7 AAC 57.500 - Supervision of children

(a) A child care facility shall ensure that the children in its care receive responsible supervision appropriate to their age and developmental needs. A child care facility shall create a staffing plan, if applicable, and a plan for supervision of children. In its plan for supervision, a child care center shall include indoor, outdoor, and high-risk area supervision, caregiver-to-child ratios, field trips, and a description of the way in which the requirements of (b) of this section will be met.

(b) A child care facility shall ensure that children are always under supervision by a caregiver, except when providing a degree of freedom to a school-age child appropriate to the child's age and developmental level. A school-age child is permitted to participate in activities and visit friends away from the child care facility's premises as approved by the child's parents and the child care facility. The facility shall document this approval under (j) of this section.

(c) A child care center shall ensure that

(1) children are supervised at all times, including when the children are sleeping;

(2) caregivers are within the same room as and within sight or sound of children, except as permitted by (d)(2) of this section;

(3) caregivers know the whereabouts of the children in their care at all times.

(d) A child care center shall ensure that a napping room is used solely for napping during naptime. The area may be used for other purposes at other times of the day. The child care center shall ensure that when the room is used for napping, the room is

(1) staffed with at least one caregiver; in addition, the following requirements apply:

(A) the caregiver who is staffing the napping room must be able to summon help without leaving the room;

(B) other caregivers who are included in the caregiver-to-child ratio required by 7 AAC 57.505 for children in the napping room must be on the same floor as the napping room and able to access the napping room easily, if summoned to help;

(C) if all children are sleeping, the ratio requirement may be changed to twice the number of children per caregiver, based on the youngest child in the group; or

(2) monitored at least every 15 minutes by a caregiver who enters the room to check on the children; if the child care center follows this procedure instead of the procedure in (1) of this subsection, all children must be completely visible through a door or windowed partition, and the napping room must

(A) adjoin another room where staff within ratio requirements is always present and have no barrier to helping children in the napping room;

(B) be easily accessible from the adjoining room;

(C) have sufficient light to view each sleeping child from the door or windowed partition; and

(D) have one or more sound monitoring devices so that staff in the adjoining room can hear the children.

(e) A child care home or group home shall ensure that

(1) children are supervised at all times, even when the children are sleeping;

(2) caregivers are on the same floor of the facility as infants and toddlers in care and other children requiring closer supervision, unless infants and toddlers are sleeping on a different level and sound monitoring devices are used to hear sleeping children;

(3) caregivers are within sight or sound of children in care, including when the children are sleeping; and

(4) caregivers know the whereabouts of the children in care at all times.

(f) A child care facility shall maintain caregiver and child attendance records that reflect the time caregivers are present and children are in care.

(g) A caregiver in a child care facility may participate in duties other than direct care of children and be counted toward the caregiver-to-child ratios required under 7 AAC 57.505 if the caregiver remains on duty and the caregiver's primary responsibility continues to be the direct care and supervision of children. However, child care facility staff counted toward caregiver-to-child ratio requirements must be awake at all times during which they are counted unless five or fewer children, including the caregiver's own children under 18 years of age, are in care during nighttime care.

(h) A child care home and a child care group home shall designate an adult who is known by the home caregiver to be of good character, and is available to assist in case of serious illness, accident, or other emergency. If this adult assists only in emergency situations for a part of the day during the emergency, the caregiver qualifications set out in 7 AAC 57.310 and the ability to administer first aid and CPR in a child care facility do not apply to that individual.

(i) A child care facility shall prevent exposure of children to individuals, animals, and situations posing a possible danger. A child care facility may not allow a child to participate in a high-risk activity, including

(1) use of a mobile infant walker;

(2) a young child walking along a river edge; or

(3) a child of any age

(A) riding a motorized all-terrain vehicle or snowmobile;

(B) playing near any body of water or playing with propelled objects without constant supervision;

(C) boating without a personal flotation device or in dangerous water conditions; or

(D) playing on or near or jumping on any type of trampoline.

(j) A child care facility shall

(1) document permission from the parent for a school-age child to participate in activities and visit friends off premises;

(2) obtain permission from the parent for a child to participate in moderate risk activities, such as swimming, walks to the beach, or vehicle trips; and

(3) arrange for the use of appropriate safety equipment, including a well-fitting helmet for activities such as rollerblading or bicycle, skateboard, or scooter riding.

Notes

7 AAC 57.500

Eff. 6/23/2006, Register 178; am 5/15/2016, Register 218, July 2016

Authority:AS 44.29.020

AS 47.32.010

AS 47.32.030