North Dakota Administrative Code
Title 75 - Department of Human Services
Article 75-03 - Community Services
Chapter 75-03-10 - Child Care Center Early Childhood Services
Section 75-03-10-18 - Minimum sanitation and safety requirements

Universal Citation: ND Admin Code ยง 75-03-10-18

Current through Supplement No. 394, October, 2024

1. The operator shall ensure that in child care centers licensed for more than thirty children, where meals are prepared, comply with the public health division of the department child care food service establishment license requirements pursuant to North Dakota Century Code chapter 23-09. If only snacks or occasional cooking projects are prepared, an inspection by the public health division of the department is not required. The operator shall correct any code violations noted by the health inspector and shall file reports of the inspections and corrections made with the department.

2. The operator shall ensure that the child care center bathroom sinks, toilets, tables, chairs, and floors are cleaned daily.

3. The operator shall ensure that beds, cots, mats, or cribs, complete with a mattress or pad, are available and the operator shall ensure:

a. Pillows and mattresses have clean coverings.

b. Sheets and pillowcases are changed as often as necessary for cleanliness and hygiene, at least weekly.

c. If beds, cots, mats, or cribs are used by different children, sheets and pillowcases are laundered before use by other children.

d. Cots, mats, and cribs are cleaned as often as necessary for cleanliness and hygiene, at least weekly, and after each use if used by different children.

e. That cots, mats, and cribs are single occupancy.

f. Each bed, cot, or mat has sufficient blankets available.

g. That aisles between beds, cots, mats, cribs, and portable cribs are a minimum space of two feet [60.96 centimeters] and are kept free of all obstructions while beds, cots, mats, cribs, and portable cribs are occupied.

h. Provide separate storage for personal blankets or coverings.

i. That mattresses and sheets are properly fitted.

4. The operator shall ensure that the child care center's building, grounds, and equipment are located, cleaned, and maintained to protect the health and safety of children. The operator shall establish routine maintenance and cleaning procedures to protect the health of the children and the staff members.

5. Staff members and children shall wash their hands, according to recommendations by the federal centers for disease control and prevention, before preparing or serving meals, after diapering, after using toilet facilities, and after any other procedure that may involve contact with bodily fluids. Hand soap and sanitary hand-drying equipment, single-use or individually designated cloth towels, or paper towels must be available at each sink.

6. The operator shall ensure that indoor and outdoor equipment, toys, and supplies are safe, strong, nontoxic, and in good repair. The operator shall ensure that all toys and equipment are kept clean and in sanitary condition. Books and other toys are not readily cleanable must be sanitized as much as possible without damaging the integrity or educational value of the item.

7. The operator shall ensure that the child care center ground areas are free from accumulations of refuse, standing water, unprotected wells, debris, flammable material, and other health and safety hazards.

8. The operator shall ensure that the garbage stored outside is kept away from areas used by children and is kept in containers with lids. Open burning is not permitted. The operator shall keep indoor garbage in covered containers. The operator may allow paper waste to be kept in open waste containers.

9. The operator shall ensure that exterior play areas in close proximity to busy streets and other unsafe areas are contained or fenced, or have natural barriers to restrict children from those unsafe areas. Outdoor play areas must be inspected daily for hazards and necessary maintenance.

10. The operator shall ensure that potential hazards, such as noncovered electrical outlets, guns, household cleaning chemicals, uninsulated wires, medicines, and poisonous plants are not accessible to children. The operator shall keep guns and ammunition in locked storage, each separate from the other, or shall use trigger locks. The operator shall ensure other weapons and dangerous sporting equipment, such as bows and arrows, are not accessible to children.

11. The operator shall ensure that indoor floors and steps are not slippery and do not have splinters. The operator shall ensure that steps and walkways are kept free from accumulations of water, ice, snow, or debris.

12. The operator shall ensure that elevated areas, including stairs and porches, have railings and safety gates where necessary to prevent falls.

13. The operator shall take steps to keep the child care center free of insects and rodents. Chemicals for insect and rodent control may not be applied in areas accessible to children when children are present in the child care center. Insect repellant may be applied outdoors on children with written parental permission.

14. The operator shall ensure that exit doorways and pathways are not blocked.

15. If the child care center is providing care to children in wheelchairs, the operator shall ensure doors have sufficient width and construction to accommodate any children in wheelchairs who are receiving care at the child care center.

16. The operator shall ensure that light bulbs in areas used by children are properly shielded or shatterproof.

17. The operator shall ensure that combustible materials are kept away from light bulbs and other heat sources.

18. The operator shall ensure adequate heating, ventilation, humidity, and lighting for the comfort and protection of the health of the children. All heating devices must be approved by the local fire authorities. During the heating season when the child care center is occupied by children, the room temperature may not be less than sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit [18 degrees Celsius] and not more than seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit [24 degrees Celsius].

19. The operator shall ensure that all child care center buildings erected before January 1, 1970, which contain painted surfaces in a peeling, flaking, chipped, or chewed condition in any area where children may be present, have painted surfaces repainted or shall submit evidence that the paints or finishes do not contain hazardous levels of lead-bearing substances. For purposes of this chapter, "hazardous levels of lead-bearing substances" means any paint, varnish, lacquer, putty, plaster, or similar coating of structural material which contains lead or its compounds in excess of seven-tenths of one milligram per square centimeter, or in excess of five-tenths of one percent in the dried film or coating, when measured by a lead-detecting instrument approved by the department of environmental quality.

20. The operator shall ensure that personal items including combs, pacifiers, and toothbrushes are individually identified and stored in a sanitary manner.

21. Pets and animals.

a. The operator shall ensure that only small pets that are contained in an aquarium or other approved enclosed container, cats, and dogs are present in areas occupied by children. Wire cages are not approved containers. Other indoor pets and animals must be restricted by a solid barrier and must not be accessible to children. The department may restrict any pet or animal from the premises that may pose a risk to children or may approve additional pets that do not pose a health or safety risk to children.

b. The operator shall ensure that animals are maintained in good health and appropriately immunized. Pet immunizations must be documented with a current certificate from a veterinarian.

c. The operator shall ensure parents are aware of the presence of pets and animals in the child care center.

d. The operator shall notify parents immediately if a child is bitten or scratched and skin is broken.

e. A staff member responsible for caring for or teaching children shall supervise closely all contact between pets or animals and children. The staff member shall remove the pet or animal immediately if the pet or animal shows signs of distress or the child shows signs of treating the pet or animal inappropriately.

f. The operator shall ensure that pets, pet feeding dishes, cages, and litter boxes are not present in any food preparation, food storage, or serving areas. The operator shall ensure that pet and animal feeding dishes and litter boxes are not placed in areas accessible to children.

g. The operator shall ensure that indoor and outdoor areas accessible to children are free of animal excrement.

h. The operator shall ensure that the child care center is in compliance with all applicable state and local ordinances regarding the number, type, and health status of pets or animals.

22. Staff members responsible for caring for or teaching children shall strictly supervise wading pools used by the child care center and shall empty, clean, and sanitize wading pools daily.

23. All swimming pools used by children must be approved annually by the local health unit.

24. Aquatic activities:

a. The operator shall have policies that ensure the health and safety of children in care while participating in aquatic activities, including types of aquatic activities the child care center may participate in, staff-to-child ratios appropriate to the ages and swimming ability of children participating in aquatic activities, and additional safety precautions to be taken.

b. The operator may not permit any child to participate in an aquatic activity without written parental permission, which includes parent disclosure of the child's swimming ability.

25. Water supply:

a. The operator shall ensure that the child care center has a drinking supply from an approved community water system or from a source tested and approved annually by the department of environmental quality.

b. Drinking water must be easily accessible to the children and must be provided by either an angle-jet drinking fountain with mouthguard or by a running water supply with individual, single-serve drinking cups.

c. The child care center must have hot and cold running water. The water in the faucets used by children may not exceed one hundred twenty degrees Fahrenheit [49.2 degrees Celsius].

26. Toilet and sink facilities:

a. The operator shall provide toilet and sink facilities which are easily accessible to the areas used by the children and staff members.

b. Toilets must be located in rooms separated from those used for cooking, eating, and sleeping. A minimum of one flush toilet must be provided for each fifteen children, excluding those children who are not toilet trained.

c. The operator shall ensure that separate restrooms are provided for boys and girls six years of age and over, and partitions are installed to separate toilets in these restrooms.

d. The operator shall provide child-sized toilet adapters, training chairs, or potty chairs for use by children who require them. Training chairs must be emptied promptly and thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after each use.

e. The operator shall provide at least one handwashing sink per toilet room facility or diapering area.

f. The operator shall provide safe step stools to allow children to use standard-size toilets and sinks or the operator shall ensure the availability of child-size toilets and sinks.

27. The operator of a child care center not on a municipal or public water supply or wastewater disposal system shall ensure the child care center's sewage and wastewater system has been approved by the department of environmental quality.

28. Laundry:

a. If the child care center provides laundry service for common use linens, towels, or blankets, it shall have adequate space and equipment for safe and effective operation.

b. The operator shall ensure that soiled linens are placed in closed containers or hampers during storage and transportation.

c. The operator shall ensure that in all new or extensively remodeled child care centers, the handling, sorting, or washing of soiled linens or blankets takes place in a designated area that is separated by a permanent partition from food preparation, serving, and kitchen areas.

d. The operator shall ensure that in an existing child care center where physical separation of laundry and kitchen areas is impractical, procedures are developed that prohibit the washing or transportation of laundry while meals are being prepared or served.

e. The operator shall ensure that sorting of laundry is not allowed in food preparation, serving, or kitchen areas.

f. If the child care center provides laundry service for common use linens, towels, or blankets, or if different children's clothing, towels, or blankets are laundered together, the operator shall ensure that water temperature must be greater than one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit [60 degrees Celsius].

g. The operator shall ensure that if the water temperature is less than one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit [60 degrees Celsius], bleach or sanitizer is used in the laundry process during the rinse cycle or the child care center shall use a clothes dryer that reaches a temperature of at least one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit [60 degrees Celsius].

General Authority: NDCC 50-11.1-08

Law Implemented: NDCC 50-11.1-01, 50-11.1-04, 50-11.1-07, 50-11.1-08

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. North Dakota may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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