Ohio Administrative Code
Title 5101:2 - Division of Social Services
Chapter 5101:2-13 - Licensing Family Care Homes
Section 5101:2-13-11 - Indoor and outdoor space requirements for a licensed family child care provider
Universal Citation: OH Admin Code 5101:2-13-11
Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) What are the indoor space requirements for a licensed family child care home?
(1)
There shall be at least thirty-five square feet of usable wall-to-wall indoor
floor space per child for the total number of children who are present at one
time.
(2) Usable indoor floor space
shall not include bathrooms, hallways, storage rooms or other areas not
available or not used for child care.
(B) What are the outdoor space requirements for a licensed family child care home?
(1)
The home shall have an on-site outdoor space that:
(a) Provides at least sixty square feet of
usable space per child using the area at one time.
(b) Is located away from traffic or protected
from traffic by a continuous fence in good
condition with functioning gates or a continuous
natural barrier, or a combination of fence and natural
barrier. The fence or natural barrier shall
ensure that
children are not able to leave the outdoor play area unsupervised and shall
ensure
that any hazards from the outside cannot enter the outdoor play area without
the child care staff member or provider being aware of them.
Examples of natural barriers include, but are not
limited to space, dense hedges, walls, permanently anchored dividers or
partitions.
(c) Is protected
from animals.
(d) Provides access
to bathroom facilities and drinking water during play times.
(e) Provides a shaded area. The shade may be
naturally occurring from trees, building, or overhangs. Providers may also
install lawn umbrellas that are securely anchored or other structures that
provide shade in a safe manner.
(2) The home shall not use outdoor porches
above the first floor as play areas, unless the porches are fully enclosed and
structurally sound.
(3) Bodies of
water (other than water tables designed for children to play in only with their
hands) shall be separated from the play area by a fence or other physical
barrier (the house door alone is not a sufficient barrier) that prevents
children from accessing the water.
(C) What are the exemptions from having an on-site outdoor space?
If an on-site play area is not available, a provider may use an off-site play area for daily use if it is determined, upon inspection by the provider and the county agency, that the area and its accessibility are safe. An off-site play area approved for regular use shall meet the same requirements as the on-site play areas listed in this rule.
(D) What are the requirements for outdoor equipment?
(1) Outdoor equipment,
whether stationary or portable, shall be safe and designed to meet the
developmental needs of all of the age groups of children using the
space.
(2) Equipment such as, but
not limited to, climbing gyms, swings, slides shall:
(a) Be placed out of the path of the area's
main traffic pattern.
(b) Be
anchored or stable and have all parts in good working order and securely
fastened.
(c) Have all climbing
ropes anchored at both ends and not capable of looping back on themselves
creating a loop with an interior perimeter of five inches or greater.
(d) Have "S" hooks that are closed in order
to prevent the chain from slipping off of the hook and to prevent
strangulation, if they are used.
(e) Be free of rust, cracks, holes,
splinters, sharp points or edges, chipped or peeling paint, lead hazards, toxic
substances, protruding bolts or tripping hazards.
(f) Have no openings that are greater than
three and one half inches, but less than nine inches to avoid entrapment of the
head or other body parts.
(g) Have
protective barriers on platforms that are thirty inches high or higher. A
protective barrier means an enclosing device around an elevated platform that
is intended to prevent both inadvertent and deliberate attempts to pass through
the device.
(h) Be assembled,
installed and utilized according to manufacturer's guidelines.
(3) Sandboxes shall be covered
with a lid or other covering when the program is
closed.
For programs operating twenty-four hours per day, this
means sandboxes are covered during non-daylight hours.
(E) What are the requirements for a fall zone?
Outdoor play equipment designated for climbing, swinging, balancing and sliding shall have a fall zone of protective resilient material on the ground under and around the equipment.
(1) The material may be one of the following,
but not limited to, washed pea gravel, mulch, sand, wood chips, or synthetic
material such as rubber mats or tiles manufactured for this purpose.
(2) Equipment shall not be placed directly
over concrete, asphalt, blacktop, dirt, rocks, grass or any other hard
surface.
(3) Synthetic surfaces
shall follow manufacturer's guidelines for depth.
(4) All loose fill materials, such as mulch,
sand, wood chips, washed pea gravel shall be raked, as needed to retain their
proper distribution and depth. Foreign materials are to be removed
prior to use by children.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Ohio 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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