Title 4 . Education and Early Development

Chapter 65 . (Repealed)

Section 185. Health and safety requirements for approved providers

4 AAC 65.185. Health and safety requirements for approved providers

(a) A provider must meet the health and safety provisions of this section to be approved for participation in the program under 4 AAC 65.181(a) (3). To participate in the program a provider

(1) must be at least 18 years of age;

(2) must be able to prevent exposure of children to high risk situations, including exposure to physical hazards and encounters with individuals or animals posing a possible danger;

(3) shall certify that the provider meets the qualifications under 4 AAC 62.210(b) and(d); and

(4) shall provide satisfactory evidence of compliance with the health and safety requirements of this section.

(b) To participate in the program a provider, all adult members of the provider's household, and any adult residing in any part of the home, if that adult has direct access from the adult's residence to the part of the provider's home where child care is provided, shall submit a printout of the person's state criminal justice record from the Department of Public Safety to the grantee. The printout must contain criminal justice information at the level available to an interested person under AS 12.62.160 (b)(9). If the provider is not in a community having a state trooper's office or other means of obtaining the printout, the printout must be obtained and submitted when the person next visits a community with a state trooper's office.

(c) To participate in the program a provider shall

(1) attend orientation, if required by the grantee;

(2) provide a parent with access to the parent's child whenever the child is in care;

(3) directly provide care and supervision of children, except

(A) that a substitute caregiver of good reputation and character and who is identified on the provider's application as an emergency substitute may provide care for part of a day during an emergency; and

(B) for use of a substitute provider who is approved by the grantee as a participating provider;

(4) care for no more than a total of five children under 12 years of age, including the provider's own children; of those five children

(A) no more than four children may be unrelated to the provider; and

(B) no more than two children may be under the age of 30 months;

(5) provide supervision of all children in care appropriate to each child's age and developmental needs and adequate to prevent injury;

(6) maintain child attendance records that reflect the time children are in care;

(7) provide daily activities to promote a child's individual physical, social, intellectual, and emotional development that includes time for meals, snacks, sleep, toileting, and indoor and outdoor exercise according to individual needs;

(8) ensure that children in care are not subjected to corporal punishment; in this paragraph, "corporal punishment" has the meaning given in 4 AAC 62.990;

(9) administer medication to a child only with permission from the child's parent;

(10) keep emergency information on each child and

(A) contact the child's parent in case of illness or injury; and

(B) immediately report an occurrence described in 4 AAC 62.140(b) (1), (2), or (3) to the grantee;

(11) review and have first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instructions available on site;

(12) take precautions against the spread of infectious diseases by

(A) washing their hands as required under 4 AAC 62.445;

(B) encouraging children to wash their hands at similar times; and

(C) ensuring that children in care have immunizations according to 4 AAC 62.450(a) - (d);

(13) provide sufficient nutrition so that

(A) a child is fed nutritious meals and snacks according to individual need;

(B) an infant is fed on demand;

(C) except for medical reasons, a child is not denied a meal or snack, force fed, or otherwise coerced to eat against the child's will;

(14) ensure basic environmental health and safety by

(A) submitting to the local grantee a copy of the provider's emergency evacuation plan that ensures the complete evacuation of children, including children of limited mobility, within 150 seconds during an emergency; for the purpose of this subparagraph, the emergency evacuation plan must be on a form provided by the department;

(B) meeting the requirements of 4 AAC 62.510(e) , (f)(1), and (i)(1);

(C) maintaining a home free of fire hazards;

(D) maintaining a functional telephone or other identified means of communication;

(E) maintaining a smoke-, drug-, and alcohol-free home and vehicle environment;

(F) meeting the requirements of 4 AAC 62.520(c) , (d), and (f); and

(G) transporting children in safe vehicles using appropriate child restraints; and

(15) complete annually a minimum of six hours of training of the type described in 4 AAC 62.250(c) , with a minimum of two hours in topics addressing health and safety for children; orientation time required by a grantee under 4 AAC 65.185(c) (1) that is devoted to topics on health and safety may be counted to meet the required annual training hours.

(d) A participating provider and an applicant shall cooperate with local grantee staff, child care licensing representatives, and food services program staff or their representatives for purposes of investigations relating to determining compliance with these requirements. In this subsection, "cooperate" includes providing access to the site where care is provided, access to records, and access to children for interviewing purposes.

(e) A participating provider must provide verification that all individuals age 16 and older residing in the provider's household

(1) have met the requirements of 4 AAC 62.210(b) and (d), and, for adults, (b) of this section; and

(2) have submitted a tuberculin clearance current within the previous 12 months from the date of application for each individual age 16 and older; in this paragraph, "tuberculin clearance" means evaluation of the individual by a qualified health care professional, and a finding by the health care professional that the individual is clear of active pulmonary tuberculosis.

(f) In this section, "unrelated" means the individual is not a "relative" as that term is defined in AS 14.37.299 .

History: Eff. 3/8/2002, Register 161; am 12/6/2002, Register 164

Authority: AS 14.07.060

AS 14.38.100