For a complete listing of
the summary of Changes to Iowa Code 237A and IAC 441-110 “Family and Group Child
Care Homes” please refer to the Child Development Home Registration
Guidelines By The Iowa Department of
Human Services available at your local DHS office.
The new guidelines were instituted on December 1st, 2002.
Homes
serving five or fewer children are defined as “child care homes” and are
not required to be registered.
Homes
serving six or more children are defined as “child development homes” and
must be registered to operate.
For
providers that are currently registered, the new rules will take effect
when the registration is renewed.
Three new categories of A, B and C
replace the former categories of ‘family’, ‘group ‘ and ‘group-joint’. The
new categories link the authorization to provide care for a greater number
of children to more stringent standards for provider qualifications and physical
facilities.
No
more than six preschool children present at at any one time.
Of
these six children, not more than four children who are 24 months or younger
may be in care, and of these four children, no more than three may be 18
months of age or younger.
In
addition to the six preschool children, two school-aged children may be
present for a period of less than two hours at a time.
On
days when schools are closed due to emergencies such as inclement weather
or physical plant failure, Child Development Home A providers may care for
a maximum of eight children. This excepetion does not apply on non-emergency
no-school days, such as inservice, conference or vacation days.
Provider
qualification requirements:
At least 18 years of age.
Shall
have three written references which attest to character and ability to provide
child care.
Facility
Requirements:
Fire
Extinguisher: The home shall have at least one 2A 10BC rated fire extinguisher
located in a visible and readily accessible place on each child-occupied
floor.
The
home shall have at least one single-station, battery-operated, UL-approved
smoke detector in each child-occupied room and at the top of every stairway.
Providers shall test each smoke detector monthly and keep a record of testing
for inspection purposes. (Emergency
Drill Record)
No
more than six preschool children present at any one time.
Of
these six children, not more than four children who are 24 months or younger
may be in care, and of these four children, no more than three may be 18
months of age or younger.
In
addition to these six children, up to four school-aged children may be present
for a period of less than 2 hours at a time.
Whenever
more than eight children are present at any time for more than 2 hours,
the provider must be assisted by a department-approved assistant who is
at least 14 years of age.
Up
to two children may also be present who are using part-time hours. (See
part-time hours for explanation.)
On
days when schools are closed due to emergencies such as inclement weather
or physical plant failure, Child Development Home B providers may care for
a maximum of 12 children. Whenever more than eight children are present
at any time for more than 2 hours, the provider must be assisted by a department-approved
assistant who is at least 14 years of age. This excepetion does not apply
on non-emergency no-school days, such as inservice, conference or vacation
days.
Provider
qualification requirements:
At
least 20 years of age.
High
school diploma or GED.
Provider
shall meet one of the following requirements:
Have
2 years of experience as a registered or non-registered child care home
provider.
Have
a Child Development Associate credential or a two or four year college degree
in a child care related field AND one year of experience as a registered or non-registered
child care home provider.
Facility requirements:
Fire
Extinguisher: The home shall have at least one 2A 10BC rated fire extinguisher located
in a visible and readily accessible place on each child-occupied floor.
Smoke
Detectors: The home shall have at least one single-station, battery-operated, UL-approved
smoke detector in each child-occupied room and at the top of every stairway.
Providers shall test each smoke detector monthly and keep a record of testing
for inspection purposes. (Emergency
Drill Record)
Two
Exits:
The home shall have a minimum of 2 direct exits to the outside from the
main floor.
If
the second level or basement is used for child care other than the use
of a restroom, each additional child-occupied floor shall have at least
one direct exit to the outside in addition to one inside stairway.
All
exits shall terminate at grade level with permanent steps.
A
basement window may be used as an exit if it can be opened fromthe
inside without the use of tools, provides a clear opening of not less
than 20 inches in width, 24 inches in height and 5.7 square feet in area.
The bottom of the opening shall be not more than 44 inches above the floor,
with permanent steps leading up to the window.
Occupancy
above the second floor shall not be permitted for child care.
Space:
The home shall have a minimum of 35 square feet of child-use floor space
per child indoors, and a minimum of 50 square feet per child outdoors.
Sick
Children: The home shall have a separate quiet area for sick children.
Child
Development Home C providers may care for up to 12 preschool children at
any one time.
Whenever
more than eight children are present, both providers, each meeting the individual
qualifications for child development home registration as a Child Development
Home C provider, must be present.
Of
these 12 children, not more than four children who are 24 months or younger
may be in care.
Whenever
four children under the age of 18 months are in care, both providers, each
meeting the individual qualifications for child development home registration
as a Child Development Home C provider, must be present.
In
addition to these 12 children, up to two school-aged may be present for
a period of less than 2 hours at a time.
Up
to two children may also be present who are using part-time hours. (See
part-time hours for explanation.)
On
days when schools are closed due to emergencies such as inclement weather
or physical plant failure, Child Development Home B providers may care for
a maximum of 16 children. Whenever more than eight children are present
at any time for more than 2 hours, the provider must be assisted by a department-approved
assistant who is at least 14 years of age. This exception does not apply
on non-emergency no-school days, such as inservice, conference or vacation
days.
Provider
qualification requirements:
At
least 21 years of age.
High
school diploma or GED.
Provider
shall meet one of the following requirements:
Have
five years of experience as a registered or non-registered provider.
Have
a Child Development Associate credential or a two or four year college degree
in a child care related field AND four years of experience as a registered or non-registered
child care home provider.
Facility
requirements:
Fire
Extinguisher: The home shall have at least one 2A 10BC rated fire extinguisher located
in a visible and readily accessible place on each child-occupied floor.
Smoke
Detectors: The home shall have at least one single-station, battery-operated, UL-approved
smoke detector in each child-occupied room and at the top of every stairway.
Providers shall test each smoke detector monthly and keep a record of testing
for inspection purposes. (Emergency
Drill Record)
Two
Exits:
The home shall have a minimum of 2 direct exits to the outside from the
main floor.
If
the second level or basement is used for child care other than the use
of a restroom, each additional child-occupied floor shall have at least
one direct exit to the outside in addition to one inside stairway.
All
exits shall terminate at grade level with permanent steps.
A
basement window may be used as an exit if it can be opened fromthe
inside without the use of tools, provides a clear opening of not less
than 20 inches in width, 24 inches in height and 5.7 square feet in area.
The bottom of the opening shall be not more than 44 inches above the floor,
with permanent steps leading up to the window.
Occupancy
above the second floor shall not be permitted for child care.
Space:
The home shall have a minimum of 35 square feet of child-use floor space
per child indoors, and a minimum of 50 square feet per child outdoors.
Sick
Children: The home shall have a separate quiet area for sick children.
If any of your children
are being home-schooled, they must be counted in the basic number
of children, up to the age of 13. Although they are not preschoolers, they
are present and require your attention throughout the day.
Note that children must
be attending kindergarten or a higher grade level to be counted as
‘school-aged’ children. The summer before a child enters kindergarten, the
child is still counted as a preschooler. However, the child is counted as
school-aged from the first day of kindergarten on.
If you are licensed to
provider foster family care, any children receiving
foster care from you must be counted as if they are your own children. Also,
if you are a licensed foster care home, it is mandatory that you be registered
if you want to provide child care in your home, regardless of the number of
children you wish to care for.
On days when schools are closed due
to emergencies such as inclement weather or physical plant failure, a child
development home may have additional children present in accordance with the
authorization for the category of the home and subject to the following conditions:
The
child development home has prior written approval from the parent/guardian
of each child present in the home concerning the presence of additional
children in the home. These should be on file.
A
department-approved assistant, aged 14 or older, is on duty to assist as
required for the category of the home.
One or more of the
following conditions are applicable for each extra school-aged child:
The
home provides care to the child on a regular basis for periods of less than
2 hours.
If
the child was not present in the child development home, they would be unattended.
The
home regularly provides care to a sibling of the child.
The provider shall
maintain a written record including the date of the emergency school closing,
the reason for the closing, and the number of children in care on that date.
“Part
time hours” means the hours the child development homes in categories B and
C are allowed to exceed their maximum preschool and/or school age capacity.
A provider may use a total of up to 180 hours per month as part time hours.
No more than two children using part-time hours may be in the child development
home at any one time.
It is only necessary
to use part-time hours if the number of children in care exceeds the allowable
capacity. You may have up to 2 additional preschool and/or school-age children
in care at the same time who are using part-time hours.
You
can NEVER exceed the maximum number of children under 24 months of age in
care.
Currently registered home providers as of
December 1, 2002 are grandfathered into the new system. Current ‘family’ and
‘group’ child care home providers will be considered to have met the qualifications
for Category A or B child development homes. These providers may choose which
category (either A or B) they wish to register at. Current ‘group/joint’ providers
will be considered to have met the qualifications for Category C child development
homes.
Number of Children:
Children currently
in your care will be grandfathered in until they ‘age out’- therefore no children
in your program will need to be dismissed.
For
example, if the provider is providing care to 4 infants at the time of renewal,
the provider may continue to provide care to those 4 infants. However, when
the provider no longer provides care to 1 or more of the 4 infants or one
or more of the infants reaches the age of 24 months, this exception no longer
applies.
If
the provider is providing care to school aged children in excess of the number
allowable for the category at time of renewal, the provider may continue to
care for those children and may exceed the total number of children authorized
for that category by the excess number of school-aged children. This exception
is subject to the following conditions:
The
maximum number of children to this exception is 5.
Provider
must comply with the other requirements limiting the number of children
under that registration category.
If
more than 8 children are present at any one time for more than 2 hours,
the provider shall be assisted by a department-approved assistant who is
at least 14 years of age.
Apply for registration on form 470-3384
Application for Child Development Home Registration.
Record checks will
be performed and shall include completion of child abuse, sex offender, and
criminal record checks for:
Every
operator of a child development home.
All
staff members including subsitutue providers.
Anyone
14 years and older who is living in the child development home.
Anyone
who might have access to a child when the child is alone.
Providers shall renew
their registration every 24 months. When renewing registration, providers
will submit copies of certificates of training to the Department to be retained
in their registration file.
