10A NCAC 09 — Child Care Rules

10A NCAC 09 .1710 parental ACCESS TO THE FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME (a) The family child care home operator shall not knowingly permit a person on the premises of a family child care home who has been convicted of a "reportable conviction" as defined in G.S. 14-208.6(4). (b) The pare…

10A NCAC 09 .1711 Supervision of children in a family child care home (a) Children shall be adequately supervised at all times in a family child care home. "Adequate supervision" shall mean that: (1) For pre-school age children, the family child care home operator shall be positi…

10A NCAC 09 .1712 WRITTEN PLAN OF CARE (a) Each family child care home operator (operator or operators) who intends to complete routine tasks while children are in care shall develop and adopt a written plan of care for completing routine tasks. For purposes of this Rule, routine…

10A NCAC 09 .1713 EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE The family child care home operator (operator) shall have a written plan that sets forth the steps to follow in the event of a child medical emergency. This plan shall give the procedures to be followed to ensure that any child who becomes…

10A NCAC 09 .1714 EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE (a) For purposes of this Rule, the Emergency Preparedness and Response in Child Care is a training developed by the North Carolina Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center for child care operators and providers on creating…

10A NCAC 09 .1715 OPERATIONAL POLICIES (a) Each operator shall have written operational policies that include at least the following information: (1) the days and hours of operation; (2) the age range of the children served; (3) admission requirements and enrollment procedures; (…

10A NCAC 09 .1716 FAILURE TO MAINTAIN REQUIREMENTS If the Division determines that a family child care home operator (operator) fails to maintain compliance with the requirements for licensure, the Division may establish a time period to allow the operator to achieve compliance o…

10A NCAC 09 .1717 RESERVED FOR FUTURE CODIFICATION

10A NCAC 09 .1718 REQUIREMENTS FOR DAILY OPERATIONS (a) The family child care home operator (operator or operators) shall provide the following on a daily basis for all children in care: (1) Developmentally appropriate equipment and materials for a variety of outdoor activities t…

10A NCAC 09 .1719 REQUIREMENTS FOR A SAFE INDOOR/OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT (a) The operator of a family child care home (operator) shall provide a physically safe and healthy indoor and outdoor environment that meets the developmental needs of children in care, including but not limite…

10A NCAC 09 .1720 MEDICATION REQUIREMENTS (a) The family child care home operator may provide care for a mildly sick infant or child older than two months who has a Fahrenheit temperature less than 101 degrees and for infants younger than two months who have a Fahrenheit temperat…

10A NCAC 09 .1721 REQUIREMENTS FOR RECORDS (a) The family child care home operator shall maintain the following health records for each enrolled child, including his or her own child(ren) who are not school-age: (1) a copy of the child's health assessment as required by G.S. 110-…

10A NCAC 09 .1722 Prohibited DISCIPLINE (a) No child shall be subjected to any form of corporal punishment by the family child care home operator, additional caregiver, substitute provider, or any other person in the home, whether or not these persons reside in the home as follow…

10A NCAC 09 .1723 TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS To assure the safety of children whenever they are transported, the operator, or any other transportation provider, shall: (1) ensure that vehicles used to transport children are free of hazards such as but not limited to, torn uphols…

10A NCAC 09 .1724 SAFE SLEEP practices (a) Each operator licensed to care for infants aged 12 months or younger shall develop, adopt, and comply with a written safe sleep policy that: (1) specifies that the operator shall place infants aged 12 months or younger on their backs for…

10A NCAC 09 .1725 SANITATION REQUIREMENTS FOR FAMILY CHILD CARE HOMES (a) To assure the health of children through proper sanitation, the family child care home operator shall: (1) collect and submit samples of water from each well used for the children's water supply for bacteri…

10A NCAC 09 .1726 PREVENTION OF SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME AND ABUSIVE HEAD TRAUMA (a) The operator of a family child care home licensed to care for children up to five years of age shall develop and adopt policies to assist staff in preventing shaken baby syndrome and abusive head tra…

10A NCAC 09 .1727 DISCIPLINE POLICY (a) The family child care home operator shall provide a written copy of and explain the operator's discipline practices to each child's parent at the time of enrollment. (b) The operator shall obtain a statement signed and dated by the parent t…

10A NCAC 09 .1728 OVERNIGHT CARE (a) A safe and comfortable bed, crib, or cot, equipped with a firm waterproof mattress at least four inches thick and a fitted sheet shall be provided for each child who remains in the home after midnight. The top of bunk beds shall be used by sch…

10A NCAC 09 .1729 ADDITIONAL CAREGIVER AND SUBSTITUTE PROVIDER QUALIFICATIONS (a) An individual who provides care for five hours or more in a week during planned absences of the family child care home operator shall: (1) be 21 years old; (2) have a high school diploma or GED; (3)…

10A NCAC 09 .1730 activities involving water (a) The requirements in this Rule apply to "aquatic activities," which are defined as activities that take place in a body of water such as swimming, swimming instruction, wading, and visits to water parks. Aquatic activities do not in…

10A NCAC 09 .1731 ADDITIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY TRAINING REQUIREMENTS History Note: Authority G.S. 110-88; 110-91(11); 143B-168.3; Temporary Adoption Eff. September 23, 2016; Temporary Adoption Expired July 14, 2017.

SECTION .1800 - STAFF/CHILD INTERACTIONS AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT 10A NCAC 09 .1801 SUPERVISION in child care centers (a) Children shall be adequately supervised at all times in child care centers. Adequate supervision shall mean that: (1) staff must be positioned in the indoor an…

10A NCAC 09 .1802 STAFF/CHILD INTERACTIONS Staff shall interact with children in positive ways by helping them feel welcome and comfortable, treating them with respect, listening to what they say, responding to them with acceptance and appreciation, and participating in activitie…

10A NCAC 09 .1803 PROHIBITED DISCIPLINE IN CHILD CARE CENTERS (a) No child shall be subjected to any form of corporal punishment by the owner, operator, director, or staff of any child care center. For purposes of this Rule, "staff" shall mean any regular or substitute caregiver,…

10A NCAC 09 .1804 DISCIPLINE POLICY FOR CHILD CARE CENTERS (a) The person who conducts the enrollment conference shall provide a written copy of and explain the center's discipline policies to each child's parents at the time of enrollment. (b) The child care center shall obtain …

SECTION .1900 - SPECIAL PROCEDURES CONCERNING ABUSE/NEGLECT IN CHILD CARE 10A NCAC 09 .1901 NOTIFICATION TO COUNTY DEPARTMENTS OF SOCIAL SERVICES History Note: Authority G.S. 110-88(5); 143B-168.3; Eff. January 1, 1986; Amended Eff. April 1, 2001; November 1, 1989; Repealed Eff. …

10A NCAC 09 .1902 RESERVED FOR FUTURE CODIFICATION

10A NCAC 09 .1903 INVESTIGATION PROCEDURES History Note: Authority G.S. 7B-301; 110-88(5); 110-105; 143B-168.3; Eff. January 1, 1986; Amended Eff. April 1, 2001; October 1, 1991; July 1, 1988; January 1, 1987; Repealed Eff. October 1, 2017.

10A NCAC 09 .1904 ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS History Note: Authority G.S. 110-88(5); 110-88(6a); 110-102.2; 110-103.1; 143B-168.3; 150B-3; 150B-23; Eff. January 1, 1986; Amended Eff. April 1, 2001; August 1, 1990; November 1, 1989; July 1, 1988; Repealed Eff. February 1, 2019.

SECTION .2000 - RULEMAKING AND CONTESTED CASE PROCEDURES 10A NCAC 09 .2001 PETITIONS FOR RULEMAKING (a) Any person wishing to request the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule made by the Child Care Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) shall make the request …

10A NCAC 09 .2002 RULEMAKING PROCEDURES (a) The rulemaking procedures for the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services codified in 10A NCAC 01A .0104 are hereby incorporated by reference including subsequent amendments and editions, with the following modification…

10A NCAC 09 .2003 DECLARATORY RULINGS (a) All requests for declaratory rulings shall be by written petition as described in Paragraph (b) of this Rule and shall be submitted to: Rulemaking Coordinator Division of Child Development and Early Education 2201 Mail Service Center Rale…

10A NCAC 09 .2004 CONTESTED CASES: DEFINITIONS The following terms shall have the following meaning for this Section: (1) "Department" means the Department of Health and Human Services; (2) "Hearing" means a contested case hearing as provided in G.S. 150B-2(2) and 150B-23; (3) "O…

10A NCAC 09 .2005 CONTESTED CASES: REQUEST FOR DETERMINATION (a) In accordance with G.S. 150B-22, any person may request a determination of his or her legal rights, privileges, or duties as they relate to laws or rules administered by the Department. (b) All petitions for hearing…

SECTION .2100 - RELIGIOUS-SPONSORED CHILD CARE CENTER REQUIREMENTS 10A NCAC 09 .2101 CENTERS OPERATING UNDER G.S. 110-106 (a) At least 30 days prior to the first day of operation of a new religious-sponsored child care center, the prospective operator shall send a "Letter of Inte…

10A NCAC 09 .2102 USE OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT (a) Corporal punishment may be used in religious-sponsored child care facilities in accordance with G.S. 110-91(10), if: (1) the religious-sponsored child care facility files a notice with the Division stating that corporal punishment …

SECTION .2200 - ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS AND CIVIL PENALTIES 10A NCAC 09 .2201 ADMINISTRATIVE actions GENERAL PROVISIONS (a) Upon a finding that a child care facility operator has violated any provision of G.S. 110, Article 7, the rules of this Chapter, or 10A NCAC 10, the Secretar…

10A NCAC 09 .2202 WRITTEN REPRIMANDS A written reprimand may be issued to an operator for any of the criteria set forth in Rule .2203 of this Section for which the Division has determined that no corrective action plan is required using the factors contained in Rule .2201(b) of t…

10A NCAC 09 .2203 WRITTEN WARNINGS A written warning, which shall include a corrective action plan, may be issued to an operator in regard to any violation including, but not limited to, these situations: (1) a substantiation of one or more violations as a result of a complaint t…

10A NCAC 09 .2204 PROVISIONAL Child Care Facility license or provisional notice of compliance A provisional child care facility license or provisional notice of compliance may be issued to an operator for any period of time not to exceed 12 months in accordance with the factors l…

10A NCAC 09 .2205 PROBATIONARY LICENSE or probationary Notice of compliance A probationary license or probationary notice of compliance may be issued to an operator for any period of time not to exceed 12 months in accordance with the factors listed in 10A NCAC 09 .2201(b) for th…

10A NCAC 09 .2206 SUSPENSION A suspension of a license or suspension of a notice of compliance may be issued to an operator in accordance with the factors listed in 10A NCAC 09 .2201(b) for a time period not to exceed one year for the following reasons: (1) the operator of the ch…

10A NCAC 09 .2207 Special provisional Child Care Facility license or special provisional notice of compliance (a) When the Division determines that child maltreatment has occurred in accordance with G.S. 110-105.3, the Division may issue a special provisional license or special p…

10A NCAC 09 .2208 CIVIL PENALTIES: SCOPE AND PURPOSE History Note: Authority G.S. 110-90(9); 110-103.1; 143B-168.3; Eff. January 1, 1986; Amended Eff. April 1, 2001; November 1, 1989; January 1, 1987; Repealed Eff. February 1, 2019.

10A NCAC 09 .2209 REVOCATION of a Child Care Facility license or an order to cease operation Revocation of a child care facility license or an order to cease operation may be issued to an operator in accordance with the factors listed in 10A NCAC 09 .2201(b) for the following rea…

10A NCAC 09 .2213 SUMMARY SUSPENSION The Division may issue a summary suspension of a child care facility license or notice of compliance to an operator if the agency finds that the public health, safety, or welfare requires emergency action. The order shall be effective on the d…

10A NCAC 09 .2214 SCHEDULE OF CIVIL PENALTIES FOR family child care HOMES Penalties may be assessed against family child care homes as defined in G.S. 110-86(3)(b) as follows: (1) A civil penalty in an amount up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) may be imposed for the following vi…

10A NCAC 09 .2215 DENIAL OF A LICENSE (a) The Secretary may deny an application for a child care facility license or the issuance of any permit to operate a child care facility under the following circumstances: (1) if the applicant owned or operated a licensed child care facilit…

10A NCAC 09 .2216 AMOUNT OF civil penalties for child care facilities (a) The amount of the penalty assessed to an operator shall be based upon the following: (1) willful or negligent noncompliance by the operator; (2) extent of deviation from the rule or law; (3) evidence of eff…