Or. Admin. Code § 414-305-0200

Current through Register Vol. 64, No. 1, January 1, 2025

Section 414-305-0200 - Policies

(1) A certified child care center must have written policies identified in 414-305-0200(2) (a-t) and provide them to:

(a) Staff and volunteers at the time of hire and when policies change; and

(b) Parents at the time of a child's enrollment and when policies change.

(2) A certified child care center must provide the following written information to parents, staff, and volunteers:

(a) Name, business address, and business telephone number of the person(s) who has immediate responsibility for the daily operation of the center;

(b) A center description including the licensed capacity, ages and number of children in care, hours, days and months of operation, closure dates and observed holidays, and staff-to-child ratios;

(c) Arrival and departure procedures, including sign in and out requirements and individuals authorized for pick-up;

(d) Parent responsibilities for providing current required information and what parents are expected to provide;

(e) Health policies and procedures to include toileting, diaper changing and handwashing methods, support for parents feeding their infants, storage and handling of bottles and pacifiers, immunization tracking, medication administration, use of insect repellent and sunscreen, care of bed linen, care of children who are ill and exclusion criteria, and response to injuries (also see OAR 414-305-1020), Injuries);

(f) Safety measures including safe sleep practices, monitoring of sleeping infants, injury prevention, use of pesticides and other potentially toxic substances, animals, water activities, and prohibited substances;

(g) A plan to ensure that any visitor or other adult not enrolled or conditionally enrolled in the CBR does not have unsupervised access to children;

(h) Emergency preparedness plan (also see OAR 414-305-0210, Emergency Preparedness and Response);

(i) Center philosophy on how children learn and develop, and how this philosophy is implemented;

(j) Daily schedules that include planned activities, rest time, physical activity, and screen time;

(k) Center-sponsored religious and cultural activities, if any, including how holidays will be recognized;

(l) Meals, snacks, and food service practices including food storage and handling, children's dietary needs and allergies, infant feeding, and food brought from the child's home;

(m) Transportation and field trips including driver and vehicle requirements and supervision;

(n) Behavior and guidance policies;

(o) How staff must proceed if a child is displaying inappropriate behaviors that could endanger themselves or the safety of others;

(p) Communication methods and notifications, including how parent grievances, questions, or concerns are handled by the center;

(q) Prevention of and duty to report suspected child abuse and neglect;

(r) Evening and night care, if provided;

(s) How to view inspection reports, access the Department of Early Learning and Care website and center certification rules, and contact CCLD and child abuse and neglect hotline; and

(t) A statement advising parents that they can access information about child care providers on the child care safety portal.

(3) A certified child care center must have written personnel policies for staff and volunteers that include at a minimum:

(a) Position descriptions, job duties assigned, and supervision of each position; and

(b) Initial and ongoing training requirements.

(4) If a certified child care center uses volunteers, the center must provide a copy of volunteer policies to any volunteers that includes procedures for ensuring training if the volunteer counts in the staff-to-child ratio, compliance with certification rules and center procedures, and an understanding of emergency preparedness plans.

(5) As required by state and federal civil rights laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a certified child care center cannot discriminate against any child on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, marital status of parent, or because of a need for special care.

(a) Suspected violations will be reported to the overseeing agency, with whom CCLD may share any information available to it.

(b) CCLD may deny an initial or renewal application or revoke a regular or temporary certification if a certified child care center is determined to have discriminated in violation of this requirement by any authority with jurisdiction to make the determination.

(6) A certified child care center's decision whether to provide or continue care for a child known to have specific needs must be made after an individualized assessment is completed. The assessment must be based on information from parents, professionals who are knowledgeable about the child's care needs, and certified center personnel. The assessment must be documented for each child and must include:

(a) Reasonable accommodations the center made to support the individual child's participation in the program, or an explanation of why the center could not make reasonable accommodations;

(b) Reasonable modifications the center made to their policies and practices to fully integrate the child into the program or an explanation of why the center could not make reasonable modifications; and

(c) If applicable, any direct threats to the health and safety of others posed by the child's presence at the facility.

Or. Admin. Code § 414-305-0200

ELD 10-2023, adopt filed 06/28/2023, effective 1/1/2024; DELC 27-2024, minor correction filed 04/11/2024, effective 4/11/2024

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 329A.260

Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 329A.260