[19a-79-10(e)(1-10)] · The diapering area shall be an elevated sturdy table or counter equipped with a safety rail. Infants and toddlers shall be diapered at a diapering area used only for this purpose and located in the program area. Each diapering area shall have a non-porous surface and be kept in good repair. Diapering areas shall be washed and disinfected after each use. Disposable paper sheets shall be used and discarded immediately after each diapering. A covered washable lined waste receptacle shall be available and located in a convenient place for soiled waste material. These materials shall be removed to an exterior waste storage area at least daily. Disposable diapers shall be discarded in a covered receptacle immediately after diapering. The hands of the program staff and the children shall be washed after each diaper change. Diapering and hand washing policies and procedures shall be posted in each diapering area and followed. When cloth diapers or training pants are used, a written plan for their use and care shall be developed and implemented. This plan shall include, but not be limited to, these procedures: placing soiled clothing and diapers in a sealed air tight container; removing soiled clothing and diapers from the child care center or group child care home daily; and cleaning and sanitizing the container daily.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: recordkeeping. Marked corrected in the state record.

[19a-79-3a(b)(7)(B)] · The operator shall document that parents have been informed of the techniques used to manage child behaviors in the facility prior to enrollment and reviewed as needed during the period of the child's enrollment.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: other. Marked corrected in the state record.

[19a-79-4a(b)] · The operator shall ensure that all program staff have completed a comprehensive background check before they have unsupervised access to children. The operator shall provide to the Office of Early Childhood any information obtained concerning substantiated child abuse or neglect records or criminal convictions upon request. The operator shall obtain from each prospective employee, who is eighteen years of age or older, for a position that requires the provision of care to a child or involves unsupervised access to a child, a listing of all employment held in the United States for an organization that provides care or services to children in the preceding five years. The operator shall take reasonable steps to contact each previous employer provided by the prospective employee to verify at a minimum the prospective employee’s job title, description of his/her regular duties, confirmation of employment dates, and whether such previous employer would recommend the prospective employee for rehire. This information shall be made accessible to the Office upon request. The operator shall not employ program staff, including volunteers, who have a record that the commissioner reasonably believes renders such program staff unsuitable to be employed in a child care center or group child care home.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: background checks. Marked corrected in the state record.

[19a-79-4a(d)(4)(D)] · Children shall be supervised at all times while at the facility, indoors or outdoors, or on field trips. At no time shall a child be left unsupervised.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: supervision. Marked corrected in the state record.

[19a-79-4a(i)(1-2)(H), (F)] · An education consultant shall be available to the operator and program staff for advice and support regarding the educational content and practice of the program. A person needs to apply for approval to be an education consultant. Program staff shall not serve as education consultants for programs in which they provide direct care or direct program supervision in a non-consultative role; or in a program with the same operator as a program in which they provide direct care or direct program supervision in a non-consultative role. Specific duties of the education consultant shall include, but not be limited to making, at a minimum, annual site visits to the facility, reviewing daily plans, curriculum documents, and educational policies for the developmental and age appropriate practices, observing program staff interactions, use of materials and equipment, implementation of plans and approaches to classroom management; and providing feedback on documentation review and classroom observations to the director and head teacher. A health consultant shall be available to the operator and program staff for advice regarding the health of the children and the health program. Specific duties of the health consultant shall include, but not be limited to making, at a minimum, quarterly site visits to facilities that serve children three years of age and older; or for group child care homes, facilities that operate no more than three hours per day, or facilities that enroll only school age children, semi-annual site visits. Facilities that are closed during the summer months may omit the summer quarterly visit. Site visits shall be made by the health consultant during customary business hours when the children are present at the facility. Specific duties include, but are not limited to reviewing health and immunization records of children and program staff, reviewing the contents, storage and plan for maintenance of first aid kits, observing the indoor and outdoor environments for health and safety, observing children’s general health and development, observing diaper changing and toileting areas and diaper changing, toileting and hand washing procedures, reviewing the policies, procedures and required documentation for the administration of medications, including petitions for special medication authorizations needed for programs that administer medication, assisting in the review of individual care plans for children with special health care needs or children with disabilities, as needed; and quarterly review of all injury, illness, incident and accident reports. A social service consultant shall be available to the operator and program staff for advice regarding the emotional needs, program staff support and the social service program. A registered dietitian consultant shall be available to the operator and program staff for advice regarding nutrition and food service for those programs that prepare or plan meals. A written plan for consultation services shall be developed, signed annually by the consultant and implemented. Consultative service shall include, but not be limited to an annual review of written policies, plans and procedures that relate to the services provided by the consultant, availability by telecommunication for advice regarding problems, availability, in person, of the consultant to the program, consulting with administration and program staff about specific problems, acting as a resource person to program staff and the parent(s) to include coordinating services and assisting families and program staff in identifying necessary resources, and seeking and supporting the collaboration of multiple consultants serving the program. The activities and observations required by each consultant shall be documented in a consultation log that is kept on file at the facility for two years.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: supervision. Marked corrected in the state record.

[19a-79-5a(a)(2)(A)-(E)] · The operator of a child care center or group child care home is responsible for maintaining on the licensed premises a current record for each child enrolled. A copy of the record shall be available and provided upon request to the Office of Early Childhood, the child's parent(s) and the local health director. It shall include a health record that shall include date of birth, a signed physical examination form including the child's date of birth, a statement about the child's general health and the presence of any known medical or emotional illness or disorder that would currently pose a risk to other children or which would currently affect this child’s functional ability to participate safely in a child care setting.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: health medication. Marked corrected in the state record.

[19a-79-5a(a)(2)(E)] · An individual plan of care for any child with special health care needs or disabilities when it is necessary that special care be taken or provided while a child is in attendance shall be developed and implemented with the child's parent(s) and health care provider and updated, as necessary. The plan shall include appropriate care of the child to prevent and respond to a medical or other emergency and shall be signed by the parent and program staff responsible for the care of the child.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: health medication. Marked corrected in the state record.

[19a-79-7a(c)(2)] · For programs serving children younger than school age, the building, equipment and furnishings shall be maintained in a good state of repair. A maintenance program shall be established that ensures that the interior, exterior and grounds of the building are maintained, kept clean and orderly, free from accumulations of refuse, dampness, stagnant water, dilapidated structures and other health and safety hazards.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: physical safety. Marked corrected in the state record.

[19a-79-7a(c)(5)(A-C)] · Water supply, food service and sewage disposal facilities shall be adequate, safe and in compliance with all applicable sections of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. Water from at least one drinking fountain or drinking, beverage and food preparation sink, and from two such sources if the facility has more than one, shall be tested every two years for lead content. The water sample shall have been standing in plumbing pipes at least six hours and the results shall be submitted to the local director of health and kept on file at the facility. New child care facilities shall submit lead test results from each drinking, beverage and food preparation sink to the Office with the facility’s initial application. Whenever water is obtained from other than a public water system that is regulated by the Connecticut Department of Public Health, it shall be of a safe and sanitary quality and tested every two years for bacterial and chemical quality and the results submitted to the local director of health. The water analysis shall include tests for bacteria, physical parameters (color, odor, turbidity, pH), and sanitary chemicals (nitrogen series, chloride, hardness, iron, manganese and sodium). Additional tests may be required as deemed necessary by the Office. Drinking water shall be available and accessible to children at all times including at all meals and snacks.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: ratio. Marked corrected in the state record.

[19a-79-7a(d)(10)(A-H)] · Where toilets and sinks are shared by children and adults, a written policy shall be developed and implemented that requires supervision of children when using the shared toilet room. Programs shall provide changing and sanitary facilities appropriate to meet the individual needs of children who are enrolled at the facility who need assistance with toileting or who are not independent with toileting. Facilities using potty chairs in addition to the required toilets shall ensure that they are of a nonporous, synthetic product, and emptied into the toilet, cleaned and disinfected after each individual use. For programs serving children under five years of age there shall be at least one toilet and one sink with hot and cold running water for every sixteen children, or fraction thereof. For programs serving only school age children, there shall be at least one toilet and one sink with running water for every twenty-five children, or fraction thereof. Toilet facilities shall be designed in such a manner to allow individual privacy. Sinks with running water shall be readily accessible to the toilet rooms if not located within them. Toilet tissue, soap, a mechanism for individual hand drying and a waste receptacle shall be accessible to the toilets and sinks. Staff, program staff, and children shall wash their hands with soap and water after toileting. Each toilet and sink shall be located at the facility or licensed premises, as applicable, of the child care center or group child care home. Each toilet room shall be well lighted and ventilated to the outside atmosphere. In child care centers constructed or renovated after January 1, 1994, all toilet facilities shall be mechanically ventilated to the outside atmosphere.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: supervision. Marked corrected in the state record.

[19a-79-7a(h)(1-9)] · There shall be access to a minimum of seventy-five (75) square feet per child of outdoor space for the number of children using the space at any one time. The outdoor area shall be fenced or protected for safety. Outdoor play equipment shall have a shock absorbing surface, under and around, that shall effectively cushion the fall of a child, except where the child is sitting or standing at ground level. The shock absorbing surface shall be maintained at a depth of at least eight inches, be free of water and not allowed to become compacted. Acceptable shock absorbing surfaces may include mulch, sand, and wood chips. Synthetic material that is less than eight inches in depth, including but not limited to, rubber mats or tiles may be acceptable surfaces provided the operator maintains documentation on the licensed premises that the synthetic material is manufactured for this purpose, installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications and sufficient to cushion the fall of a child. Concrete, asphalt, grass and dirt shall not be considered a shock absorbing surface. The playground shall be free of glass, debris, holes and other hazards. Nuts, bolts and screws shall be tight; and those that protrude shall be covered or protected. Outside equipment shall be anchored for stability when recommended by the manufacturer. Anchors shall be buried below ground level. The operator shall provide documentation to the Office, upon request, by a certified playground safety inspector that newly constructed playgrounds and all newly installed playground equipment that are set in position and anchored in such a way to last indefinitely are designed and installed in accordance with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Society for Testing and Materials Standards. Drinking water shall be available and accessible to children. Outdoor equipment shall be arranged in such a way as to avoid accidents. All play equipment, fences, and structures shall not pose a hazard.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: physical safety. Marked corrected in the state record.

[19a-79-9a(b)(3)(A-B)] · Except for nonprescription topical medications, no medication shall be administered to a child without the written order of an authorized prescriber and the written permission of the child's parent(s) which shall be on file at the facility. Individual written medication administration records for each child shall be written in ink, reviewed prior to administering each dose of medication and kept on file at the facility for at least three years after the child is no longer attending the program.

Corrected Corrected by Aug 6, 2025

Category: ratio. Marked corrected in the state record.