Rule-making#: / 14-11-13-1
Office/Division or Program: Office of Early Childhood/ Division of Early Learning and Care / Rule Author: David A. Collins / Phone: 303-866-5946
E-Mail:
(as amended 2/6/15)
STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE
Summary of the basis and purpose for the rule or rule change. (State what the rule says or does, explain why the rule or rule change is necessary and what the program hopes to accomplish through this rule. How do these rule changes align with the outcomes that we are trying to achieve, such as those measured in C-Stat?)
There are two purposes for proposing these child safety focused rule changes:
1. Infant Safe Sleep
This rule-making package seeks to reduce the risk of infant mortality related to Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome (SUIDS) in licensed child care facilities by removing environmental hazards that researchers correlate to sudden infant death syndrome and ensuring adequate training in infant safe sleep positions for infant nursery staff.
These proposed rules create uniform infant safe sleep standards for child care providers while meeting the recommendations of the Child Fatality Prevention System (CFPS) State Review Team, housed in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). CDPHE’s report offers a comparison of national standards against the Colorado Department of Human Services’ rules regulating the sleep of children in child care facilities.
The CFPS State Review Team recommended modification of child care licensing requirements regarding infant safe sleep to better align with the [American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP’s) Policy Statement: SIDS and Other Sleep Related Infant Deaths: Expansion of Recommendations for a Safe Sleeping Environment. Several rules in this package can be found in this AAP publication.]
[While AAP’s Policy Statement targets SUIDS generally, they offer recommendations specific to state licensed child care facilities in] the publication Caring for Our Children, which is the product of a collaborative that includes the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education, University of Colorado, College of Nursing, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Caring for our Children’s STANDARD 3.1.4.1: Safe Sleep Practices and SIDS/Suffocation Risk Reduction, draws a correlation between safe sleep practices and environments and prevention of infant death.
Initial Review / 01/22/2015 / Final Adoption / 02/06/2015Proposed Effective Date / 04/01/2015 / EMERGENCY Adoption / N/A
DOCUMENT 1
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[Note: “Strikethrough” indicates deletion from existing rules, “all caps” indicates addition of new rules
and brackets denote changes since initial review.]
STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE (continued)
Colorado presently requires periodic observation of sleeping infants, safe sleep training for infant nursery staff, that infants be placed on their backs to sleep, and that soft bedding that could pose a suffocation hazard no be placed in cribs. But as CDPHE reveals in its report, Colorado does not meet each of the recommendations of [AAP’s Policy Statement. The same can be said of the standards in] Caring for Our Children that are proven to reduce infant death [in general and in child care facilities specifically].
2. Disaster Preparedness
The past three years in Colorado have brought massive forest fires. The past two years have brought significant floods, some of which occurred with great intensity in former burn areas. The floods and fires have impacted a number of licensed child care providers and children in licensed care were evacuated to safety or sheltered in place on several occasions.
In 2014, the Center for Disaster and Risk Analysis at Colorado State University released their comprehensive fifty (50) year, county by county, review of risks related to natural disasters in their study Child Care and Natural Hazards, State of Colorado. This project is intended to inform child care providers in each county of the most prominent historical risks associated with natural disasters so they can tailor their evacuation and shelter plans accordingly.
Additionally, the organization Save the Children issued their 2013 National Report Card on Protecting Children in Natural Disasters, which ranked child care in all states on how well-prepared child care facilities are in the event of disasters and emergencies Of the four standards measured, Colorado met two of them: family-child reunification plan and K-12 multiple disaster plan. The two standards not met were evacuation/relocation plan and children with special needs plan.
Presently, Colorado’s child care facility regulations for child care centers, family child care homes, day treatment centers, before and after school programs, and children’s resident camps each have their own rules regulating emergency and disaster preparedness. They are not aligned as outlined in the National Report Card on Protecting Children in Disasters. While consolidating disaster preparedness rules into one section of rule for all license types, these proposed rules create uniform disaster and emergency preparedness for child care providers while meeting the recommendations and highest ranking criteria of the 2013 National Report Card on Protecting Children in Disasters. In their 2014 report, Save the Children acknowledges that these proposed rules meet all four standards.
An emergency rule-making (which waives the initial Administrative Procedure Act noticing requirements) is necessary:
to comply with state/federal law and/orto preserve public health, safety and welfare
Explain:
STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE (continued)
Authority for Rule:
State Board Authority: 26-1-107, C.R.S. (2014) - State Board to promulgate rules; 26-1-109, C.R.S. (2014) - state department rules to coordinate with federal programs; 26-1-111, C.R.S. (2014) - state department to promulgate rules for public assistance and welfare activities
Program Authority: (give federal and/or state citations and a summary of the language authorizing the rule-making)
26-6-106, C.R.S. (2014) - Department to promulgate rules for child care facilities and agencies, including safety of children served.
Yes / X / NoYes / X / No
Does the rule incorporate material by reference?
Does this rule repeat language found in statute?
If yes, please explain.
The program has sent this proposed rule-making package to which stakeholders?
All Child Care Centers, Family Child Care Homes, Day Treatment Centers, School-Age programs, and Children’s Residential Summer Camps, as well as the Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children, the Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado, the American Camp Association, Healthy Childcare Colorado, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Attachments:
Regulatory Analysis
Overview of Proposed Rule
Stakeholder Comment Summary
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Title of Proposed Rule: / Uniform Infant Safe Sleep, and Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Rules for Child Care ProvidersRule-making#: / 14-11-13-1
Office/Division or Program: Office of Early Childhood/ Division of Early Learning and Care / Rule Author: David A. Collins / Phone: 303-866-5946
E-Mail:
REGULATORY ANALYSIS
(complete each question; answers may take more than the space provided)
1. List of groups impacted by this rule:
Which groups of persons will benefit, bear the burdens or be adversely impacted by this rule?
Groups impacted are Child Care Centers, Family Child Care Homes, Day Treatment Centers, School-Age programs, and Children’s Resident Camps.
The workload of assuring compliance with these new rules will be folded into the work performed in a standard licensing inspection and is not anticipated to create a significant increase in workload for licensing specialist.
2. Describe the qualitative and quantitative impact:
How will this rule-making impact those groups listed above? How many people will be impacted? What are the short-term and long-term consequences of this rule?
Roughly 6,000 licensed child care providers and well over 100,000 children ages six (6) weeks to eighteen (18) years of age will be impacted by this rule-making. Providers will be more prepared to take actions that can improve the safety outcomes for children in emergency and natural disaster situations.
The groups listed as being impacted will bear the burden if they are not complying with any new regulation that is required of or does not meet the national standards. Prior to implementation of these rules, the Department will develop a free web and learning management system based training that may be counted towards annual ongoing training hours.
The short and long term consequences of this rule will be safer response to emergencies and better preparation for natural disasters. The reason that the consequences are the same in the short and long term is that with shootings, fires, floods, and tornados emerging in various seasons of the year, we can reasonably expect at least a few licensed child care providers to implement these rules in response to an emergency or natural disaster in any near or distant future.
3. Fiscal Impact:
For each of the categories listed below explain the distribution of dollars; please identify the costs, revenues, matches or any changes in the distribution of funds even if such change has a total zero effect for any entity that falls within the category. If this rule-making requires one of the categories listed below to devote resources without receiving additional funding, please explain why the rule-making is required and what consultation has occurred with those who will need to devote resources.
State Fiscal Impact (Identify all state agencies with a fiscal impact, including any Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS) change request costs required to implement this rule change)
There is no fiscal impact to the state. The rules will be added to the core indicator used by child care licensing specialists in the field to assure compliance with essential safety standards. The training will be built and implemented with existing staff trainers.
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Title of Proposed Rule: / Uniform Infant Safe Sleep, and Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Rules for Child Care ProvidersRule-making#: / 14-11-13-1
Office/Division or Program: Office of Early Childhood/ Division of Early Learning and Care / Rule Author: David A. Collins / Phone: 303-866-5946
E-Mail:
REGULATORY ANALYSIS (continued)
County Fiscal Impact
None
Federal Fiscal Impact
None
Other Fiscal Impact (such as providers, local governments, etc.)
While child care providers bear the burden of their staff’s time during all required training, the training itself is free. Since this training can be used annually for ongoing training hours, there is no actual increase in cost to providers as the total number of required hours remains the same.
4. Data Description:
List and explain any data, such as studies, federal announcements, or questionnaires, which were relied upon when developing this rule?
National Report Card on Protecting Children in Disasters, Child Care Licensing Rankings, Save the Children, 2013, 2012, 2011
Caring for our children: National health and safety performance standards; Guidelines for early care and education programs. 3rd edition. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics; Washington, DC: American Public Health Association
5. Alternatives to this Rule-making:
Describe any alternatives that were seriously considered. Are there any less costly or less intrusive ways to accomplish the purpose(s) of this rule? Explain why the program chose this rule-making rather than taking no action or using another alternative.
No alternative path exists that would enable the Department to improve its national ranking on protecting children in the event of a disaster. Since this initiative is cost neutral, no less expensive path is necessary. The Department is not aware of a less intrusive way to accomplish the purposes of this rule. The Department is required to ensure the safety of children in child care and is not aware of an alternative to rule-making to ensure uniform implementation of the emergency and disaster preparedness strategies.
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Title of Proposed Rule: / Uniform Infant Safe Sleep, and Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Rules for Child Care ProvidersRule-making#: / 14-11-13-1
Office/Division or Program: Office of Early Childhood/ Division of Early Learning and Care / Rule Author: David A. Collins / Phone: 303-866-5946
E-Mail:
OVERVIEW OF PROPOSED RULE
Compare and/or contrast the content of the current regulation and the proposed change.
Section Numbers / Current Regulation / Proposed Change /Stakeholder Comment
7.701.100, et seq. / None / New Section regarding emergency and disaster preparedness for Child Care Centers, Family Child Care Homes, Day Treatment Centers, School-Age Programs, and Children’s Resident Camps / _X__ / Yes / __ / No7.701.100, A / None / Creates a plan for evacuating children in care in the general rules for child care facilities / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
7.701.100, B / None / Creates a plan for reuniting families after an emergency or disaster / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
7.701.100, C / None / Creates a plan for children with disabilities and those with access and functional needs / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
7.701.100, D / None / Creates rules for fire and natural disaster drills / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
7.702.42, I / Current child care center rule on evacuation and tornado alert and communicable disease reporting / Revises rules regulating less than 24 hour child care centers to remove evacuations and tornado alerts, while keeping the portion regarding communicable disease / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
7.702.64 / Physical Care / Revises infant safe sleep rules / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
7.702.73 / Rest Time Equipment / Revises this section by incorporating infant rules into new Section 7.702.64 on safe sleep / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
7.702.93 / Current child care center rules on emergency drills / Repeals this section; much of the content to be amended and relocated to general rules / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
OVERVIEW OF PROPOSED RULE (continued)
Section Numbers / Current Regulation / Proposed Change /Stakeholder Comment
7.706.19 / Current rule on fire drills / Revises rules regulating day treatment centers to remove fire drill exercises / _X__ / Yes / __ / No7.707.6, B / Current emergency and response rules / Revises rules regulating family child care homes to remove emergency response and drill procedures / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
7.707.75 / Sleep and Waking Time / Revises the rules regarding infant safe sleep / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
7.711.76 / Current rules on evacuation, fire training, and fire drills / Revises rules regulating children’s resident camps to remove evacuation and fire procedures / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
7.712.32 / Current fire, disaster, and communicable disease rule / Revises rules regulating school-age child care centers to remove emergency fire and disaster rules, while keeping communicable disease procedure / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
7.712.74 / Emergency drills / Revises fire and safety requirements to remove emergency drills / _X__ / Yes / __ / No
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