10.3.2.1: Child Care Licensing Advisory Board

States should have an official child care licensing advisory body for regulatory and related policy issues. A child care advisory board should:

1. Review proposed rules and regulations prior to adoption;
2. Recommend administrative policy;
3. Recommend changes in legislation; and
4. Guide enforcement, if granted this authority via the legislative process.

The advisory group should include representatives from the following agencies and groups:

1. State agencies with regulatory responsibility or an interest in child care (human services, public health, fire marshal, emergency medical services, education, human resources, attorney general, safety council);
2. Organizations with a child care emphasis;
3. Operators, directors, owners, and caregivers/teachers reflecting various types of child care programs including for-profit and non-profit;
4. Professionals with expertise related to the rules; may include pediatrics, physical activity, nutrition, mental health, oral health, injury prevention, resource and referral, early childhood education, and early childhood professional development;
5. Parents/guardians who reflect the diversity of the families that are consumers of licensed child care programs.

This advisory board should be linked to the State Early Childhood Advisory Council (see Standard 10.3.2.2) as required by the Head Start Act of 2007 (1). 

RATIONALE

The advisory group should actively seek citizen participation in the development of child care policy, including parents/guardians, child care administrators, and caregivers/teachers. The licensing advisory board should report directly to the agency having administrative authority over licensing.

RELATED STANDARDS

10.3.2.2 State Early Childhood Advisory Council

REFERENCES

1. U.S. Congress. 2007. Head Start Act. 42 USC 9801. http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/Head Start Program/Program Design and Management/Head Start Requirements/Head Start Act/.

10.3.2.2: State Early Childhood Advisory Council

Each state should establish a state early childhood advisory council or charge an existing commission with the responsibility for developing a early childhood plan and facilitating cooperation among government public health, human service, and education departments; institutions of higher education; early childhood professional development systems; early childhood professional organizations; as well as community-based human services agencies. Schools, employers, parents/guardians, and caregivers/teachers should also be involved to ensure that the health, safety, and child development needs of children are met by the child care services provided in the state. The council should be mandated by law, and should report to the legislature and to the governor at least annually. Larger communities should have a network of local councils to advise the state council. The state child care licensing advisory board (see Standard 10.3.2.1) should have representation on the council.

RATIONALE

Coordination among public and private sources of health, social service, and education services is essential, especially when young children are in care. Some states have separate groups that advise the health agency, the social service agency, the education agency, the licensing agency, the governor, and the legislature (1). Other states have some, but not all, of these advisory bodies; each of which has some relevance to child care, but often with a different focus. National initiatives such as the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) Initiative and the Healthy Child Care America (HCCA) program have done much to encourage effective collaboration among agencies and organizations with the ability to impact child care within states (2).

Time limited task forces could be created for specific purposes, but there is a need for one standing council that addresses early childhood as its primary responsibility. Mandating the council by law will reduce the likelihood that the council will be rendered ineffective by changes in political leadership or dissolved when its recommendations are not in agreement with a current administration.

Large municipalities with a similarly diverse group of agencies, authorities, and public and private resources should also have a council to coordinate early childhood activity. Participation of parent/guardian representatives in planning and implementing early childhood initiatives at the state and local levels promotes effective partnerships between parents/guardians and caregivers/teachers (1).

RELATED STANDARDS

10.3.2.1 Child Care Licensing Advisory Board

REFERENCES

1. U.S. Congress. 2007. Head Start Act. 42 USC 9801. http://eclkc
   .ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/Head Start Program/Program Design and Management/Head Start Requirements/Head Start Act/.
2. Healthy Child Care America (HCCA). 2010. About us. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.healthychildcare.org/about.html.

10.3.2.3: Collaborative Development of Child Care Requirements and Guidelines for Children Who Are Ill

Local and state health departments, child care licensing agencies, education and health professionals, attorneys, caregivers/teachers, parents/guardians, and representatives of the business community, including employers, should work together to develop child care licensing requirements and guidelines for children who are ill.

RATIONALE

Local and state health departments have the legal responsibility to control infectious diseases in their jurisdictions (1). To meet this responsibility, health departments generally have the expertise to provide leadership and technical assistance to licensing authorities, caregivers/teachers, parents/guardians, and health professionals in the development of licensing requirements and guidelines for the management of children who are ill. The heavy reliance on the expertise of local and state health departments in the establishment of facilities to care for children who are ill has fostered a partnership in many states among health departments, licensing authorities, caregivers/teachers, and parents/guardians for the adequate care of children who are ill in child care settings. Early care and education professionals can provide the information required to ensure child care settings support children’s social-emotional, language and cognitive development. In addition, the business community has a vested interest in assuring that parents/guardians have facilities that provide quality care for children who are ill so parents/guardians can be productive in the workplace. This vested interest is likely to produce meaningful contributions from the business community to creative solutions and innovative ideas about how to approach the regulation of facilities for children who are ill. All stakeholders in the care of children who are ill should be involved for the solutions that are developed in regulations to be most successful.

RELATED STANDARDS

3.6.2.1 Exclusion and Alternative Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.2 Space Requirements for Care of Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.3 Qualifications of Directors of Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.4 Program Requirements for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.5 Caregiver/Teacher Qualifications for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.6 Child-Staff Ratios for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.7 Child Care Health Consultants for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.8 Licensing of Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.9 Information Required for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.10 Inclusion and Exclusion of Children from Facilities That Serve Children Who Are Ill

REFERENCES

1. Grad, F. P. 2004. The public health law manual. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.

10.3.2.4: Public-Private Collaboration on Care of Children Who Are Ill

State and regional agencies should collaborate with employers to facilitate arrangements for the care of children who are ill in the following settings:

1. The child’s own home, under the supervision of an adult known to the parents/guardians and the child;
2. A separate area in the child’s own facility or in a specialized center, where both the caregiver/teacher and the facility are familiar to the child;
3. A child’s own small family child care home;
4. A space within the small family child care home network’s central place that serves children from participating small family child care homes, where both the caregiver and the facility are familiar to the child.

RATIONALE

The most appropriate care of a child who is ill is at the child’s own home by a parent/guardian. This is in the best interests of the child, family, and community. Businesses should be encouraged to allow the use of paid sick leave for this purpose. However, when parent care puts the family income or parent employment at risk, the child should receive care that is appropriate for the child. Often, when faced with the pressures of the workplace, parents/guardians take children who are ill to work, leave them in places where either or both the caregiver/teacher and place are unfamiliar, or leave them alone. Under the stress of illness, children need familiar caregivers/teachers and familiar places where their illnesses and their emotional needs can be managed competently.

RELATED STANDARDS

3.6.2.1 Exclusion and Alternative Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.2 Space Requirements for Care of Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.3 Qualifications of Directors of Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.4 Program Requirements for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.5 Caregiver/Teacher Qualifications for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.6 Child-Staff Ratios for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.7 Child Care Health Consultants for Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.8 Licensing of Facilities That Care for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.9 Information Required for Children Who Are Ill
3.6.2.10 Inclusion and Exclusion of Children from Facilities That Serve Children Who Are Ill