5.1 OVERALL SPACE AND EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL LOCATION, LAYOUT, AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE FACILITY
A center shall not be located in a private residence unless that portion of the residence is used exclusively for the care of children during the hours of operation.
RATIONALE: Centers in these standards are generally defined as "providing care and education for any number of children in a non- residential setting.". When there are a large number of children in care who may span the age groups of infants, toddlers, preschool and school-age children, special sanitation and design are needed to protect children from injury and prevent transmission of disease. Undivided attention must be given to these purposes during child care operations.
COMMENTS: The portion of a private residence used as a child care facility is variable and unique to each specific situation. If other people will be using the private residence during the child care facility's hours of operation, then the caregiver must arrange the residence so that the activities of these people do not occur in the area designated for child care. See also
STANDARD 5.009, for more information on the use and purpose of child care facilities.
Newly constructed, renovated, remodeled, or altered buildings shall be inspected by a public inspector to assure compliance with applicable building and fire codes before the building can be made accessible to children.
RATIONALE: Building codes are designed to ensure that a new or altered building is safe for occupants.
COMPLIANCE WITH FIRE PREVENTION CODE
Every 12 months, the child care facility shall obtain written documentation to submit to the regulatory licensing authority that the facility complies with a state-approved or nationally recognized Fire Prevention Code. If available, this documentation shall be obtained from a fire prevention official with jurisdiction where the facility is located. Where fire safety inspections or a Fire Prevention Code applicable to child care centers is not available from local authorities, the facility shall arrange for a fire safety inspection by an inspector who is recognized by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and is qualified to conduct such inspections using the
NFPA-101 Life Safety Code.
RATIONALE: Regular fire safety checks by trained officials will ensure that a licensed child care facility continues to meet all applicable fire safety codes.
ACCESSIBILITY OF FACILITY
The facility shall be accessible for children who use wheel chairs and for other children and adults with motor disabilities, in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Accessibility includes access to buildings, toilets, sinks, drinking fountains, outdoor play areas, and all classroom and therapy areas. Special provisions shall also be made, as needed, for the child with health, vision, or hearing impairment.
RATIONALE: Accessibility has been detailed in full, in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It is also a key component of the Americans with
Disabilities Act barring discrimination against anyone with a disability.
COMMENTS: Any facility accepting children with motor disabilities must be accessible to all children served. Small family child care home providers may be limited in their ability to serve such children, but are not precluded from doing so if there is a reasonable degree of compliance with this standard. Not all children with motor disabilities live in fully physically accessible accommodations at home. Nevertheless, access to public and most private facilities is a key to the implementation of the ADA. If toilet learning/training is a relevant activity, the facility may be required to provide adapted toilet equipment in addition to that specified in Toilets and Toilet Learning/Training Equipment,
STANDARD 5.117 through
STANDARD 5.125
For more information on requirements regarding accessibility, the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) and the U.S. Access Board's
Guide to ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Play Areas. Contact information is located in
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
SITE LOCATION FREE FROM HAZARDS
Facilities shall be located on a well-drained site, free from hazards, in areas protected from:
b) Loud or constant noises;
h) Pits, abandoned wells or other risks of entrapment or inhumation (burial);
i) Any other unsafe or harmful environmental elements.
RATIONALE: This requirement will reduce exposure to conditions that cause injury or adversely affect health. Epidemiological studies indicate a relationship between outdoor air pollution and adverse respiratory effects on children(
1). Risk of injury and risk of disease from insects, which breed in poorly drained areas, must be controlled to have a safe facility and outdoor play areas.
Among 471 childhood suffocation deaths in California between 1960 and 1981, 111 were caused by burial beneath earth, sand, or other material (
56). Some occurred at construction sites where children were playing, and others occurred at beaches and other remote areas. Children also can fall into wells, pits, and other excavations and can become trapped in refrigerators and other home appliances.
COMMENTS: An environmental audit should be conducted before construction of a new building or renovation of an older building (
2). The environmental audit should include assessments of the following:
a) Historical land use, seeking possibility of toxic contamination of soil;
b) The possibility of lead and asbestos in older buildings;
c) Potential sources of infestation, noise, air pollution, and toxic exposures;
d) The location of the playground in relation to infested stagnant water, roadways, industrial emissions, building exhaust outlets, and any other hazards to children.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
STRUCTURALLY SOUND FACILITY
Every exterior wall, roof, and foundation shall be structurally sound, weather-tight, and water-tight and shall be finished to control mold, dust, and entry of pests into the child care space.
Every interior floor, wall, and ceiling shall be structurally sound and shall be finished to control exposure of the occupants to levels of toxic fumes, dust, mold, ventilation, heating, lighting, or noise deemed hazardous by local health authorities.
RATIONALE: Children must be protected from hazardous exposures.
COMMENTS: Child care operations often use older buildings or buildings designed for purposes other than child care. Both the design of structures and the lack of maintenance can lead to exposure of children to mold, dust, pests, and toxic materials. "Sick building syndrome" is a term used to describe problems inside structures due to finishing that exposes occupants to hazardous conditions. Environmental health authorities have special training in identification of these potential health risks.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
Finished basements may be used for children 2 years of age and older, if the space is in compliance with
STANDARD 5.008 and
STANDARD 5.020. Basements shall be:
a) Dry and well ventilated;
c) Maintained at required temperatures and humidity;
d) Free of radon in excess of 4 picocuries per liter of air;
e) Free of friable asbestos.
RATIONALE: Basement areas can be quite habitable and should be usable as long as environmental quality and fire safety is satisfactory.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
buildings of wood construction
In buildings of wood construction, children, including infants and toddlers, shall be housed and cared for only on the ground floor, with one exception. Older, preschool-age and school-age children shall be able to use floors other than the ground floor in a building of wood construction that has required exits and care is provided in:
a) A daylight-lit basement with exits that are no more than a half flight high;
b) A tri-level facility with half flights of stairs;
c) A facility that is protected throughout by an automatic sprinkler system, which has its exit stairs enclosed by minimum 1-hour fire barriers with openings in those barriers protected by minimum 1-hour fire doors;
d) Any door encountered along the egress route shall be easy for caregivers and older preschool-age children to open.
RATIONALE: Fire and building safety experts recommend that children, including infants, be permitted above ground level only in certain types of construction.
COMMENTS: Infants and toddlers should always be on the main floor with access directly to the outdoors. Doors along the egress route need to be easy to open. Consult local or state fire safety codes and child care licensing laws.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
UNRELATED BUSINESS IN A CHILD CARE AREA
Child care areas shall not be used for any business or purpose unrelated to child care when children are present in these areas.
RATIONALE: Child care requires child-oriented, child-safe areas where the child's needs are primary.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
Office space separate from child care areas shall be provided for administration and staff in centers. Children shall not have access to this area unless they are supervised by staff.
RATIONALE: For the efficient and effective operation of a center, office areas where activities incompatible with the care of young children are conducted should be separate from child care areas. These office areas can be expected to contain supplies and equipment that should not be accessible to children. In addition, where records and documents, some of them confidential, are kept, staff should be free from the distractions of child care (
3,
4).
Adults need space, too. Care providers, if they are to avoid burnout, need a place to make a phone call, or to sit quietly for a few moments.
sepAration of OPERATIONS from CHILD CARE areas
Rooms or spaces that are used for the following activities or operations shall be separated from the child care areas and shall not be encountered along the route of egress:
a) Commercial-type kitchen;
b) Boiler, maintenance shop;
f) Flammable or combustible storage;
h) Rooms that are used for any purpose involving the presence of toxic substances.
The exit and the fire-resistant separation shall be approved by the appropriate regulatory agencies responsible for building and fire inspections. In small and large family child care homes, a fire-resistant separation shall not be required where the food preparation kitchen contains only a domestic cooking range and the preparation of food does not result in smoke or grease-laden vapors escaping into indoor areas.
RATIONALE: Hazards and toxic substances must be kept separate from space used for child care to prevent children's and staff members' exposure to injury.
Cleaning agents must be inaccessible to children (out of reach and behind locked doors). Food preparation surfaces must not be contaminated by diaper changing procedures. Children must be restricted from access to the stove when cooking surfaces are hot.
Egress must not require travel through hazardous areas.
COMMENTS: In small family child care homes, mixed use of rooms is common. Some combined use of space for food preparation, storage of cleaning equipment and household tools, laundry, and diaper changing require that each space within a room be defined according to its purpose and that exposure of children to hazards be controlled.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
USE OF ROOMS FOR MULTIPURPOSES
Children may play, eat, and nap in the same room (other than bathrooms, hallways, and closets), if that room is large enough to provide a defined space for each activity while that activity is under way and if the room meets other building requirements. Programming shall be such that the use of the room for one purpose does not interfere with use of the room for other purposes.
RATIONALE: Multipurpose use is permissible as long as bathrooms, exit routes, and uninhabitable spaces are not included in multipurpose activity areas.
COMMENTS: Compliance may be measured by structured observation.
WEATHER-TIGHTNESS AND WATER-TIGHTNESS of openings
Each window, exterior door, and basement or cellar hatchway shall be weather-tight and water-tight when closed.
RATIONALE: Children's environments must be protected from exposure to moisture, dust, and temperature extremes.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
possibility of exit from wINDOWS
All windows in areas used by children under 5 years of age shall be constructed, adapted, or adjusted to limit the exit opening accessible to children to less than 3.5 inches, or be otherwise protected with guards that prevent exit by a child, but that do not block outdoor light. Where such windows are required by building or fire codes to provide for emergency rescue and escape, the windows and guards, if provided, shall be equipped to enable staff to release the guard and open the window fully when escape or rescue is required. Such release shall not require the use of tools
RATIONALE: This standard is needed to prevent children from falling out of windows. Standards from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) require the opening size to be 3.5 inches to prevent the child from getting through or the head from being entrapped. Some children may be able to pass their body through a slightly larger opening but then get stuck and hang from the window opening with their head trapped inside. Caregivers must not depend on screens to keep children from falling out of windows. Windows to be used as fire exits must be immediately accessible.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
SCREENs for ventilation OPENINGS
All openings used for ventilation shall be screened against insect entry.
RATIONALE: Screens prevent the entry of insects, which may bite, sting, or carry disease. See
STANDARD 5.014 for safety precautions for windows.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
SAFETY GUARDS FOR GLASS WINDOWS/DOORS
Glass windows and glass door panels within 36 inches of the floor shall have safety guards (such as rails or mesh) or be of safety-grade glass or polymer (such as Lexan) and equipped with a vision strip.
RATIONALE: Glass panels can be invisible to an active child or adult. When a child collides with a glass panel, serious injury can result from the collision impact or the broken glass.
COMMENTS:
In areas where glass windows are repeatedly broken, installation of polymer material (Lexan, for example) should be considered. See
STANDARD 5.014 for safety precautions for windows.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
FINGER-PINCH PROTECTION DEVICES
Finger-pinch protection devices shall be installed wherever doors are accessible to children. These devices include:
a) Rubber gaskets designed to fit into an inset on the door where the door meets the door jamb and over the opening where the door is hinged;
b) Other types of flexible coverings for the hinged opening;
c) Door closing devices that force the door to close slowly or keep the door from closing fully if it strikes an obstacle.
RATIONALE: Finger-pinch injuries in doors are a significant cause of injury among claims against liability insurance in child care. Installation of inexpensive gaskets, barriers, and closing devices that prevent entrapment of a child's fingers will reduce
COMMENTS: Easily installed, inexpensive, and flexible joints for finger-pinch protection are in widespread use in French and Australian child care programs and increasingly in US child care programs. Manufacturers sell rubber gaskets, accordion-pleated plastic, thin strips of flexible plastic, and carpeting fixed to the door and opposing door jamb edge by molding strips. These can be used on the hinge opening and some are designed to fit the closing edge of the door to fill a small gap between the closing edge and door jamb with a yielding material. Adjustable door closing devices are available to slow the rate of door closing. Slowing the door closing rate helps prevent finger pinching in the latch area of the door or abrupt closing of the door against a small child.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
DIRECTIONAL SWING OF INDOOR DOORS
Interior doors from a building area with fewer than 50 persons shall swing in the direction of most frequent travel. Doors from a building area with more than 50 persons and exit enclosure doors shall swing in the direction of egress travel. An exception is that boiler room doors shall swing into the room.
RATIONALE: This standard is to provide easy, quick passage and to prevent injuries. Boiler room doors should swing inward to contain explosions.
The
NFPA-101 Life Safety Code from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the model building codes in wide use throughout the United States, require that doors serving an area with 50 or more persons swing in the direction of egress travel (
8). This is important because large numbers of persons might push against each other leaving those up against a door without the ability to step back and allow the door to swing back into the room. Contact information for the NFPA is located in Appendix BB.
COMMENTS: Doors in homes usually open inward. The requirement for door swing may be addressed in local building codes.
Doorways, exit access paths, and exits shall be free of debris and equipment to allow unobstructed egress travel from inside the child care facility to the outside.
RATIONALE: This provision permits a fast exit in the event of an emergency.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
alternate EXITS and emergency shelter
Each building or structure, new or old, shall be provided with a minimum of two exits, at different sides of the building or home, leading to an open space at ground level. If the basement in a small family child care home is being used, one exit must lead directly to the outside. Exits shall be unobstructed, allowing occupants to escape to an outside door or exit stair enclosure in case of fire or other emergency. Each floor above or below ground level used for child care shall have at least two unobstructed exits that lead to an open area at ground level and thereafter to an area that meets safety requirements for a child care indoor or outdoor area where children may remain until their parents can pick them up, if reentry into the facility is not possible.
Entrance and exit routes shall be reviewed and approved by the applicable fire inspector. Exiting shall meet all the requirements of the current edition of the
NFPA-101 Life Safety Code from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
RATIONALE: Unobstructed exit routes are essential for prompt evacuation. The purpose of having two ways to exit when child care is provided on a floor above or below ground level is to ensure an alternative exit if fire blocks one exit.
COMMENTS: Using an outdoor playground as a safe place to exit to may not always be possible. Some child care facilities do not have a playground located adjacent to the child care building and use local parks as the playground site. Access to these parks may require crossing a street at an intersection with a crosswalk. This would normally be considered safe, especially in areas of low traffic; however, when sirens go off, a route that otherwise may be considered safe becomes chaotic and dangerous. During evacuation or an emergency, children, as well as staff, become excited and may run into the street when the playground is not fenced and immediately adjacent to
In the event of a fire, staff members and children should be able to get at least 50 feet away from the building or structure. If the children cannot return to their usual building, a suitable shelter containing all items necessary for child care must be available where the children can safely remain until their parents come for them. An evacuation plan should take into consideration all available open areas to which staff and children can safely retreat in an emergency.
For information about the
NFPA-101 Life Safety Code, contact the National Fire Protection Association. Contact information is located in Appendix BB.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
Evacuation of children with disabilities
In facilities that include children who have physical disabilities, all exits and steps necessary for evacuation shall have ramps approved by the local building inspector. Children who have ambulatory difficulty, use wheelchairs or other equipment that must be transported with the child (such as an oxygen ventilator) shall be located on the ground floor of the facility or provisions shall be made for efficient emergency evacuation to a safe sheltered area.
RATIONALE: The facility must meet building code standards for the community and also the requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and their access guidelines. All children must be able to exit the building quickly in case of emergency. Locating children in wheelchairs or those with special equipment on the ground floor may eliminate the need for transporting these children down the stairs during an emergency exit. In buildings where the ground floor cannot be used for such children, arrangements must be made to remove them to a safe location, such as a fire tower stairwell, during an emergency exit.
COMMENTS: Assuring physical access to a facility also requires that a means of evacuation meeting safety standards for exit accommodates any special needs of the children in care.
For additional information on additional access requirements, see
STANDARD 5.004 and
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
The minimum width of any path of egress shall be 36 inches. An exception is that doors shall provide a minimum clear width of 32 inches. The width of doors shall accommodate wheelchairs and the needs of individuals with physical disabilities.
Where exits are not immediately accessible from an open floor area, safe and continuous passageways, aisles, or corridors leading to every exit shall be maintained and shall be arranged to provide access for each occupant to at least two exits by separate ways of travel. Passageways and corridors shall be kept free of materials and furniture that would prevent clear access.
RATIONALE: Unobstructed access to exits is essential to prompt evacuation. The hallways and door openings must be wide enough to permit easy exit in an emergency. The actual exit is the enclosed stair or the actual door to the outside; doors from most rooms and the travel along a corridor are considered exit access or the path of egress. The
NFPA-101 Life Safety Code from the National Fire Protection Association permits the usual 36 inches minimum to be reduced to a clear opening of 32 inches for doors (
8). This is consistent with ADAAG (Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines) as it affords enough width for a person in a wheelchair to maneuver through the door opening. Contact information for the NFPA is located in Appendix BB.
The facility shall have no lock or fastening device that prevents free escape from the interior. All door hardware in areas that school-age children use shall be within the reach of the children. In centers, only panic hardware (hardware that can be opened by pressure in the direction of travel) or single-action hardware (hardware that allows a door to open either way but keeps it from swinging back past the center point) shall be permitted on exterior doors.
A double-cylinder deadbolt lock which requires a key to unlock from the inside shall not be permitted on any door along the path of egress from any child care area of a large or small family child care home except the exterior door, and then only if the lock is of a key-capturing type and the key is kept hanging near the door.
If emergency exits lead to potentially unsafe areas for children (such as a busy street), alarms or other signaling devices shall be installed on these exit doors to alert the staff in case a child attempts to leave.
RATIONALE: Children, as well as staff members, must be able to evacuate a building in the event of a fire or other emergency. Nevertheless, the child care provider must assure security from intruders and from unsupervised use of the exit by children.
COMMENTS: Double cylinder deadbolt locks that require a key to unlock the door from the inside are often installed in private homes for added security. In such situations, these dead bolt locks should be present only on exterior doors and should be left in the unlocked position during the hours of child care operation. Locks that prevent opening from the outside, but can be opened without a key from the inside should be used for security during hours of child care operation. Double cylinder deadbolt locks should not be used on interior doors, such as closets, bathrooms, storage rooms, and bedrooms.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home
Emergency exits shall be clearly identified and visible at all times during operation of the child care facility. The exits for escape shall be arranged or marked so the path to safety outside is unmistakable.
RATIONALE: As soon as children can learn to recognize exit signs and pathway markings, they will benefit from having these paths of escape clearly marked. Adults who come into the building as visitors need these markings to direct them as well.
An exit to the outside or a common hallway leading to the outside shall be directly accessible from any room. If it is necessary to pass through another room for direct access to the outside, the other room shall not have a barrier or door that can be latched to prevent access through it.
No obstructions shall be placed in the corridors or passageways leading to the exits.
RATIONALE: A room that requires exit through another room to get to an exit path can entrap its occupants when there is a fire or emergency condition if passage can be impeded by a barrier or door that is latched.
An obstruction in the path of exit can lead to entrapment, especially in an emergency situation where groups of people may be exiting together.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
FINISHes of Doors, floors and walls
The hand contact and splash areas of doors, and walls shall be covered with a finish that is at least as cleanable as an epoxy finish or enamel paint.
Each bathroom, toilet room, and shower room floor and wall shall be impervious to water up to a height of 5 feet and capable of being kept in a clean and sanitary condition.
RATIONALE: Impervious surfaces for floors and walls prevent deterioration and mold and ensure clean and sanitary surfaces. Surfaces that are easily cleaned facilitate removal of filth and disease-producing germs.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center, Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATION, AND HOT WATER
