Header:
NORTH DAKOTA ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
TITLE 75. DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
ARTICLE 3. COMMUNITY SERVICES
CHAPTER 11.1. SCHOOL-AGE CHILD CARE PROGRAM EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES
Date:
08/31/2009
Document:
75-03-11.1-08. Duties of school-age child care program operator.
The operator of a school-age child care program is responsible for compliance with the requirements set forth in this chapter and North Dakota Century Code chapter 50-11.1. The operator:
1. Shall designate a qualified director, shall delegate appropriate duties to the director, and shall:
a. Ensure that the director is present at the school-age child care program at least sixty percent of the time that the program is open. If the operation has satellite sites, the director shall be present a combined total of sixty percent of the school-age program"s hours of operation.
b. Ensure that when the director and designated acting director are not present at the program, a person who meets the qualifications of a supervisor is on duty.
c. Ensure that the individual designated as an acting director for longer than thirty consecutive days meets the qualifications of a school-age child care program director.
d. Ensure that if the operator of the school-age child care program is also the director, that the operator meets the qualifications of a director set forth in section 75-03-11.1-08.1;
2. Shall apply for a license for the school-age child care program;
3. Shall provide an environment that is physically and socially adequate for children;
4. Shall notify the authorized agent of any major changes in the operation of, or in the ownership or governing body of the school-age child care program, including staff member changes;
5. Shall ensure that the school-age child care program carries liability insurance against bodily injury and property damage;
6. Shall formulate written policies and procedures for the operation of the school-age child care program relating to:
a. Hiring practices and personnel policies for all staff members;
b. Methods for obtaining references and employment histories of staff members;
c. Methods of conducting staff member performance evaluations;
d. Children"s activities, care, and enrollment; and
e. The responsibilities and rights of staff members and parents;
7. Shall maintain enrollment, attendance, health, and other required records;
8. Shall select an emergency designee;
9. Shall maintain necessary information to verify staff member qualifications and to ensure safe care for the children in the school-age child care program;
10. Shall inform parents of enrolled children and other interested parties about the school-age child care program's goals, policies, procedures, and content of the program, including:
a. How accidents and illnesses will be handled;
b. Methods of developmentally appropriate discipline and guidance techniques to be used; and
c. The process for reporting a complaint, a suspected licensing violation, and suspected child abuse or neglect;
11. Shall advise parents of enrolled children of the school-age child care program's service fees, operating policies and procedures, location, and the name, address, and telephone number of the operator and the director;
12. Shall provide parents of enrolled children information regarding the effective date, duration, scope, and impact of any significant changes in the school-age child care program's services;
13. Shall ensure that the school-age child care program is sufficiently staffed at all times to meet the child to staff ratios for children in attendance and that no more children than the licensed capacity are served at any one time;
14. Shall ensure that the school-age child care program has sufficient qualified staff members available to substitute for regularly assigned staff who are sick, on leave, or who are otherwise unable to be on duty;
15. Shall ensure that there are signed written agreements with the parents of each child that specify the fees to be paid, methods of payment, and policies regarding delinquency of fees;
16. Shall ensure that written policies are established which address the provision of emergency medical care, the care of a child with special needs if a child with special needs is in care, and the treatment of illness and accident;
17. Shall ensure that written policies are established concerning the care and safeguarding of personal belongings brought to the school-age child care program by a child or by another on the child's behalf;
18. Shall provide parents with unlimited access and opportunities for parents to observe their children while in care and provide parents with regular opportunities to meet with staff members responsible for caring for or teaching children before and during enrollment to discuss their children's needs. Providing unlimited access does not prohibit a school-age child care program from locking its doors when children are in care;
19. Shall provide parents, upon request, with progress reports on their children;
20. Shall ensure that provisions are made for safe arrival and departure of all children, and a system is developed to ensure that children are released only as authorized by the parent;
21. Shall develop and ensure compliance with a written policy and procedure for accountability when a normally unaccompanied child fails to arrive as expected at the program;
22. Shall develop a system to ensure the safety of children whose parents have agreed to allow them to leave the program without supervision, which must include, at a minimum:
a. Written permission from the parents allowing a child to leave the program without supervision; and
b. Consistent sign-out procedures for released children;
23. Shall report immediately, as a mandated reporter, any suspected child abuse or neglect as required by North Dakota Century Code chapter 50-25.1 and shall develop a written policy to address reporting by staff members;
24. Shall ensure that a staff member is on duty at all sites who meets current certification requirements in cardiopulmonary resuscitation by the American heart association, American red cross, or other department-approved cardiopulmonary resuscitation training program and in a department-approved first-aid program;
25. Shall meet the qualifications of the director set forth in section 75-03-11.1-08.1 if the operator of the school-age child care program is also the director;
26. Shall ensure that staff members responsible for caring for or teaching children under the age of eighteen are directly supervised by an adult staff member; and
27. Shall report to the authorized agent within twenty-four hours:
a. The death or serious accident or illness requiring hospitalization of a child while in the care of the program or attributable to care received in the program;
b. An injury to any child which occurs while the child is in the care of the program and which requires medical treatment;
c. Poisonings or errors in the administration of medication;
d. Closures or relocations of child care programs due to emergencies; and
e. Fire that occurs or explosions that occur in or on the premises of the school-age child care program.
|