|
the care and welfare of children
served. All child day care |
center licensees and employees who are required
to
report |
child abuse or neglect under the Abused and Neglected Child |
Reporting
Act shall be required to attend training on |
recognizing child abuse and
neglect, as prescribed by |
Department rules;
|
(3) The general financial ability and competence of the |
applicant to
provide necessary care for children and to |
maintain prescribed standards;
|
(4) The number of individuals or staff required to |
insure adequate
supervision and care of the children |
received. The standards shall provide
that each child care |
institution, maternity center, day care center,
group |
home, day care home, and group day care home shall have on |
its
premises during its hours of operation at
least one |
staff member certified in first aid, in the Heimlich |
maneuver and
in cardiopulmonary resuscitation by the |
American Red Cross or other
organization approved by rule |
of the Department. Child welfare agencies
shall not be |
subject to such a staffing requirement. The Department may
|
offer, or arrange for the offering, on a periodic basis in |
each community
in this State in cooperation with the |
American Red Cross, the American
Heart Association or other |
appropriate organization, voluntary programs to
train |
operators of foster family homes and day care homes in |
first aid and
cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
|
|
(5) The appropriateness, safety, cleanliness and |
general adequacy of the
premises, including maintenance of |
adequate fire prevention and health
standards conforming |
to State laws and municipal codes to provide for the
|
physical comfort, care and well-being of children |
received;
|
(6) Provisions for food, clothing, educational |
opportunities, program,
equipment and individual supplies |
to assure the healthy physical, mental
and spiritual |
development of children served;
|
(7) Provisions to safeguard the legal rights of |
children served;
|
(8) Maintenance of records pertaining to the |
admission, progress, health
and discharge of children, |
including, for day care centers and day care
homes, records |
indicating each child has been immunized as required by |
State
regulations. The Department shall require proof that |
children enrolled in
a facility have been immunized against |
Haemophilus Influenzae B (HIB);
|
(9) Filing of reports with the Department;
|
(10) Discipline of children;
|
(11) Protection and fostering of the particular
|
religious faith of the children served;
|
(12) Provisions prohibiting firearms on day care |
center premises
except in the possession of peace officers;
|
(13) Provisions prohibiting handguns on day care home |
|
premises except in
the possession of peace officers or |
other adults who must possess a handgun
as a condition of |
employment and who reside on the premises of a day care |
home;
|
(14) Provisions requiring that any firearm permitted |
on day care home
premises, except handguns in the |
possession of peace officers, shall be
kept in a |
disassembled state, without ammunition, in locked storage,
|
inaccessible to children and that ammunition permitted on |
day care home
premises shall be kept in locked storage |
separate from that of disassembled
firearms, inaccessible |
to children;
|
(15) Provisions requiring notification of parents or |
guardians enrolling
children at a day care home of the |
presence in the day care home of any
firearms and |
ammunition and of the arrangements for the separate, locked
|
storage of such firearms and ammunition.
|
(b) If, in a facility for general child care, there are |
children
diagnosed as mentally ill, mentally retarded or |
physically handicapped, who
are determined to be in need of |
special mental treatment or of nursing
care, or both mental |
treatment and nursing care, the Department shall seek
the |
advice and recommendation of the Department of Human Services,
|
the Department of Public Health, or both
Departments regarding |
the residential treatment and nursing care provided
by the |
institution.
|
|
(c) The Department shall investigate any person applying to |
be
licensed as a foster parent to determine whether there is |
any evidence of
current drug or alcohol abuse in the |
prospective foster family. The
Department shall not license a |
person as a foster parent if drug or alcohol
abuse has been |
identified in the foster family or if a reasonable suspicion
of |
such abuse exists, except that the Department may grant a |
foster parent
license to an applicant identified with an |
alcohol or drug problem if the
applicant has successfully |
participated in an alcohol or drug treatment
program, self-help |
group, or other suitable activities.
|
(d) The Department, in applying standards prescribed and |
published, as
herein provided, shall offer consultation |
through employed staff or other
qualified persons to assist |
applicants and licensees in meeting and
maintaining minimum |
requirements for a license and to help them otherwise
to |
achieve programs of excellence related to the care of children |
served.
Such consultation shall include providing information |
concerning education
and training in early childhood |
development to providers of day care home
services. The |
Department may provide or arrange for such education and
|
training for those providers who request such assistance.
|
(e) The Department shall distribute copies of licensing
|
standards to all licensees and applicants for a license. Each |
licensee or
holder of a permit shall distribute copies of the |
appropriate licensing
standards and any other information |
|
required by the Department to child
care facilities under its |
supervision. Each licensee or holder of a permit
shall maintain |
appropriate documentation of the distribution of the
|
standards. Such documentation shall be part of the records of |
the facility
and subject to inspection by authorized |
representatives of the Department.
|
(f) The Department shall prepare summaries of day care |
licensing
standards. Each licensee or holder of a permit for a |
day care facility
shall distribute a copy of the appropriate |
summary and any other
information required by the Department, |
to the legal guardian of each child
cared for in that facility |
at the time when the child is enrolled or
initially placed in |
the facility. The licensee or holder of a permit for a
day care |
facility shall secure appropriate documentation of the
|
distribution of the summary and brochure. Such documentation |
shall be a
part of the records of the facility and subject to |
inspection by an
authorized representative of the Department.
|
(g) The Department shall distribute to each licensee and
|
holder of a permit copies of the licensing or permit standards |
applicable
to such person's facility. Each licensee or holder |
of a permit shall make
available by posting at all times in a |
common or otherwise accessible area
a complete and current set |
of licensing standards in order that all
employees of the |
facility may have unrestricted access to such standards.
All |
employees of the facility shall have reviewed the standards and |
any
subsequent changes. Each licensee or holder of a permit |
|
shall maintain
appropriate documentation of the current review |
of licensing standards by
all employees. Such records shall be |
part of the records of the facility
and subject to inspection |
by authorized representatives of the Department.
|
(h) Any standards involving physical examinations, |
immunization,
or medical treatment shall include appropriate |
exemptions for children
whose parents object thereto on the |
grounds that they conflict with the
tenets and practices of a |
recognized church or religious organization, of
which the |
parent is an adherent or member, and for children who should |
not
be subjected to immunization for clinical reasons.
|
(i) The Department, in cooperation with the Department of |
Public Health, shall work to increase immunization awareness |
and participation among parents of children enrolled in day |
care centers and day care homes by publishing on the |
Department's website information about the benefits of annual |
immunization against vaccine preventable diseases, including |
influenza and pertussis for children 6 months of age to 5 years |
of age. The information for vaccine preventable diseases shall |
include the incidence and severity of the diseases, the |
availability of vaccines, and the importance of immunizing |
children and persons who frequently have close contact with |
children. The website content shall be reviewed annually in |
collaboration with the Department of Public Health to reflect |
the most current recommendations of the Advisory Committee on |
Immunization Practices (ACIP). The Department shall work with |