Header:
KANSAS ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS
AGENCY 28 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
ARTICLE 4. MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH
Date:
08/31/2009
Document:
28-4-820. General environmental requirements.
Each licensee shall ensure that all of the requirements in this regulation are met. (a) Local requirements. Each family foster home shall meet the legal requirements of the community as to zoning, fire protection, water supply, and sewage disposal.
(b) Sewage disposal. If a private sewage disposal system is used, the system shall meet the requirements specified in K.A.R. 28-4-55.
(c) Use of private water supply. If a private water system is used, the system shall meet the requirements specified in K.A.R. 28-4-50. The water supply shall be safe for human consumption. Testing of the water supply shall be completed at the time of initial licensing and annually thereafter to document the nitrate and bacteria levels. Additional testing may be required if there is a change in environmental conditions that could affect the integrity of the water supply. If children less than 12 months of age receive care in a family foster home that uses private well water, then commercially bottled drinking water shall be used for these children until a laboratory test confirms the nitrate content is not more than 10 milligrams per liter (10 mg/l) as nitrogen.
(d) Family foster home structural and furnishing requirements. The family foster home shall be constructed, arranged, and maintained to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of all occupants and shall meet the following requirements:
(1) The home shall contain sufficient furnishings and equipment to accommodate both the foster family and each child in foster care.
(2) The floors shall be covered, painted, or sealed in all living areas of the home, kept clean, and maintained in good repair.
(3) The interior finish of all ceilings, stairs, and hallways shall meet generally accepted standards of building, including safety requirements.
(4) Each closet door shall be designed to be opened from the inside and shall be readily opened by a child.
(5) Each stairway with two or more stairs and a landing shall have a handrail and be guarded on each side.
(6) If the stairs are guarded by balusters, the space between balusters shall not exceed 31/2 inches, except as specified in this paragraph. If the space between the balusters exceeds 31/2 inches, the licensee shall make provisions necessary to prevent a child's head from becoming entrapped in the balusters or a child's body from falling through the balusters or becoming entrapped in them.
(7) When a child in foster care less than three years of age is present, each stairway with two or more stairs and a landing shall be gated to prevent unsupervised access by the child. Each gate shall have a latching device that an adult can open readily in an emergency. Accordion gates shall be prohibited throughout the premises, and pressure gates shall be prohibited for use at the top of any stairway.
(8) If the family foster home is or is intended to be licensed for children in foster care under six years of age, each electrical outlet shall be covered.
(9) At least one bathroom in the family foster home shall have at least one sink, one flush toilet, and one tub or shower. All fixtures shall be working at all times.
(10) Each bathroom shall have a hinged, solid door that affords privacy to the occupant and that can opened from each side without the use of a key in case of an emergency.
(11) Each floor used as living space shall have at least two means of escape.
(A) At least one means of escape shall be an unobstructed pathway leading to an exit door to the outside.
(B) Each exit door shall require no more than two motions to open the door from the inside.
(C) The second means of escape shall give direct access to the outside and may be an unobstructed door or an unobstructed, operable window with an opening measuring at least 821 square inches, with a minimum width of 20 inches and a minimum height of 24 inches.
(D) If the second exit is a window, the window shall be within 44 inches of the floor. If the window is screened, the screen shall be readily removed from the inside.
(12) A working telephone shall be on the premises and available for use at all times. Emergency telephone numbers shall be readily accessible or be posted next to the telephone for the police, fire department, ambulance, hospital or hospitals, and poison control center. The name, address, and telephone number of the primary care physician used for each child in foster care shall be posted next to the telephone or readily accessible in case of an emergency.
(13) A smoke detector shall be centrally installed on each level of the home and in each room used for sleeping by a child in foster care and by the licensee.
(14) One operable carbon monoxide detector shall be installed according to the manufacturer's instructions in an area adjacent to each room used for sleeping by a child in foster care and by the licensee.
(e) Cleanliness. The interior of the family foster home shall be free from accumulation of visible dirt, any evidence of vermin infestation, and any objects or materials that constitute a danger to children in foster care.
(f) Lighting and ventilation.
(1) All rooms used for living space shall be lighted, vented, heated, and plumbed pursuant to K.S.A. 65-508, and amendments thereto.
(2) Each window and door used for ventilation shall be screened to minimize the entry of insects.
(3) The family foster home shall have lighting of at least 10 foot-candles in all parts of each room, within each living area of the home. There shall be lighting of at least 30 foot-candles in each area used for reading, study, or other close work.
(g) Firearms and other weapons.
(1) No child in the home shall have unsupervised access to any of the following:
(A) Firearms, ammunition, and other weapons;
(B) air-powered guns, including BB guns, pellet guns, and paint ball guns;
(C) hunting and fishing knives; and
(D) any archery and martial arts equipment.
(2) All firearms, including air-powered guns, BB guns, pellet guns, and paint ball guns, shall be stored unloaded in a locked container, closet, or cabinet. If the locked container, closet, or cabinet is constructed in whole or in part of glass or plexiglass, each firearm shall be additionally secured with a hammer lock, barrel lock, or trigger guard.
(3) Ammunition shall be kept in a separate locked storage container or locked compartment designed for that purpose.
(4) All archery equipment, hunting and fishing knives, and other weapons shall be kept in a locked storage compartment.
(5) Each key to a locked, storage container, closet, or compartment of guns, ammunition, and other weapons, and to gun locks shall be in the control of a licensee at all times.
(h) Storage of household chemicals, personal care products, tools, and sharp instruments. The following requirements shall apply when a child in foster care is in placement in the family foster home:
(1) All household cleaning supplies and all personal care products that have warning labels advising the consumer to keep those supplies and products out of reach of children or that contain alcohol shall be kept in locked storage or stored out of reach of children less than six years of age.
(2) All chemicals and household supplies with warning labels advising the consumer to keep those chemicals and supplies out of reach of children shall be kept in locked storage or stored out of reach of children less than 10 years of age.
(3) Sharp instruments shall be stored in drawers equipped with childproof devices to prevent access by children or stored out of reach of children less than six years of age.
(4) Tobacco, tobacco products, cigarette lighters, and matches shall be inaccessible to individuals less than 18 years of age.
(5) Tools shall be inaccessible to each child in foster care when the tools are not in use and shall be used by a child in foster care only with supervision by an individual 18 years of age and older.
(i) Heating appliances.
(1) Each heating appliance using combustible fuel, including a wood-burning stove or a fireplace, shall be vented to the outside.
(2) Each fireplace and each freestanding heating appliance using combustible fuel, including a wood-burning stove, shall stand on a noncombustible material according to the manufacturer's specifications, state statutes, and local ordinances.
(3) Each heating appliance designed by the manufacturer to be unvented shall be used according to the manufacturer's specifications, state statutes, and local ordinances.
(4) If a child in foster care less than three years of age is in placement in the family foster home, a protective barrier shall be provided for each fireplace and each freestanding heating appliance as necessary to protect from burns.
(5) If a propane heater is used, the heater shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, and any state statutes or local ordinances.
(6) Each flue or chimney of any heating appliance that uses combustible fuel shall be checked annually and cleaned as recommended by a qualified chimney sweep.
(j) Clothes dryers. Each clothes dryer shall be vented to the outside or to a venting device installed and used according to the manufacturer's specifications, state statutes, and local ordinances.
(k) Play space. Each family foster home shall have a space for indoor play and access to an outdoor play space.
(l) Mobile home requirements. In addition to requirements specified in this regulation, if the family foster home is a mobile home, both of the following requirements shall be met:
(1) The mobile home shall have two exits that are located at least 20 feet apart, with one exit within 35 feet of each bedroom door.
(2) Each mobile home shall be skirted with latticed or solid skirting and securely anchored by cable to the ground.
(m) Special inspections. A special inspection of the family foster home by a fire, health, sanitation, or safety official may be required by the secretary or the sponsoring child-placing agency to assist in making a decision about the safety of the home for a child in foster care.
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