Inspections are an important part of running a licensed daycare center. What an inspection seeks to do is determine whether the facility is meeting all the requirements for licensure. The list of requirements for childcare is lengthy with much of the focus on safety.
When starting a childcare business, those requirements become your checklist of things to provide, but you can’t stop there. You must maintain your facility according to the same checklist and update your processes and facility as requirements change. An inspection is also meant to identify any noncompliance.
Licensing requirements differ from state to state but below are typical elements of most inspections. Check your state’s requirements to make sure you are covering all your bases. To prepare for your next inspection, begin with these areas and add your state-specific regulations where necessary.
Premises
For the general premises, you have several areas of concern. First and foremost, you should know the maximum occupancy for your space and maintain the appropriate children-to-adult ratio.
- Keep lighting, heating and air conditioning, construction materials and fencing in good repair and functional order.
- Childproof everything.
- Eliminate toxic or hazardous materials or store them in a locked area out of reach of children.
Remove frayed or cut power cords. You also need to ensure there are no cords located where a child (or adult, for that matter) can trip over them or pull heavy objects over. Poisonous plants and peeling paint have no place in a childcare center, and all closets must be either locked or emptied of hazardous items.
Window coverings can pose a danger to smaller children. The Window Covering Safety Council provides some basic cord-safety guidelines.
- Move furniture, beds, cribs, and level surfaces away from windows.
- Keep all cords well out of reach of children
- Adjust tasseled pull cords to the shortest length possible.
- Pull continuous-loop cords on draperies and vertical blinds taught and anchor them to the wall or floor with a tensioner.
- Properly install all cord stops and adjust them to limit inner cord movement on blinds and shades.
Place covers on electrical outlets and doorknobs, and place safety gates to limit access to unsafe areas that cannot be locked or closed off by a door.
Fire and Carbon Monoxide Safety
Your childcare center should have a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector in every room on every level of the center, even if you are only using a single level for your business. While smoke detectors should be installed on the ceiling, carbon monoxide detectors work best when placed five feet above the floor or according to the manufacturer's instructions. Also, place a smoke detector in the stairway from the basement if it opens to the main floor.
Since five feet and below are within reach of children, you should protect the CO detectors from damage and tampering. CO detectors can be installed on the ceiling, but carbon monoxide is slightly heavier than air; by the time it reaches the ceiling, children and shorter adults may already have been overcome.
- Each room where children will be should have two exits which must remain uncluttered and unblocked at all times. Check for state requirements on size and position.
- All exits, including egress windows, should open from the inside without the need for a key.
- Perform regular fire drills so every adult and child understands where to go from any location in the center if the alarm should sound.
- If your center is less than 3,000 square feet, you need two fire extinguishers; larger facilities require additional extinguishers. A sprinkler system is also desirable.
Make sure all phones are functional to call emergency services.
Health, General Safety, and Record Keeping
Develop and maintain a safety policy for your facility. Childcare management software can provide storage, version control, and easy access when needed. The same solution can be used to store immunization records, disciplinary policies, and all other required records.
Many states require anyone working with children to submit to a background check as part of the hiring process. That and other documents can also be stored in the childcare software database.
Other processes and policies to maintain include:
- Medication administration guidelines
- Sanitation and disinfecting policies
- Hand-washing, diapering, and hazardous material storage requirements
Both the kitchen and bathroom require additional care to maintain sanitary conditions and prevent injuries.
Outside Play Areas
Typically, there is a requirement that all surfaces be constructed of a soft material, not asphalt or concrete. If there is a lawn, there should be no animal feces or insects that could cause harm. Any bolt or screw on the equipment should be covered in plastic and any other hazards around the yard or garage eliminated.
Water safety and hazardous equipment are also concerns.
- Wading pools may be allowed but in general, are not recommended. Use sprinklers and other waters toys instead to lower the risk of accidental drowning.
- In-ground and above ground pools are prohibited as well as hot tubs,
- Large inflatable jumping toys and trampolines are not permitted.
When in doubt, check your state’s regulations and recommendations. Also, consider how much liability you want to shoulder anytime you are considering additional equipment.
Nutrition
One of the non-safety areas that may be audited is the nutritional content of your meal service. State and federal guidelines can quickly become complicated, but if you use childcare management software, you have access to an application that will help you plan meals with the appropriate nutritional content, save the menus, and provide a nutritional analysis for each child.
One benefit of many menu and meal tracking solutions is they can access the requirements of the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program, providing you an assurance of value and compliance to federal guidelines. If you have children who are eligible for free or reduced cost meals, the meal tracker can monitor that as well so you can generate reimbursement reports each month.
Every licensed childcare center is required to be inspected periodically to make sure it is complying with state requirements and regulations, and to remain eligible for reimbursement and agency subsidies. Most of the requirements center on safety and health.
How Can Childcare Management Software Help?
Check with your local state licensing program to make sure you are complying with all regulations. The right childcare management software can help you maintain records, store emergency information, and track meals. In each instance, you can print a report for the inspector to show your commitment to excellence.
