Minimum Standards for Child-Care Homes

1 1 Minimum Standards for Licensed and Registered Child-Care Homes child care Regulation Texas Health and Human Services Commission October 2021 Revised: 11/10/2021 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents .. 2 Introduction .. 5 Minimum Standards .. 5 Deficiencies .. 5 Weights .. 5 Maintaining Compliance .. 6 The 6 Technical Assistance .. 6 Investigations .. 7 Your Rights and Entitlements .. 7 For Further Information .. 8 Publication Updates .. 8 Subchapter A, Purpose, Scope, and Definitions .. 10 Division 1, Purpose .. 10 Division 2, Scope .. 10 Division 3, Definitions .. 13 Subchapter B, Administration and Communication .. 21 Division 1, Primary Caregiver Responsibilities .. 21 Division 2, Required Notifications .. 26 Division 3, Required Postings .. 32 Division 4, Operational Policies.

2 34 Subchapter C, Record 38 Division 1, Records of children .. 38 Division 2, Records of Accidents and Incidents .. 49 Division 3, Records that Must be Kept on File at the Child-Care 51 Division 4, Records on Caregivers and Household Members .. 54 Subchapter D, Personnel .. 58 Division 1, Primary Caregiver Qualifications for a Registered Child-Care Home .. 58 Division 2, Primary Caregiver Qualifications for a Licensed Child-Care Home62 Division 3, Assistant and Substitute Caregivers .. 74 Division 4, Professional Development .. 78 Division 5, Household Members, Volunteers, and People who Offer Contracted Services .. 95 Division 6, General Responsibilities for Caregivers and Household Members 98 Subchapter E, child /Caregiver Ratios and Group Sizes .. 100 Division 1, Determining child /Caregiver Ratios and Group Sizes.

3 100 Division 2, Regular Ratios and Group Sizes in the Registered Child-Care Home .. 103 Division 3, Regular Ratios and Group Sizes in the Licensed Child-Care Home .. 105 Revised: 11/10/2021 3 Division 4, Ratios for Field Trips .. 109 Division 5, Ratios for Water Activities .. 111 Subchapter F, Developmental Activities and Activity Plan .. 116 Subchapter H, Basic care Requirements for Infants .. 123 Subchapter I, Basic care Requirements for Toddlers .. 137 Subchapter J, Basic care Requirements for Pre-Kindergarten Age children .. 141 Subchapter K, Basic care Requirements for School-Age children .. 145 Subchapter L, Discipline and Guidance .. 149 Subchapter M, Naptime .. 152 Subchapter N, Field Trips .. 155 Subchapter P, Nighttime care .. 157 Subchapter Q, Nutrition and Food Service.

4 160 Subchapter R, Health Practices .. 168 Division 1, Environmental Health .. 168 Division 2, Diaper Changing .. 178 Division 3, Illness and Injury .. 181 Subchapter S, Safety Practices .. 188 Division 1, Safety Precautions .. 188 Division 2, Medication and Medical Assistance .. 192 Division 3, Animals at My Child-Care Home .. 196 Division 4, First-Aid Kits .. 199 Division 5, Release of children .. 201 Division 6, Product Safety .. 203 Subchapter T, Physical Facilities .. 205 Division 1, Indoor Space 205 Division 2, Outdoor Space Requirements .. 209 Division 3, Toilets and Sinks .. 213 Division 4, Furniture and Equipment .. 216 Subchapter U, Indoor and Outdoor Active Play Space and Equipment 219 Division 1, Minimum Safety Requirements .. 219 Division 2, Swings .. 223 Division 3, Playground Use Zones.

5 225 Division 4, Playground Surfacing .. 229 Division 5, Inflatables .. 231 Revised: 11/10/2021 4 Subchapter V, Swimming Pools, Wading/Splashing Pools, and Sprinkler 232 Subchapter W, Fire Safety and Emergency Practices .. 236 Division 1, Fire Inspection .. 236 Division 2, Emergency Preparedness .. 236 Division 3, Fire Extinguisher and Smoke Detection System .. 242 Division 4, Gas and Propane Tanks .. 245 Division 5, Heating Devices .. 246 Division 6, Carbon Monoxide Detection Systems .. 247 Subchapter X, Transportation .. 250 Appendix I: Definitions .. 258 Appendix II, Vaccine-Preventable Diseases .. 262 Revised: 11/10/20215 IntroductionMinimum Standards The Minimum Standards tell you (the child care operation permit holder) what requirements you, your employees, and your caregivers must follow.

6 These Minimum Standards : were developed by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) with theassistance of Child-Care operations, parents, stakeholders, and other experts in a variety offields; reflect what the citizens of Texas consider reasonable and Minimum ; and meet the guidelines set forth in Chapter 42 of the Texas Human Resources Code (law) forwhat must be included in the Minimum Administrative Procedure and Texas Register Act requires that proposed Minimum Standards be published for public comment before they are adopted as rules. All members of the public, including providers, are encouraged to provide input when proposed Minimum Standards are published for public comment. The commission considers recommendations from interested persons or groups in formulating the final draft, which is filed as rules with the Secretary of State.

7 Deficiencies A deficiency is any failure to comply with a Minimum standard, rule in Texas Administrative Code Chapter 745, law, specific term of the permit, or specific condition of probation or suspension. Weights The Minimum Standards and rules are weighted based on a common understanding of the risk to children presented if the standard or rule is violated. The weights are high, medium-high, medium, medium-low, and low. The assigned weights do not change based on the scope or severity of an actual deficiency. Scope and severity are assessed by child care Regulation (CCR) staff, documented, and considered in conjunction with the weight when making CCR decisions. You will see the weight is noted at the end of each standard or subsection in green. Only those Minimum Standards and rules which can be cited as a deficiency are weighted.

8 For example, the Minimum standard prohibiting physical discipline is weighed but Standards that are definitions are not weighted. Revised: 11/10/2021 6 Maintaining Compliance It is essential that you, your employees, and your caregivers recognize four critical aspects of CCR s efforts to protect the children in care and to help operation employees and caregivers comply with the law, rules, and Standards . The four aspects are: Inspection Technical assistance Investigations Caregiver s rights and entitlements The Inspection Various aspects of regulated operations are evaluated for compliance with the Minimum Standards , rules, and law during regular inspections. The emphasis on these inspections is to prevent risk to children in care . The frequency of inspections will fluctuate depending on the type of permit and the operation s history of compliance with the Minimum Standards , rules, and law.

9 During any inspection, if we find that your operation does not meet Minimum standard, rule, or law, the deficiencies are discussed with the person in charge at the time of the inspection. You will be given an opportunity to correct deficiencies within a specified period of time. If you have questions, concerns, or disagree with the citation, we encourage you to talk with us before we leave your operation. If your concerns are not resolved, you may request an administrative review. Technical Assistance We are available to offer consultation to potential applicants, applicants, and permit holders regarding how to comply with Minimum Standards , rules, and laws. While we most often provide technical assistance during inspections and investigations, technical assistance can be requested at any time.

10 The child care Regulation section of the HHSC website has a Technical Assistance Library that allows you to view or download information about a variety of topics related to child care . You can view it by going to and selecting Technical Assistance Library from the Resources section. A feature of the Minimum Standards publication is the Helpful Information boxes following certain Minimum Standards that provide additional guidance, clarification, resources, and/or best practices. Revised: 11/10/2021 7 Investigations When a report alleges a violation of Minimum Standards , rule, or law, CCR must investigate the report, notify you of the investigation, and provide a written report to you of the investigation results within prescribed time frames. When a report alleges abuse, neglect, or exploitation, the Department of Family and Protective Services must investigate the report, notify you of the investigation, and provide a written report to you of the investigation results within prescribed time frames.