Minimum Standards for School-Age and Before or After ...

1 Minimum Standards for School-Age and Before or After - school programs 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 .. 6 Maintaining Compliance .. 6 The Inspection .. 6 Technical Assistance .. 7 Investigations .. 7 Your Rights and Entitlements .. 8 For Further Information .. 8 Subchapter A, Purpose, Scope, and Definitions .. 9 Division 1, Purpose .. 9 Division 2, Scope .. 9 Division 3, Definitions .. 10 Subchapter B, Administration and Communication .. 18 Division 1, Permit Holder Responsibilities .. 18 Division 2, Required Notifications.

2 21 Division 3, Required Postings .. 28 Division 4, Operational Policies .. 31 Subchapter C, Record Keeping .. 35 Division 1, Records of Children .. 35 Division 2, Records of Accidents and Incidents .. 43 Division 3, Records That Must be Kept on File at the Operation .. 46 Division 4, Personnel Records .. 49 Subchapter D, Personnel .. 51 Division 1, Director .. 51 Division 2, Employees and Caregivers .. 66 Division 3, General Responsibilities for Personnel .. 70 Division 4, Professional 73 Division 5, Volunteers, Substitutes, and Persons under Contract .. 91 Subchapter E, child /Caregiver Ratios and Group Sizes .. 93 Division 1, Ratios and Group Sizes at the Operation .. 93 Division 2, Classroom Ratios and Group Sizes.

3 96 Division 3, Ratios for Field Trips .. 101 Division 4, Ratios for Nighttime care .. 102 Division 5, Ratios for Water Activities .. 103 Subchapter F, Developmental Activities and Equipment .. 106 Division 1, Activities and Activity Plans .. 106 Division 2, Physical Space and Equipment .. 113 revised : 11/10/20213 Subchapter G, Discipline and Guidance .. 114 Subchapter H, Naptime .. 118 Division 1, Naptime .. 118 Division 2, Nighttime care .. 120 Subchapter I, Field Trips .. 121 Subchapter J, Nutrition and Food Service .. 123 Subchapter K, Health Practices .. 131 Division 1, Environmental Health .. 131 Division 2, Toileting .. 140 Division 3, Illness and Injury .. 141 Subchapter L, Safety Practices.

4 147 Division 1, Safety Precautions .. 147 Division 2, Medication and Medical Assistance .. 151 Division 3, Animals at the Operation .. 155 Division 4, First-Aid Kits .. 158 Division 5, Release of Children .. 159 Subchapter M, Physical Facilities .. 161 Division 1, Indoor Space Requirements .. 161 Division 2, Outdoor Space Requirements .. 164 Division 3, Toilets and Sinks .. 169 Division 4, Telephone .. 174 Division 5, Indoor Lofts .. 175 Subchapter N, Indoor and Outdoor Active Play Space and Equipment 176 Division 1, Minimum Safety Requirements .. 176 Division 2, Swings .. 183 Division 3, Use Zones .. 184 Division 4, Surfacing .. 189 Division 5, Soft Contained Play Equipment .. 191 Division 6, Inflatables.

5 194 Subchapter O, Swimming Pools, Wading/Splashing Pools, and Sprinkler Play .. 195 Subchapter P, Fire Safety and Emergency Practices .. 199 Division 1, Fire 199 Division 2, Emergency Preparedness .. 201 Division 3, Fire Extinguishing and Smoke Detection Systems .. 207 Division 4, Gas and Propane Tanks .. 211 Division 5, Heating Devices .. 213 Division 6, Carbon Monoxide Detection Systems .. 214 revised : 11/10/20214 Subchapter Q, Transportation .. 217 Appendix I: Definitions .. 225 Appendix II, Vaccine-Preventable Diseases .. 230 revised : 11/10/2021 5 INTRODUCTION Minimum 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 the assistance of child - care operations, parents, stakeholders, and other experts in a variety of fields; 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) for what must be included in the Minimum Standards . The 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.

7 The commission considers recommendations from interested persons or groups in formulating the final draft, which is filed as rules with the Secretary of State. 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. revised : 11/10/2021 6 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.

8 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. For example, the Minimum standard prohibiting physical discipline is weighed but Standards that are definitions are not weighted. 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 .

9 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. 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.

10 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. revised : 11/10/2021 7 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. 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 .