Background:

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) has amended family child care licensing rules as a result of feedback received from the Ohio Alliance of Early Learning Advocates in November 2016 and from stakeholder meetings held on January 31, 2017 and March 17, 2017.  ODJFS has also amended rules to implement Amended Substitute Senate Bill No. 99 of the 131^st General Assembly which were previously detailed in Family Child Care Manual Procedure Letter No. 7.

The following rules and form will be effective October 29, 2017.

Amended rules:

5101:2-13-10 "Training and professional development requirements for a licensed family child care provider and child care staff members" outlines the initial and on-going training and professional development for providers, staff and substitutes.  This rule has been amended to remove paragraph (A)(3) that requires providers that are already licensed to meet the health training requirements and paragraph (C) (2) that requires child care staff members already employed to complete the one hour child abuse and neglect overview by June 30, 2017.  Substitutes employed prior to the effective date of this rule shall complete the orientation by January 1, 2018.  This rule was also amended to clarify that the training documentation only has to be given to employees if it is not stored in the Ohio Professional Registry (OPR) and to clarify language for substitute child care staff members and their training requirements.

5101:2-13-12 "Safe equipment and environment for a licensed family child care provider" outlines the requirements for safe equipment and environments in a licensed family child care home.  This rule has been amended to update the weapons language to implement the changes to Ohio's Concealed Carry law as required by Amended Substitute Senate Bill No. 99 of the 131^st General Assembly.

5101:2-13-13 "Sanitary equipment and environment for a licensed family child care provider" outlines the requirements for sanitary equipment and environments for a licensed family child care home. Appendix B to this rule has been amended to remove the 15 second requirement to wash hands, to remove the requirement that staff must wash hands when moving from one group to another or after removing disposable gloves, to add that staff must wash hands when visibly soiled and to allow the use of hand sanitizer for staff and all children over 24 months.

5101:2-13-14 "Transportation and field trip safety for a licensed family child care provider" outlines transportation and field trip requirements for a licensed family child care home.  This rule has been amended to remove language in paragraph (C)(8) that providers and child care staff members already employed had until June 30, 2017 to meet the ODJFS driver training requirement. Appendix A to this rule has also been amended to clarify that a single permission slip can apply to multiple routine trips or multiple field trips.

5101:2-13-16 "Emergency and health-related plans for a licensed family child care provider" outlines medical, dental, first aid and communicable disease procedures, incident and injuries and disaster planning for a licensed family child care home. This rule has been amended to update the revision date of the JFS 01156 "Serious Incident Reporting for Child Care."  Appendix A to this rule has been amended to remove "A guide to emergency first aid" from the list of first aid kit contents.

5101:2-13-18 "Group size and ratios for a licensed family child care provider" outlines the requirements for staff to child ratios and grouping for a licensed family child care provider.  This rule has been amended to clarify that attendance records for in and out times are only required at the program level (not group) and to allow flexibility in tracking group attendance.

5101:2-13-23 "Infant care and diaper care for a licensed family child care provider" outlines requirements regarding caring for infants for a licensed family child care provider.  This rule has been amended to remove the requirement that programs ensure that each child has a clean supply of diapers and an extra change of clothing available at all times.

5101:2-13-25 "Medication administration, food supplements and medical foods for a licensed family child care provider" outlines the requirements for administering medication and modified food diets for a licensed family child care provider.  This rule has been amended to clarify the requirements for non-prescription medication.

Revised form:

JFS 01156 "Serious Incident Reporting for Child Care" has been revised to add "Approved Child Day Camp" in the section where the type of program is identified.

Please contact the Child Care Policy Helpdesk at 1-877-302-2347, option 4, if you have any questions.