Emmett Hanger child care bill signed by Gov. Northam

Gov. Ralph Northam has signed Senate Bill 539, legislation authored by Sen. Emmett Hanger that removes certain programs from the list of child day programs exempt from licensure and clarifies that such programs are not considered child day programs and therefore are not subject to licensure.

Child day programs are licensed in Virginia to ensure the safety and health of the children served in those facilities and to maintain base standards of operation. Many parents think the Commonwealth oversees all child day programs but there is a wide-array of exemptions to licensure and before this legislation there was no mechanism to know who operates as a license-exempt program. There also were no minimum safety and health standards for many exempt operations.

With the goal of giving parents information on what programs are offered and setting minimum standards for safety for all those operating as a “license exempt child day program”, Senator Hanger patroned a legislative study of the issue that had not been looked as a whole in over 20 years (SJ63 from 2016).

Knowing that, overall, children in unlicensed day programs are reported to be five times more likely to die than those in licensed programs the study was critical. In 2016, nine children died in unlicensed day programs compared to one in a licensed program. Between 2004-2016, there were a tragic 63 deaths of children in unlicensed programs compared to 28 deaths in licensed facilities.

Hanger’s bill (effective July 1, 2019) now will require the exempt day care program to 1) File “proof of exemption”with the Commissioner of Department of Social Services annually and certify that they have disclosed that information in writing to the parents; 2) they must report to the Commissioner all incidents involving serious injury or death; and 3) post in a visible location on the premises notice that the child day program is operating as a program exempt from licensure with basic health and safety requirements but has no direct oversight by the Department.

All exempt programs must also

1. Have a person trained and certified in first aid and CPR present at the child day program whenever children are present or at any other location in which children attending the child day program are present
2. Maintain daily attendance records that document the arrival and departure of all children to be used in the case of evacuation or emergency
3. Have an emergency preparedness plan in place
4. Comply with all applicable laws and regulations governing transportation of children
5. Comply with all safe sleep guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.