10A NCAC 09 .1721 · Violation

Name of Operation: Growing Giggles Home Daycare Facility ID: 43000639 Consultant: BECKY JACKSON Operation Type: Family CC Home Case Number: Visit Date: 11/6/2025 Number Present: 3 Completed Date: 11/6/2025 Age: From 0 To 2 Total Minutes: 75 Time In: 12:45 PM Time Out: 02:00 PM Time In: Time Out: List to Use: Family CC Home Type Of Visit: Temp Time Period Announced/Unannounced: Unannounced The purpose of today's visit was to monitor your program for compliance with applicable child care requirements during the first temporary time period visit. Astri Byrd, operator assisted me with the visit. Your temporary license was issued on August 1, 2025 and will expire on February 1, 2026. Your permit allows a first shift capacity of 8 children, ages 0 to 12 years old. Restrictions on the permit include daytime care only, that the fireplace may not be used during operating hours, and no more than 5 preschool children present at any time. During this visit, we walked through the entire facility, including both the indoor and outdoor environment, and completed a full assessment of the licensed space. A variety of age-appropriate learning materials were observed in the child care areas. The outdoor play area provided additional space and materials to promote physical development and gross motor skills. Program records, including fire drills and monthly outdoor area inspections were monitored. The operator and children’s records were also reviewed. There are eight children enrolled, with three being present today. They ranged in age from an infant to two years of age. They were observed napping, playing in the child care areas, and interacting with the operator and one household member. One child was observed leaving during the visit. You stated you had served chicken nuggets, corn, applesauce, French fries, and milk for lunch. The license was posted along with the NC Summary of the Law. A first aid reference sheet was available. The daily schedule and activity plan were posted. The last fire drill was completed October 20, 2025 at 8:00am. The log reflected it took three minutes to evacuate your home. The most recent outdoor play area inspection was completed October 20, 2025. Please keep this information on file for one year. The operator completed the Emergency Preparedness and Response in Child Care Training on September 23, 2025. Therefore the first shelter-in-place or lockdown drill should be conducted before January 2026. The following violations were documented today: Violation Number Comment Rule 907 Written record of up-to-date pet vaccinations as required by NC law and local ordinances, including rabies vaccination for dogs and cats, was not available. The rabies vaccination for one dog expired on October 8, 2025. .1719(b)(1) 1821 Caregivers did not document compliance with visually checking on sleeping infants aged 12 months or younger and/or the documents were not maintained for a minimum of 30 days. The operator was not documenting that she visually checked the sleeping infant. .1724(a)(8)&(f) 1893 Application did not include all required information including, but not limited to: child's full name, named to be called, child’s date of birth, any allergies, including symptoms and the type of response required, and any fears or behavior characteristics a child has. The application forms did not list the child's hospital preference for two children. 10A NCAC 09 .1721 (a)(3)(A)(B)(C)(E) Compliance Letter All violations must be corrected immediately. Please send me a compliance letter (written statement) describing how and when the above violations were corrected. The compliance letter must be received no later than November 20, 2025. The compliance letter should be sent to me via email, from the email address on file with the Division as the center’s official email address. Contact me if you have questions regarding correction of the violations documented during today’s visit. If you are unable to correct all violations within the specified timeframe, send a compliance letter regarding violations that were corrected and a specific plan to correct the remaining violations. An extension will need to be requested from management. The information required in a compliance letter was reviewed. You should list the item number, specifically stating that the violation has been corrected, explaining when it was corrected, and how it was corrected. You should also explain that you understand the rule regarding the violation. You are also encouraged to state how you will prevent noncompliance in the future. Compliance is not considered finalized until all violations have been corrected. Therefore, if the compliance letter says an item will be corrected, it should be followed-up with another letter once it actually has been corrected. As an example, compliance verification such as “Mulch will be delivered on Tuesday” is not considered corrected until it is followed up with a letter stating something like “The mulch was delivered on Tuesday, September 5, 2024, and now measures nine inches in the full fall zone.” Please let me know if you have any questions regarding how to complete a compliance letter. If you will be unable to correct all violations within the allowed timeframe, you should request an extension. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE & CONSULTATION: The following items were discussed during today' visit. You may want to consider them in order to avoid potential violations or improve the quality of your program. We discussed infant napping at length today. I observed one infant napping in a bedroom adjacent to the kitchen and living room area. Both the living room area and the converted garage area are used for child care. I notified you that when you and the children are using the converted garage area the infant needs to sleep in that area or in an area adjacent to it. The infant cannot sleep in a bedroom on the other end of the home with closed doors between you and the infant. I reminded you that no closed doors may be between you and the infant, even when you are in the adjacent room. I also reminded you that you must check on the sleeping infant at least every 15 minutes, or more frequently if required by your safe sleep policy. These checks must be documented. I observed the logs today which reflected the time the child went down for nap and the time they woke up. I demonstrated how to complete the safe sleep checks, and explained that start when you first lay the child down. I asked that you review the information covered in the safe sleep training for more information about safe sleep practices. I also encouraged you to review all paperwork submitted by parents to ensure all blanks have been filled in and all information needed is provided. Best practice would be to review this information before the child begins care so as not to distract you from the children upon drop off on the first day. We reviewed that the overall capacity is eight, however of the eight children no more than five may be preschool age children. I noted this is reflected as a restriction and is printed on your child care license. A preschool age child is a child from birth until their first day of public or nonpublic school kindergarten. Children enrolled in NC Pre-K programs or Head Start programs are considered preschoolers even though they may attend child care programs held at public or non-public school campuses. We discussed that part time children may share a slot; however, they may not be present at the same time unless other children are absent. that you are licensed to care for a total of 8 children during first shift only. We reviewed that there is no overlap of time allowed. We discussed that you currently have eight preschool age children enrolled. You stated that you provide the parents with a monthly schedule of when their child is allowed to attend. You stated you do not allow them to attend on other days unless another child is absent, with notice provided in advance. I reviewed the time of arrival and documentation forms for the month of October. The log did not reflect that more than five children were present on any day. I also reminded you that your preschool age child must be listed on these logs. I encouraged you to use a tracking system to ensure you are not overcapacity, and that you hold parents to agreed upon attendance times. CHILD CARE RULES: You can access the NC Child Care rules from the Division of Child Development and Early Education’s website: https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov, click on the “provider” tab, then “child care rules” tab. Download a copy of the NC Child Care rules onto your computer so you have access to the rules and can reference them as needed. We discussed that emails are sent periodically for informational purposes. We also discussed that the Raise NC newsletter is sent via email every Friday. I encouraged you to ensure you are receiving the Division’s emails, and to check your spam or junk folder to ensure these emails are being properly delivered. Adding the Division’s emails to your contact list may also assist in ensuring properly delivery. Please notify me immediately of any changes to your email address. Training classes: Health & Safety (Moodle): The CCDF Health and Safety in Child Care Trainings, developed by the North Carolina Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center, are FREE and are located on the MOODLE training platform. You will need to have an NCID - the same NCID that is used to log in to WORKS and/or the CBC Portal. These modules can be found by using the "all courses" function or searching for CCDF - Health and Safety in Child Care in the search box at the bottom of the main Moodle page. This series of trainings include 10 topic areas. CPR, First Aid, and Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment must be completed within 90 days of licensure. The remaining topic areas must be completed within your first year of licensure, and every five years thereafter. I encourage you to use the Health and Safety training log to ensure all topic areas are covered. Once you complete the health and safety trainings, print your certificate and maintain on file for review. Emergency Preparedness & Response (EPR) Training: This training is required within your first year of licensure. We discussed that you obtained this training on September 23, 2025. Therefore, you will need to create an EPR plan in the Emergency Management portal before January 23, 2026, print it and have it available for review at your facility. You will need to continue to complete and document emergency drills every three months. Rated License: We discussed that you may voluntarily request to apply for a Two through Five Star Rated License at the end of the Temporary Time Period. A Three to Five Star license is required to participate in the Subsidized Child Care Program. You stated today that you did not plan to apply for a Two through Five Star Rated License and would like to have a One Star License issued at the end of the temporary time period. I reminded you that successful compliance must be maintained during the temporary time period to earn a One Star License. COMPLIANCE HISTORY: It is very important that you maintain compliance with all applicable requirements at all times since you will be building a compliance history. In order to move to a star rated license at the end of the Temporary Time Period, you must have at least a 75% compliance history. Programs whose compliance history is below 75% could be issued an administrative action including denial of a license at the end of the Temporary License period. The Importance of Providing Quality Child Care Providing quality child care is essential for children. There is ample research demonstrating that high-quality child-care experiences have many benefits to children and society and that quality child care is linked to children’s improved school performance. 1. The Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers Study and a follow-up study done several years later found that quality child care is primarily related to higher staff/child ratios, administrators’ prior experience, wages, higher staff education levels and staff members’ continued participation in formal and specialized training. This study found that children attending higher quality centers scored better in math and language skills, had more positive interactions with peers, and had fewer behavior problems. 2. The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study followed children from their preschool years through age 40 and found that high-quality preschool programs significantly increased children’s future contributions through increased intellectual and social development, school success, economic performance, and reduced commission of crimes in adulthood. One of the most quoted results of this study is that for every dollar invested in children’s early care and education there is a $17 return to society in terms of crime and education savings, increased taxes collected, and welfare savings. There are many other studies including the Abecedarian Project, the Arnett Caregiver Interaction Study, and the NC Rated License Assessment Project. What the research tells us, in a nutshell, is that high quality child care has a positive impact on children’s later school success. The key to quality experiences for children is interaction with and stimulation from educated, trained teachers. The neuroscience associated with brain research is complicated, but its lesson is simple: babies' brains develop at astonishing rates in the first few years after birth. Young children have a tremendous capacity to learn from the moment they are born, but optimal development hinges on the experiences provided for them by the adults who take care of them. Child care licensing requirements are established to ensure a safe and healthy child care environment. Therefore, it is important for you to be knowledgeable of all the licensing requirements that apply to your type of program. It is your responsibility to maintain compliance with all the applicable laws and rules at all times. The best way for you to make sure that you are meeting all requirements is to periodically review the child care law and rules. I encourage you to visit the DCDEE website and click on the “What’s New” tab to stay abreast of all updates. A follow up visit may be conducted in the near future to verify compliance with violations documented during the visit. Please contact me at (910) 824-0123 or at becky.jackson@dhhs.nc.gov if I can be of assistance. If the operator fails to correct any documented violations within the established time period, the Division of Child Development and Early Education may deny, suspend, terminate, or revoke any permit to operate (10A NCAC 09 .2000). All information in this report has been reviewed with me today.I understand that it is my responsibility to maintaincompliance with applicable NC Child Care Requirements at all times