Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 290-2-3-.11 - Health, Safety, and Discipline
Current through Rules and Regulations filed through April 4, 2022
(1) Health.
(a) Children, Parents, Staff, or any other
persons being supervised by the Staff, shall not be allowed in the Home who
knowingly have or present symptoms of a contagious communicable disease (such
as fever, coughing, fatigue, muscle aches, diarrhea, etc.) or any virus or
illness (such as COVID-19, etc.) identified during a public health
emergency.
(b) Parents of any Child
who becomes ill or is injured while in care shall be notified immediately of
any illness or injury requiring professional medical attention, or any illness
which may not require professional medical attention but which produces
symptoms causing moderate discomfort to the Child, such as, but not limited to,
any of the following: elevated temperature, vomiting or diarrhea.
(c) The Home shall obtain emergency medical
services when required by a child's condition.
(d) Except for first aid and as authorized
under Georgia law, personnel shall not dispense prescription or nonprescription
medications to a Child without specific written authorization from the Child's
physician or Parent. All medications shall be stored as authorized under
Georgia law or in accordance with the prescription or label instructions and
kept in places that are inaccessible to children. Each dose of medication given
to a Child shall be documented showing the Child's name, name of medication,
date and time given, and the name of the person giving the
medication.
(e) The Home and any
vehicle used by the Home for transportation of Children shall have a first aid
kit which shall at least contain: scissors, tweezers, gauze pads, thermometer,
adhesive tape, band-aids, insect-sting preparation, antiseptic cleaning
solution, antibacterial ointment, bandages, disposable rubber gloves,
protective eyewear, facemask, and cold pack. The first aid kit, together with a
first aid instruction manual which must be kept with the kit at all times,
shall be stored in a central location so that it is not accessible to Children
but is easily accessible to the Provider and Staff. The Home must also maintain
written directions for the use of universal precautions for handling blood and
bodily fluids. The directions on the use of universal precautions must be kept
with the first aid kit at all times.
(f) Diapers shall be changed in the Child's
own crib or on a nonporous surface which is cleaned with a disinfectant and
dried with a single use disposable towel after each diaper change.
(g) Soiled diapers and linens shall be
disposed of in a closed container.
(h) If used, toilet potty chairs shall after
each use be emptied by disposal in a flush toilet, cleaned with a disinfectant,
and stored in the bathroom. If a sink is used, it shall be disinfected after
each use.
(i) Personnel shall wash
their hands with liquid soap and warm running water: immediately before and
after each diaper change; immediately upon the first Child's arrival in the
Home for care and upon re-entering the Home after outside play; before and
after dispensing oral medications and applying topical medications, ointments,
creams or lotions, handling and preparing food, eating, drinking, preparing
bottles, feeding or assisting children with eating and drinking; after
toileting or helping children with toileting, using tobacco products, handling
garbage and organic waste, touching animals or pets, handling bodily fluids
such as, but not limited to, mucus, saliva, vomit or blood and after
contamination by any other means.
(j) Children's hands shall be washed with
liquid soap and warm running water: immediately upon arrival for the day and
re-entering the child care area after outside play; before and after eating
meals and snacks, handling or touching food, and playing in water; after
toileting and diapering, playing in sand, touching animals or pets, contact
with bodily fluids such as, but not limited to, mucus, saliva, vomit or blood,
and after contamination by any other means.
(k) Washcloth handwashing is permitted for
infants when the infant is too heavy to hold for handwashing or cannot stand
safely to wash hands at a sink and for children with special needs who are not
capable of washing their own hands. An individual washcloth shall be used only
once for each child before laundering.
(l) Smoking is prohibited on the premises of
a Home during the hours of operation and no smoking signs must be posted.
Smoking is also prohibited in any vehicle used to transport children during the
hours that the Home is in operation.
(m) Children shall be kept clean, dry and
comfortable.
(n) Pets in the Home
shall be vaccinated in accordance with the requirements of the local county
Boards of Health. Unconfined pets shall not be permitted in child care areas
when any Child is present except for supervised learning experiences.
(o) Pets and all other animals shall be
controlled to assure that proper sanitation of the premises is maintained and
animals are not a hazard to the children, personnel or other visitors. No
animal, such as but not limited to, pit bull dogs, ferrets, and poisonous
snakes, which may have a vicious propensity, shall be permitted on the Family
Child Care Learning Home premises at any time there are children on the
premises. Horses or other farm animals shall not be quartered on any property
over which the Provider exercises any control that is located within five
hundred (500) feet of the building in which the Family Child Care Learning Home
is located.
(2) Safety.
(a) A Home shall have a written plan for
handling emergencies, including but not limited to fire, severe weather, loss
of electrical power or water, and death, serious injury or loss of a child, a
threatening event, or natural disaster which may occur at the Home. The Home
will have in place procedures for evacuation, relocation, shelter-in-place,
lock-down, communication and reunification with families, continuity of
operations, accommodation of infants and toddlers, children with disabilities,
and children with chronic medical conditions. No Home personnel shall impede in
any way the delivery of emergency care or services to a child by licensed or
certified emergency health care professionals.
(b) An operable telephone shall be readily
available in the Home with the following telephone numbers posted in a
conspicuous place next to the telephone: a physician or hospital, an ambulance
or rescue squad service, the local fire department, the local police
department, the county health department and the regional poison control
center. In those areas of the state serviced by the 911 emergency number, 911
may be posted in lieu of the phone numbers required for ambulance, fire and
police.
(c) Documentation of drills
required by these rules shall be maintained in the Home. The Home shall conduct
drills for fire, tornado and other emergency situations. The fire drills will
be conducted monthly and tornado and other emergency situation drills will be
conducted every six months. The Home shall maintain documentation of the dates
and times of these drills for two years.
(d) Children shall not have access to hanging
cords or other hazardous objects.
(e) Clear glass doors shall be marked to
avoid accidental impact.
(f)
Poisons, medicines, cleaning agents, razors, aerosol cans and other potential
hazardous materials shall be stored out of reach of children or in locked
cabinets.
(g) Firearms shall be
stored so they are not accessible to children.
(h) At least one UL Approved smoke detector
shall be on each floor of the Home and such detectors shall be maintained in
working order. At least one 2-A:10-B:C fire extinguisher shall be kept in the
child care area to be located no more than thirty feet from the kitchen. The
extinguisher shall be maintained in working order and shall be inaccessible to
the children.
(i) Flammable
liquids, such as gasoline or kerosene, shall not be stored inside the
Home.
(j) If children are
transported in a vehicle by the Provider or a Home's employee, the driver shall
have a current driver's license.
(k) When transported in a vehicle by the
Provider or a Home's employee, children shall be restrained by either
individual seat belts or appropriate child restraints in accordance with
current state and federal laws and regulations.
(l) No child shall be left unattended in a
motor vehicle.
(m) If children are
transported, written authorization for the Child to receive emergency medical
treatment when the Parent is not available, as required by these rules, shall
be maintained in the vehicle.
(n)
If a Provider does not carry liability insurance coverage sufficient to protect
its clients, the Provider shall post that fact in a conspicuous place in the
program. Such notice shall be in at least ½ inch letters. A Provider
that fails to post may be subject to a civil fine of $1,000.00.
(3) Discipline. Disciplinary
actions used to correct a Child's behavior, guidance techniques and any
activities in which the Children participate or observe at the Home shall not
be detrimental to the physical or mental health of any child.
(a) A Provider or a Home's Provisional
Employees or Employees shall not: physically or sexually abuse a child, or
engage in or permit others to engage in sexually overt conduct in the presence
of any Child enrolled in the Home; inflict corporal/physical punishment upon a
Child; shake, jerk, pinch or handle roughly a Child; verbally abuse or
humiliate a Child which includes, but is not limited to, the use of threats,
profanity, or belittling remarks about a Child or his family; isolate a Child
in a dark room, closet, or unsupervised area; use mechanical or physical
restraints or devices to discipline Children; use medication to discipline a
Child or to control Children's behavior without written medical authorization
issued by a licensed professional and given with the Parent's written consent;
or discipline a Child by unreasonably restricting a Child from going to the
bathroom; or by punishing toileting accidents; or by force feeding a Child; or
by not feeding a Child regularly scheduled meals and/or snacks; or by forcing
or withholding naps; or by allowing children to discipline or humiliate other
Children; or by confining a Child for disciplinary purposes to a swing, high
chair, infant carrier, walker or jump seat.
Notes
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State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.