CHILD:STAFF RATIO AND GROUP SIZE
RATIOs for SMALL FAMILY CHILD CARE Homes
The small family child care home provider child:staff ratios shall conform to the following table:
If the small family child care home provider has no children under two years of age in care,
|
then the small family child care home provider may have 1-6 children over two years of age in care
|
If the small family child care home provider has 1 child under two years of age in care,
|
then the small family child care home provider may have 1-3 children over two years of age in care
|
If the small family child care home provider has 2 children under two years of age in care,
|
then the small family child care home provider may have no children over two years of age in care
|
The small family child care home provider's own children shall be included in the child:staff ratio.
RATIONALE: Although child:staff ratios alone do not predict the quality of care, direct warm social interaction between adults and children is more common and more likely with lower child:staff ratios. Care - givers must be recognized as performing a job for groups of children that parents of twins, triplets, or quadruplets would rarely be left to handle alone.
In child care, these children do not come from the same family and must learn a set of common rules that may differ from expectations in their own homes.
Low child:staff ratios are most critical for infants and young toddlers (0 to 24 months) (
1). Infant development and caregiving quality improves when group size and child:staff ratios are smaller (
2). Improved verbal interactions are correlated with lower child:staff ratios (
3). For 3- and 4-year old children, the size of the group is even more important than ratios. The recommended group size and child:staff ratio allow 3- to 5- year old children to have continuing adult support and guidance while encouraging independent, self-initiated play and other activities (
4).
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) requires in the
NFPA-101 Life Safety Code that small family child care homes serve no more than 2 clients incapable of self-preservation (
6).
COMMENTS: Some states are setting limits on the number of school-age children that are allowed to be cared for in small family child care homes, e.g., two school-age children in addition to the maximum number allowed for infants/preschool children. No data are available to support using a different ratio where school-age children are in family child care homes. Since school-age children require focused caregiver time and attention for supervision and adult-child interaction, this standard applies the same ratio to all children over two years of age. The family child care provider must be able to have a positive relationship and provide guidance for each child in care.
Unscheduled inspections encourage compliance with this standard.
For more information regarding brain development in children in child care, see STANDARD 1.010.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Small Family Child Care Home
RATIOS FOR LARGE FAMILY CHILD CARE HOMES AND CENTERS
Child:staff ratios in centers and large family child care homes shall be maintained as follows during all hours of operation, including transport and nap times:
During nap time, at least one adult shall be physically present in the same space as the children.
Other adults who are included in the child:staff ratio need not be in the same space with the children when all the children are napping. However, in case of emergency, these adults shall be on the same floor and shall have no barrier to their coming to help immediately. The caregiver who is in the same space with the children shall be able to summon these adults without leaving the children.
When there are mixed age groups in the same room, the child:staff ratio and group size shall be consistent with the age of most of the children when no infants or toddlers are in the mixed age group. When infants or toddlers are in the mixed age group, the child:staff ratio and group size for infants and toddlers shall be maintained. In large family child care homes with two or more care-givers caring for no more than 12 children, no more than three children younger than 2 years of age shall be in care.
RATIONALE: These child:staff ratios are within the range of recommendations for each age group that the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) uses in its accreditation program (
5). The NAEYC recommends a range that assumes the director and staff are highly trained and, by virtue of the accreditation process, has determined a staffing pattern that enables effective staff function. The standard for child:staff ratios in this document uses a single desired ratio, rather than a range, for each age group. In some cases, these child:staff ratios and group sizes are the more stringent ratios and group sizes recommended in the National Research Council's report,
Who Cares for America's Children? Child Care Policy for the 1990s (
1). According to the National Research Council, child:staff ratios and group size are two of the four most important areas to be addressed in national standards.
Children with special health care needs may require additional staff on-site, depending on their special need and extent of disability (
1).
Low child:staff ratios for non-ambulatory children are essential for fire safety. The National Fire Protection Association, in its
NFPA-101 Life Safety Code, recommends that no more than three children younger than 2 years of age be cared for in large family child care homes where two staff members are caring for up to 12 children (
6).
Children benefit from social interactions with peers. However, larger groups are generally associated with less positive interactions and developmental outcomes. Group size and ratio of children to adults are limited to allow for one to one interaction, intimate knowledge of individual children, and consistent caregiving (
7).
Although child:staff ratios alone do not predict the quality of care, direct warm social interaction between adults and children is more common and more likely with lower child:staff ratios. Caregivers must be recognized as performing a job for groups of children that parents of twins, triplets, or quadruplets would rarely be left to handle alone.
In child care, these children do not come from the same family and must learn a set of common rules that may differ from expectations in their own homes.
Low child:staff ratios are most critical for infants and young toddlers (0 to 24 months) (
1). Infant development and caregiving quality improves when group size and child:staff ratios are smaller (
2). Improved verbal interactions are correlated with lower ratios (
3). For 3- and 4-year old children, the size of the group is even more important than ratios. The recommended group size and child:staff ratio allow 3- to 5- year old children to have continuing adult support and guidance while encouraging independent, self-initiated play and other activities (
4).
In addition, the children's physical safety and sanitation routines require a staff that is not fragmented by excessive demands. Child:staff ratios in child care settings should be sufficiently low to keep staff stress below levels that might result in anger with children. Caring for too many young children, in particular, increases the possibility of stress to the caregiver, and may result in loss of self-control.
Although observation of sleeping children does not require the physical presence of more than one caregiver, the staff needed for an emergency response or evacuation of the children must remain available for this purpose. Nap time may be the best option for regular staff conferences and staff training, but these activities should take place in an area next to the room where the children are sleeping so no barrier will prevent the staff from assisting if emergency evacuation becomes necessary.
COMMENTS: The child:staff ratio indicates the maximum number of children permitted per caregiver (
8). These ratios assume that caregivers do not have time-consuming bookkeeping and housekeeping duties, so they are free to provide direct care for children. The ratios do not include other personnel (such as bus drivers) necessary for specialized functions (such as driving a vehicle).
Group size is the number of children assigned to a caregiver or team of caregivers occupying an individual classroom or well-defined space within a larger room (
8).The "group" in child care represents the "homeroom" for school-age children. It is the psychological base with which the child identifies and from which the child gains continual guidance and support in various activities. This standard does not prohibit larger numbers of children from joining in collective activities as long as child:staff ratios and the concept of "home room" are maintained.
Unscheduled inspections encourage compliance with this standard.
These standards are based on what children need for quality nurturing care. Those who question whether these ratios are affordable must consider that our efforts to limit costs have resulted in overlooking the basic needs of children and creating a highly stressful work environment for caregivers. Community resources other than parent fees and a greater public investment in child care are critical to achieving the child:staff ratios and group sizes specified in this standard.
For more information regarding brain development in children in child care, see STANDARD 1.010.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home
RATIOS FOR FACILITIES SERVING CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL HEALTH NEEDS
Facilities enrolling children with special needs shall determine, by an individual assessment of each child's needs, whether the facility requires a lower child:staff ratio.
RATIONALE: The child:staff ratio must allow the needs of the children enrolled to be met. The facility should have sufficient direct care professional staff to provide the required programs and services. Integrated facilities with fewer resources may be able to serve children who need fewer services, and the staffing levels may vary accordingly. Adjustment of the ratio allows for the flexibility needed to meet the child's type and degree of special need. The facility should seek consultation with parents and other professionals regarding the appropriate child:staff ratio and may wish to increase the number of staff members if the child requires significant special assistance.
COMMENTS: These ratios do not include personnel who have other duties that might preclude their involvement in needed supervision while they are performing those duties, such as cooks, maintenance workers, or bus drivers.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home: Small Family Child Care Home
PRESERVICE QUALIFICATIONS AND SPECIAL TRAINING
PRESERVICE AND ONGOING STAFF TRAINING
In addition to the credentials listed in STANDARD 1.014, prior to employment, a director of a center or a small family child care home network enrolling 30 or more children shall provide documentation of at least 26 clock hours of training in health, psychosocial, and safety issues for out-of-home child care facilities.
Small family child care home providers shall provide documentation of at least 12 hours of training in child development and health management for out-of-home child care facilities prior to initiating operation.
All directors and caregivers shall document receipt of training that revisits the following topics every 3 years:
a) Child development knowledge and best practice, including knowledge about the developmental stages of each child in care;
b) Child care as a support to parents;
d) Ways that communicable diseases are spread;
e) Procedures for preventing the spread of communicable disease, including handwashing, sanitation, diaper changing, food handling, health department notification of reportable diseases, equipment, toy selection and proper washing, sanitizing to reduce the risk for disease and injury, and health issues related to having pets in the facility;
f) Immunization requirements for children and staff, as defined in STANDARD 1.045;
g) Common childhood illnesses and their management, including child care exclusion policies;
h) Organization of the facility to reduce the risks for illness and injury;
i) Teaching child care staff and children about infection control and injury prevention;
j) Staff occupational health and safety practices, such as proper procedures, in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) bloodborne pathogens regulations;
k) Emergency procedures, as defined in STANDARD 3.048 through STANDARD 3.052;
l) Promotion of health in the child care setting, through compliance with STANDARD 3.001 through STANDARD 3.089;
m) Management of a blocked airway, rescue breathing, and other first aid procedures, as required in STANDARD 1.026;
n) Recognition and reporting of child abuse in compliance with state laws;
p) Knowledge of medication administration policies and practices;
q) Caring for children with special needs in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA);
RATIONALE: The director of a center or large family child care home or the small family child care home provider is the person accountable for all policies. Basic entry-level knowledge of health and safety is essential to administer the facility. Caregivers must
be knowledgeable about infectious disease because properly implemented health policies can reduce the spread of disease, not only among the children but also among staff members, family members, and in the greater community. Knowledge of injury prevention measures in child care is essential to control known risks. Pediatric first aid training is important because the director or small family child care home provider is fully responsible for all aspects of the health of the children in care.
COMMENTS: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) published a set of videos, based on the first edition of
Caring for Our Children, that illustrates how to meet the standards in centers and family child care homes. This six-part video series is accompanied by a set of reproducible handouts for training. Other training materials, including videos, workshop curricula, and print materials suitable for training of caregivers, are also available from the AAP and NAEYC. Contact information for the AAP and the NAEYC is located in Appendix BB.
Training in infectious disease control and injury prevention is strongly recommended. This type of training may be obtained from qualified personnel of children's and community hospitals, managed care companies, health agencies, public health departments, pediatric emergency room physicians, or other health professionals in the community.
For more information about training opportunities, contact the AAP, Healthy Child Care America Project, the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care, or the National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants (at the University of North Carolina). Contact information is located in Appendix BB.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS OF DIRECTORS
The director of a center enrolling fewer than 60 children shall be at least 21 years old and shall have the following qualifications:
a) A Bachelor's degree in early childhood education, child development, social work, nursing, or other child related field OR a combination of college coursework and experience, including:
1) A minimum of four courses in child development and early childhood education;
2) Two years of experience, under qualified supervision, working as a teacher serving the ages and developmental abilities of the children enrolled in the center where the individual will act as the director;
3) A course in business administration or early childhood administration, or at least 6 months of on the job training in an administrative position;
c) A valid certificate in pediatric first aid, including management of a blocked airway, and rescue breathing, as specified in First Aid and CPR, STANDARD 1.026 through
STANDARD 1.028;
d) Knowledge of community resources available to children with special needs and the ability to use these resources to make referrals or achieve interagency coordination;
e) Administrative and management skills in facility operations;
f) Capability in curriculum design;
g) Oral and written communication skills;
h) Demonstrated life experience skills in working with children in more than one setting.
The director of a center enrolling more than 60 children shall have the above and at least 3 years experience as a teacher of children in the age group(s) enrolled in the center where the individual will act as the director, plus at least 6 months experience in administration.
RATIONALE: The director of the facility is the team leader of a small business. Both administrative and child development skills are essential for this individual to manage the facility and set appropriate expectations. College-level coursework has been shown to have a measurable, positive effect on quality child care, whereas experience per se has not (
3,
10,
11).
The director of a center plays a pivotal role in ensuring the day-to-day smooth functioning of the facility within the framework of appropriate child development principles and knowledge of family relationships.
The well-being of the children, the confidence of the parents of children in the facility's care, and the high morale and consistent professional growth of the staff depend largely upon the knowledge, skills, and dependable presence of a director who is able to respond to long-range and immediate needs and able to engage staff in decision-making that affects their day-to-day practice. Management skills are important and should be viewed primarily as a means of support for the key role of educational leadership that a director provides. A skilled director should know how to use community resources and to identify specialized personnel to enrich the staff's understanding of behavior and curriculum content. Past experience working in an early childhood setting is essential to running a facility.
Life experience may include experience rearing one's own children or previous personal experience acquired in any child care setting. Work as a hospital aide or at a camp for children with special needs would qualify, as would experience in school settings. This experience, however, must be supplemented by competency-based training to determine and provide whatever new skills are needed to care for children in child care settings.
COMMENTS: The profession of early childhood education is being informed by research on the association of developmental outcomes with specific practices. The exact combination of college coursework and supervised experience is still being developed. For example, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has published the
Guidelines for Preparation of Early Childhood Professionals (
12). Additional information on the early childhood education profession is available from Wheelock College Institute for Leadership and Career Initiatives. The National Child Care Association (NCCA) has developed a 40-hour curriculum based on administrator competencies (
13). Contact information for the NAEYC, the Wheelock College Institute for Leadership and Career Initiatives, and the NCCA is located in Appendix BB.
The qualifications stipulated in the AAP/APHA standards, as well as state and local regulations for administrators of child care facilities that serve typically developing children, may require supplementation because of the special requirements of the populations of children with special needs. The center is one component in a network of services for children with special needs in most communities. Every state participating in Part C of IDEA is required to have a directory of services. Having a directory of services available is useful and could fulfill part of the requirement. Many communities have agencies, such as local resource and referral agencies, that gather information about services available to children with special needs.
For additional information on qualifications for directors of centers, see General Qualifications for All Caregivers, STANDARD 1.007 through STANDARD 1.013; and Training, STANDARD 1.023 through STANDARD 1.036.
QUALIFICATIONS OF EDUCATION COORDINATORS, LEAD TEACHERS, AND TEACHERS
Education coordinators, lead teachers, and teachers shall be at least 21 years of age and shall have at least the following education, experience, and skills:
a) A Bachelor's degree in early childhood education, child development, social work, nursing, or other child-related field, or a combination of experience and relevant college coursework;
b) One year or more years of experience, under qualified supervision, working as a teacher serving the ages and developmental abilities of the children in care;
c) On-the-job training to provide a nurturing environment and to meet the child's out-of-home needs;
d) A valid certificate in pediatric first aid, including management of a blocked airway and rescue breathing, as specified in First Aid and CPR, STANDARD 1.026 through
STANDARD 1.028;
e) Knowledge of normal child development and early childhood education, as well as knowledge of children who are not developing typically;
f) The ability to respond appropriately to children's needs;
g) The ability to recognize signs of illness and safety hazards;
h) Oral and written communication skills.
Every center, regardless of setting, shall have at least one licensed/certified lead teacher (or mentor teacher) who meets the above requirements working in the child care facility at all times when children are in care.
Additionally, facilities serving children with special needs associated with developmental delay shall have one licensed/certified teacher who is certified in special education.
RATIONALE: Child care that promotes healthy deve-lopment is based on the developmental needs of infants, toddlers, and preschool children. Caregivers are chosen for their knowledge of, and ability to respond appropriately to, the needs of children of this age generally and the unique characteristics of individual children (
2,
7,
9,
12). Both early childhood and special educational experience are useful in a center.
COMMENTS: The profession of early childhood education is being informed by new research on child development practices related to child outcomes. For additional information on qualifications for child care staff, refer to the
Guidelines for Preparation of Early Childhood Professional from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) (
12). Additional information on the early childhood education profession is available from Wheelock College Institute for Leadership and Career Initiatives and the Center for the Child Care Workforce (CCW). Contact information is located in Appendix BB.
GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS OF FAMILY CHILD CARE CAREGIVERS
Caregivers in large and small family child care homes shall be at least 21 years of age, hold an official credential as granted by the authorized state agency, meet the general requirements specified in STANDARD 1.007 through STANDARD 1.012, based on ages of the children served, and shall have the following education, experience, and skills;
a) Current accreditation by the National Association for Family Child Care (including entry-level qualifications and participation in required training) and have a college certificate representing a minimum of 3 credit hours of family child care leadership or master caregiver training or hold an Associate's degree in early childhood education or child development;
b) A valid certificate in pediatric first aid, including management of a blocked airway and rescue breathing, as specified in First Aid and CPR, STANDARD 1.026 through STANDARD 1.028;
c) Preservice training in health management in child care, including the ability to recognize signs of illness and safety hazards;
d) Knowledge of normal child development, as well as knowledge of children who are not developing typically;
e) The ability to respond appropriately to children's needs;
f) Oral and written communication skills.
Additionally, large family child care home care - givers shall have at least 1 year of experience, under qualified supervision, serving the ages and developmental abilities of the children in their large family child care home.
Assistants, aides, and volunteers employed by a large family child care home shall meet the qualifications specified in STANDARD 1.018.
RATIONALE: In both large and small family child care homes, staff members must have the education and experience to meet the needs of the children in care. Small family child care home providers often work alone and are solely responsible for the health and safety of small numbers of children in care.
Age 18 is the earliest age of legal consent. Mature leadership is clearly preferable. Age 21 is more likely to be associated with the level of maturity necessary to independently care for a group of children who are not one's own.
The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) has established an accreditation process to enhance the level of quality and professionalism in small family child care (
23). Contact information for NAFCC is found in Appendix BB.
COMMENTS: A large family child care home provider caring for more than six children and employing one or more assistants functions as a facility director. An operator of a large family-child-care home should be offered training relevant to the management of a small child care center, including training on providing a quality work environment for employees.
For more information on assessing the work environment of family child care employees, see
Creating Better Family Child Care Jobs: Model Work Standards, a publication by the Center for the Child Care Workforce (CCW) (
15). Contact information for the CCW is located in Appendix BB.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
Support networks for family child care
Large and small family child care home providers shall have active membership in local or state family child care associations (if such associations exist) or in the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), or belong to a network of family child care home providers that offers ongoing training and information on how to provide quality child care.
RATIONALE: Membership in peer professional organizations shows a commitment to quality child care and also provides a conduit for information to otherwise isolated caregivers. Membership in a family child care association and attendance at meetings indicate the desire to gain new knowledge about how to work with children.
COMMENTS: For more information about family child care associations, contact the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC). Contact information is located in Appendix BB.
For additional qualifications and responsibilities of large and small family child care home providers, see General Qualifications for All Caregivers, STANDARD 1.007 through STANDARD 1.012; and Training, STANDARD 1.023 through
STANDARD 1.036.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
QUALIFICATIONS FOR HEALTh aDVOCATES
Each facility shall designate a person as health advocate to be responsible for policies and day-to-day issues related to health, development, and safety of individual children, children as a group, staff, and parents. The health advocate shall be the primary parent contact for health concerns, including health-related parent/staff observations, health-related information, and the provision of resources. The health advocate shall also identify children who have no regular source of health care and refer them to a health care provider who offers competent routine child health services.
For centers, the health advocate shall be licensed/certified/credentialed as a director, lead teacher, teacher, or associate teacher, or shall be a health professional, health educator, or social worker who works at the facility on a regular basis (at least weekly).
The health advocate shall have documented training in the following topics that include:
a) Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), for facilities caring for infants;
b) Control of infectious diseases, including Standard/Universal Precautions;
c) How to recognize and handle an emergency;
d) Recognition and handling of seizures;
e) Recognition of safety, hazards, and injury prevention interventions;
f) How to help parents, caregivers, and children cope with death, severe injury, and natural or man-made catastrophes;
g) Recognition of child abuse and neglect and knowledge of when to contact a consultant;
h) Organization and implementation of a plan to meet the emergency needs of children with special health needs.
RATIONALE: The effectiveness of an intentionally designated health advocate in improving the quality of performance in a facility has been demonstrated in all types of early childhood settings (
16). A designated caregiver with health training is effective in developing an ongoing relationship with the parents and a personal interest in the child (
8,
17). Caregivers who are better trained are more able to prevent, recognize, and correct health and safety problems. An internal advocate for issues related to health and safety can help integrate these concerns with other factors involved in formulating facility plans.
COMMENTS: The director should assign the health advocate role to a staff member who seems to have an interest, aptitude and training in this area. This person need not perform all the health and safety tasks in the facility but should serve as the person who raises health and safety concerns. This staff person has designated responsibility for seeing that plans are implemented to ensure a safe and healthful facility (
16).
A health advocate is a regular member of the staff of a center or large or small family child care home network, and is not the same as the health consultant recommended in Health Consultants, STANDARD 1.040 through STANDARD 1.044. For small family child care homes, the health advocate will usually be the caregiver. If the health advocate is not the child's caregiver, the health advocate should work with the child's caregiver. The person who is most familiar with the child and the child's family will recognize atypical behavior in the child and support effective communication with parents.
A plan for personal contact with parents should be developed, even though this contact will not be possible daily. A plan for personal contact and documentation of a designated caregiver as health advocate will ensure specific attempts to have the health advocate communicate directly with caregivers and families on health-related matters.
For additional qualifications and responsibilities of health advocates, see Training, STANDARD 1.023 through STANDARD 1.036; and Direct Care and Provisional Staff, STANDARD 1.009 through STANDARD 1.013.
TYPE OF FACILITY:
Center; Large Family Child Care Home; Small Family Child Care Home
initial orientation of all staff
All new full-time and part-time staff shall be oriented to, and demonstrate knowledge of, the items listed below. The director of any center or large family child care home shall provide this training to all newly hired caregivers before they begin to care for children. For centers, the director shall document, for each new staff member, the topics covered and the dates of orientation training. Staff members shall not be expected to take responsibility for any aspect of care for which their orientation and training have not prepared them.
Small family child care home providers shall avail themselves of orientation training offered by the licensing agency, a resource and referral agency, or other such agency. This training shall include evaluation that involves demonstration of the knowledge and skills covered in the training lesson.
The orientation shall address, at a minimum:
a) Regulatory requirements;
b) The goals and philosophy of the facility;
c) The names and ages of the children for whom the caregiver will be responsible, and their specific developmental needs;
d) Any special adaptation(s) of the facility required for a child with special needs for whom the staff member might be responsible at any time;
e) Any special health or nutrition need(s) of the children assigned to the caregiver;
f) The planned program of activities at the facility. See Program of Developmental Activities, STANDARD 2.001 through
STANDARD 2.027;
g) Routines and transitions;
h) Acceptable methods of discipline. See Discipline, STANDARD 2.039 through STANDARD 2.043; and Discipline Policy, STANDARD 8.008 through
STANDARD 8.010;
i) Policies and practices of the facility about relating to parents. See Parent Relationships, STANDARD 2.044 through
STANDARD 2.057;
j) Meal patterns and food handling policies and practices of the facility. See Plans and Policies for Food Handling, Feeding, and Nutrition, STANDARD 8.035 and STANDARD 8.036; Food Service Records, STANDARD 8.074; Nutrition and Food Service, STANDARD 4.001 through STANDARD 4.070;
k) Occupational health hazards for caregivers, including attention to the physical health and emotional demands of the job and special considerations for pregnant caregivers. See Occupational Hazards, STANDARD 1.048; and
Major Occupational Health Hazards,
Appendix B;
l) Emergency health and safety procedures. See Plan for Urgent Medical Care or Threatening Incidents, STANDARD 8.022 and STANDARD 8.023; and Emergency Procedures, STANDARD 3.048 through STANDARD 3.052;
m) General health and safety policies and procedures, including but not limited to the following:
1) Handwashing techniques and indications for handwashing. See Handwashing, STANDARD 3.020 through STANDARD 3.024;
2) Diapering technique and toilet use, if care is provided to children in diapers and/or children needing help with toilet use, including appropriate diaper disposal and diaper-changing techniques. See Toilet, Diapering, and Bath Areas, STANDARD 5.116 through STANDARD 5.125; Toilet Use, Diapering, and Toilet Learning/Training, STANDARD 3.012 through STANDARD 3.019; Toilet Learning/Training Equipment, Toilets, and Bathrooms, STANDARD 3.029 through STANDARD 3.033;
3) Identifying hazards and injury prevention;
4) Correct food preparation, serving, and storage techniques if employee prepares food. See Food Safety, STANDARD 4.042 through STANDARD 4.060;
5) Knowledge of when to exclude children due to illness and the means of illness transmission;
6) Formula preparation, if formula is handled. See Plans and Policies for Food Handling, Feeding, and Nutrition, STANDARD 8.035 and STANDARD 8.036; and Nutrition for Infants, STANDARD 4.011 through STANDARD 4.021;
7) Standard precautions and other measures to prevent exposure to blood and other body fluids, as well as program policies and procedures in the event of exposure to blood/body fluid. See Prevention of Exposure to Body Fluids, STANDARD 3.026;
n) Recognizing symptoms of illness. See Daily Health Assessment, STANDARD 3.001 and STANDARD 3.002;
o) Teaching health promotion concepts to children and parents as part of the daily care provided to children. See Health Education for Children, STANDARD 2.060 through STANDARD 2.063;
p) Child abuse detection, prevention, and reporting. See Child Abuse and Neglect, STANDARD 3.053 through
STANDARD 3.059;
q) Medication administration policies and practices;
r) Putting infants down to sleep positioned on their backs and on a firm surface to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Caregivers shall also receive continuing education each year, as specified in Continuing Education, STANDARD 1.029 through STANDARD 1.036.
RATIONALE: Upon employment, staff members should be able to perform basic sanitizing and emergency procedures. Orientation ensures that all staff members receive specific and basic training for the work they will be doing and become acquainted with their new responsibilities. Orientation programs for new employees should be specific to an individual facility since facilities and the children enrolled vary(
20).
