the operator receive child care services. As such, the Department removed the registration provisions for family child care homes from Chapter 3290. 6564 (October 13, 2018). The Department acknowledges and concurs with IRRC's comment observing incongruity across the three chapters of this final-form rulemaking for the CCDBG-required professional development for current staff. Application for and issuance of a certificate of compliance. In addition, all staff working at certified child care facilities must have completed the professional development in the ten prescribed topics within 180 days following the effective date of this final-form rulemaking. In addition, part of the training may be taken online. Service to a child with special needs. 3280.4Definitions''Group Child Care Home'', IRRC commented on the proposed wording of the definition of ''group child care home'' because of its use of the word ''premise'' and suggested that it be changed to ''other premises.''. When a family child care home offers 24-hour care, determining the time period that the family child care home offers the 24-hour care is contingent on the number of parents who opt for 24-hour care on a daily basis and the number of days the facility is closed due to holidays or vacation. One commentator requested that changes be made to the requirements for outlets with reference to 3270.65 (relating to protective electrical covers). The estimated staff cost for operators to ensure the remaining 5% of current staff completes any outstanding profess- ional development in the CCDBG training topics is $250,910 Statewide. The differences in the requirements are: 1) 3270.11, 3280.11, and 3290.11 (relating to application for and issuance of a certificate of compliance) refer to the requirements for a legal entity who is applying for a certificate of compliance; and 2) 3270.31, 3280.31 and 3290.31 refer to the requirements for new and current staff. The STARS professional development requirements represent standards that exceed the annual professional development requirements of this final-form rulemaking, which itself represents the minimum requirements to safeguard the health and safety of children in care. (d)This order shall take effect upon final-form publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, except that current staff in child care facilities have 180 days from the effective date of this final-form rulemaking to meet the requirements in 3270.31(f), 3280.31(f) and 3290.31(g). Among the commentators who agreed with the requirement, several expressed concerns that the added requirements were a financial burden, with one commentator noting that the subsidy rate had not risen accordingly for reimbursement. Chapter 19 (relating to rules of construction). As such, these comments are outside the scope of this final-form rulemaking. IRRC submitted a statement that requests clarification on the meaning of the term ''designated responsible person.''. As the providers implement the accommodations based on their children's specific needs, the Department will address the availability of resources needed to meet the costs incurred. At these sessions, the Department will provide information on its web site; offer technical assistance on how to meet the regulatory requirements; offer information about resources available to assist with costs; and consider technical assistance suggestions about the use of photo tags or other means to assist with the supervision of children in family child care homes. The Department acknowledges the request concerning electrical covers; the request to lower the requirements for assistant group supervisors and aides; and the requested exemption regarding water safety training. Watch NEWSMAX LIVE for the latest news and analysis on today's top stories, right here on Facebook. Approximately 20% of the certified family child care homes Statewide offer 24-hour care. The verbiage only appears in 3290.31(i), and IRRC observes that parallel language does not exist in 3270.31 or 3280.31. (2019). 3270.17. Some family child care home operators may not have any need to purchase and use a monitoring means due to the presence of additional staff who can ensure supervision at all times. The commentators suggested that the Department should grandfather in current operators. Next, Executive Order 13777, signed by the President of the United States and published at 82 FR 12285 (March 1, 2017), concerns Federal regulatory reform and does not apply to these State regulations. Finally, even though the Department will conduct at least one unannounced inspection every 12 months, the Department is clarifying that its agents will conduct additional unannounced inspections. This regulation provides the rules regarding the operation of a child care center. 1016(c)) added under the act of July 14, 2020 (P.L. (c) A first-aid kit must contain the following: soap, an assortment of adhesive bandages, sterile gauze pads, tweezers, tape, scissors and disposable, nonporous gloves. The ELC assisted with the review and analysis of the proposed rulemaking. As such, the Department is not changing this provision. The Department made changes throughout all three chapters as noted here and as follows. One of the commentators suggested that all family child care home operators carry liability insurance or disclose if they have none. 52, No. Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Some commentators suggested that the Department consider permitting a waiver to obtain the training for up to 1 year. Furthermore, some operators offering such care may not experience having children in care during those hours due to parent work schedules, holidays or other arrangements made by the parents. Based on the Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control guidance, the Department has issued 6 announcements to child care providers regarding the additional steps providers may have to take to keep children in care safe, which include screening and quarantine procedures for children who show symptoms of COVID-19. 3270.14. I. The first commentator disagreed the limitation in the proposed rulemaking because it would negatively impact the maximum number of allowed children in care and result in financial hardship to the staff and operators to find child care for their own children and grandchildren. 98579858r, as reauthorized by Pub.L. 745.5a(j.2)), on October 14, 2020, the final-form rulemaking was approved by the House and Senate Committees. (d) One first-aid kit per child care group must . Persons with a disability who require an auxiliary aid or service may use the Pennsylvania AT&T Relay Service at (800) 654-5984 (TDD users) or (800) 654-5988 (voice users). These regulations are licensure requirements for the health and safety for all children in licensed child care facilities. Finally, another commentator requested changes to the staff:child ratio requirements in 3270.51 (relating to similar age level) because they do not permit appropriate supervision. Operators that wish to provide higher-quality child care through the Keystone STARS program may be eligible for assistance with costs. This rulemaking is primarily aimed to align the Department's requirements with the CCDBG, a funding source which benefits child care providers and children in this Commonwealth. 745.5(a)), on September 14, 2020, the Department submitted a copy of the notice of proposed rulemaking, published at 48 Pa.B. Below are instructions relating to enforcing the maximum capacity of a child care center or group child care home when the facility's certificate of occupancy identifies a maximum capacity and the capacity is less than the capacity determined by applying the DPW regulations at 55 Pa. Code 3270.6l(c) and 3280.6l(c), relating to measurement . 500, No. Child Care Centers and Group Child Care Homes: Effective September 22, 2008, the new child care regulations for child care centers and group child care home require the operator to submit, at the time of inspection, a statement affirming compliance with the regulation at 55 Pa. Code 3270.102(g) or 3280.102(). IRRC is requesting clarification on the definition of ''volunteer'' and on the fiscal impact to a facility for training student volunteers. Pennsylvania Child Care Licensing Rules Who is a Child Care Provider? 500, No. The process by which a child care operator becomes and remains certified is called ''certification.''. The Department is not adding the term ''consecutive'' into this final-form rulemaking. Dual licensure. 1001). The comments proposed an exemption option from the Department facility person lifeguard requirement and proposed that a process be implemented to permit children to attend an unlicensed outdoor summer camp program and still receive Child Care Works (CCW) funding. IRRC requested clarification about whether any alternative regulatory provisions were considered and rejected and whether alternate, less costly technologies such as a mirror satisfy the requirement. The 6-hour annual professional development requirement was first implemented in 1992, over 27 years ago, and has not been revised since. The Department acknowledges and declines the suggestion to require the use of photo tags because it was not a part of the proposed rulemaking and the Department will not add it here. Second, to the extent the Department intends to include the additional requirements articulated by the Department of Health, the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, pediatricians, the Pennsylvania Breastfeeding Coalition, and child care health and safety consultants, IRRC suggests an Advanced Notice of Final Rulemaking to engage the regulated community. Following feedback from the child care community, the Department reviewed all provisions of its regulatory requirements between Chapter 20 and Chapters 3270, 3280 and 3290 and noted a conflict between 20.32 (relating to announced inspections) and the CCDBG requirement that all annual inspections of all child care facilities be unannounced. 9858c(c)(2)(G)). The Department will require that operators submit their plans to the local Emergency Management Coordinator (EMC) who is designated at a municipality level. This final-form rulemaking also allows options for the operator to consider when requiring a monitoring means. Full copies of all regulations are available online on the Department's web site at https://www.dhs.pa.gov/providers/Child-Care/Pages/Child-Care-Regulations.aspx and on the Pennsylvania Code's web site at https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/055/articleVDI_toc.html&d=. The Department is maintaining the increased clock hours of professional development from the proposed regulation in this final-form rulemaking. The Department needs to do additional research and outreach about the additional requirements suggested by the commentators. Most commentators agreed with the proposed requirement for annual emergency drills, two disagreed, and one requested clarification about whether annual emergency drills would only be shelter-in-place because a practice drill requiring travel to the evacuation facility, if required, may not be safe unless it was an actual emergency. There are no changes being made in this final-form rulemaking to specifically address these groups because there are no known disparities amongst them. The Department will consider these suggestions for future rulemakings. The Department will address concerns about the requirements for emergency plans during training and technical assistance sessions. Child abuse reporting. 3270.4/3280.4/3290.4Definitions''Volunteer''. As such, the Department is not changing the definition. The Department also acknowledges the request for assistance with costs and notes that operators that wish to provide higher quality child care through the Keystone STARS program may be eligible for assistance with costs. The Commonwealth's current requirement of 6 clock hours of annual professional development falls significantly behind its contiguous states. The following appendices are included in this announcement: Appendix A The Department of Health specifically requested that the Department consider obesity prevention because of the growing pervasiveness of obesity in children Nationwide. As a new applicant, the legal entity must follow all of the requirements for the application process. 201219). Other commentators also expressed concern that the time frames are not long enough. Several commentators suggested adding additional training topics to this final-form rulemaking on basic child development, positive communications practices and positive discipline, breast feeding and obesity prevention. 3270.11(c) and (d)/3280.11(c) and (d)/3290.11(e) and (f)Application for and issuance of a certificate of compliance; and 3270.31(f),(g) and (h)/3280.31(f), (g) and (h)/3290.31(g), (h ) and (j)Age and training. Furthermore, child care staff cannot adequately safeguard the health and safety of children in care without completing training in pediatric first aid and pediatric CPR. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 3270.11. Twenty commentators responded with general comments, with 16 offering general support of the proposed changes, 3 not in support of the proposed changes, and 1 commentator requesting clarification about why there are three separate chapters of regulations and about whether ''day care'' will be changed to ''child care'' throughout all the chapters. As such, these comments are outside the scope of this final-form rulemaking and the Department declines to add them here. Other commentators suggested adding requirements that prospective staff provide out-of-State clearances if they have not lived in this Commonwealth for the last 5 years as well as either a returned Pennsylvania State Police or FBI clearance required by the Department before being permitted to work in child care. 3280.12. IRRC also inquired whether other states' policies regarding video monitors were considered. Four commentators agreed with the proposed clarification and outline of the certification process for all child care facilities. The legal guardian of the child is included in the definition of ''parent'' and may, therefore, be considered a parent for purposes of this final-form rulemaking. IRRC requested clarification of what a ''permanently-qualified'' operator is and whether it is subject to the same regulatory requirements. (a) An operator shall notify local traffic safety authorities annually in writing of the location of the facility and the program's use of pedestrian and vehicular routes around the child care facility. 6383(c) (relating to education and training), requires mandated reporter training for individuals working or seeking to work in child care. Therefore, the Department is adding provisions to 3270.31(h) and 3280.31(h) to reflect language that is consistent with 3290.31(i) and to clarify that all staff persons must complete the CCDBG-required professional development in 3270.31(f), 3280.31(f) and 3290.31(g). The ELC agreed with the Department's revised calculation methods. Over the last 25 years, industry standards in health and safety have evolved Nationwide. Research has shown that sleep deprivation diminishes attention and impairs one's ability to adapt to changing conditions. 53, No. The Department determines that this benefit to children outweighs the added costs to family child care home operators who provide 24-hour care. One commentator disagreed with the use of the term ''competent'' instead of ''currently-certified'' for the requirement that one or more facility persons competent in pediatric first aid and CPR techniques always be present while children are in care. The quality initiatives include increased professional development opportunities for child care staff working for those operators that choose to participate in the quality initiatives. After careful consideration, the Department is not changing this definition. One commentator who disagreed with the monitoring requirement stated the standards were unclear. In addition, the Department has implemented many quality initiatives for child care operators to help them improve the quality of service delivery to children. In addition, the Department is clarifying in 3270.31(h) and (i), 3280.31(h) and (i) and 3290.31(j) that a staff person may count the completion of the CCDBG health and safety topics once towards the requirement for the annual clock hours. In response, the Department is modifying this final-form rulemaking to specify that the Department will accept professional development completed from September 30, 2016, and forward, in satisfaction of the professional development requirement. This commentator suggested that children should not have to be included in some emergency drills because the drills themselves may be traumatic to young children. This final-form rulemaking ensures that family child care homes, like group child care homes and child care centers, are certified and not registered, as required by the CCDBG and current State statute. Health information. The Department deletes these sections in this final-form rulemaking. The Department, however, is allowing the operator discretion in selecting the monitoring means because: (1) the technology changes so quickly; (2) the cost of implementing such means varies depending on the needs of the individual home; (3) of the length of time the device needs to be utilized; and (4) of differences in the layout of the home. They suggested the Department adopt the same staff:child ratios and space requirements for family child care homes as exist for group child care homes for unrelated and related children. 3270.75. A child day care center must have a certificate of compliance (license) from DHS in order to operate. The Department acknowledges and declines the suggestions to add to or modify the requirements because this final-form regulation parallels the requirements of the CCDBG, which includes that annual inspections must be unannounced. 901922 and 10011088). Some commentators responded with general support for all the definition changes. 9858c(c)(2)(G)), as well as an additional 6 clock hours of professional development on an annual basis. Several commentators commented on this provision and most agreed with the proposed requirements for specific accommodations in emergency plans for infants, toddlers, children with chronic medical conditions and children with disabilities because their needs can be drastically different. In addition, IRRC requests clarification of the time the operator or staff will have to produce documentation of a high school diploma or general education development certificate (GED) to meet the requirement. . Definitions. Next, the Department adds 3270.15(b), 3280.15(b) and 3290.14(b) (relating to building codes) regarding maintaining the requirements for fire safety after the initial inspection and adds 3270.95, 3280.95 and 3290.95 (relating to fire detection) to this final-form rulemaking to ensure that the Department assesses compliance with fire safety standards at all certified child care facilities across the Commonwealth, as required under section 1016(c) of the act. This regulatory provision is in conformity with recently-enacted State law. After careful consideration, the Department is deleting the requirement that operators must post a hard copy of the regulations because the Department no longer distributes hard copies of the regulations to operators or the general public. The number of devices that an operator may need may vary because it depends on several factors, including the layout of the home and the use of an alternate staff person. A ''permanently qualified'' operator refers to an operator who, under the 2008 regulatory update, was grand- fathered in without a GED or high school diploma. In addition, this final-form rulemaking, as it concerns monitoring means and the provision of 24-hour care, will impact the family child care home community. IRRC first requests an explanation of the extent to which the Department sought input from stakeholders before publishing this final-form rulemaking about the impact of the regulations on the regulated community and how the Department will engage those affected by this final-form rulemaking. For family child care homes, the total cost Statewide is estimated to be $117,040, an amount that accounts for the costs of the professional development course fees as well as for the costs for obtaining a substitute staff person while the operator takes the professional development. In addition, when operators serve children and remain awake for these additional 8 hours, such practice endangers the health and safety of children in care. File Attachment. (b) A first-aid kit must be inaccessible to children. At the same time, the cost of child care is a concern for parents and directly impacts the choices that parents make regarding child care.
pa child care regulations 3270
