State child care rules get 2nd round of comments
The first overhaul in 45 years to the state’s licensing requirements for child care centers will be sent back to the public for a second round of comments.
The hundreds of pages of changes to the regulations — which have taken two years of planning, numerous public hearings, an outpouring of public response and input, and a legislative review — were approved in August by the Arkansas Early Childhood Commission and set to be submitted to two legislative committees for review before being implemented.
“We have decided to take the changes that resulted from the first public comment period and hearings back through an additional 30-day public review and comment period. This decision was made because significant changes were made to the proposed revisions as a result of the comments/ concerns received during the first public comment period,” Department of Human Services spokesman Amy Webb said in an email.
The Division of Child
Care and Early Childhood Education has scheduled a public hearing for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Main Street Mall basement, 101 E. Capital Ave. in Little Rock.
“Assuming that there were no significant changes that resulted from this second round of public review, we would then be ready to take the proposed revisions to the legislative committees for review,” Webb said.
If changes are prompted by input from the public during the second round of hearings and written comments, the revised regulations would go back before the Arkansas Early Childhood Commission one more time for approval.
One of the proposed changes — that directors hold a bachelor’s degree — elicited numerous complaints and concerns from day care owners and state legislators. Currently, a bachelor’s degree is not required if the director has at least a high school diploma or a GED certificate, along with four years of experience in a licensed child care or elementary program.
Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, took exception to the education requirements for child care center directors during a preliminary legislative review in June. Williams said the requirement could put a lot of “good day cares out of business,” especially in southern Arkansas.
Through the public hearing process, the proposal was changed to also allow for an associate degree in early childhood, child development or a related field, plus six years of experience in early childhood education. Another option is eight years of experience in early childhood education and completion within two years of employment of one of the following: a child development associate credential, birth-to-pre-kindergarten credential, director’s credential or the equivalent, or a technical certificate in early childhood education.
Individuals who have been employed as a director or site supervisor at any time before the changes are implemented will not be required to meet the new director’s qualifications. These individuals can change employers after this date and still qualify as a director.
The proposal also calls for staff-to-child ratios to be altered from current ratios of:
One staff member for every six children to one staff member for every five children from birth to 18 months old.
One staff member for every nine children to one staff member for every eight children from 18 months to 36 months old.
One staff member for every 20 children to one staff member for every 18 children who are kindergarten age and older.
Hundreds of child care providers spoke out against the initial proposal by the department to immediately implement the new ratios once the regulations go into effect. Doing so, they said, would increase rates and could even put some centers out of business.
In a compromise, the Arkansas Early Childhood Commission voted in August to extend to four years the grace period for existing child care centers to comply with the new staff-to-child ratios. Centers licensed after the new regulations are implemented must adhere immediately to the new ratio regulations.
Arkansas is one of 13 states that do not meet the staff-tochild ratios recommended by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
The proposal also includes numerous other changes, including additional playground equipment restrictions, the elimination of behavior charts, banning the use of e-cigarettes, requiring that all vehicles used to transport children include air-conditioning and heating systems, and that a copy of the center’s floor plan be filed with the local Office of Emergency Management.
It took three attempts by the governor-appointed Arkansas Early Childhood Commission before the proposed changes were unanimously approved at a special Aug. 1 teleconference. The revised regulations first went before the commission at its regular meeting July 15, but not enough members showed up to constitute a quorum.
The commission was also unable to vote at a special teleconference July 25 because there were not enough members present.
The commission requires 13 members to be present to create a quorum. There were 13 members present at the Aug. 1 telephone meeting, but four members — Glenda Ezell, Kathy Pillow-Price, Barbara Warren and Rhonda Ahrent — voted by proxy.
While the commission’s bylaws allow members to send a proxy to meetings, Arkansas Attorney General Opinion No. 90-034 says “no member of such a body can vote who is not present when the question is put to the membership.” Attorney general opinions are nonbinding.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette made a written request that the Aug. 1 vote be redone without the use of proxy votes but received no response from the Department of Human Services.
Webb said in a Sept. 29 email that “unless there are substantial changes following the public comment period, it does not have to go back to the Early Childhood Commission.”
The proposal, instead, will be scheduled for hearings before two legislative committees before being implemented.
“If everything goes well, we are anticipating that the rules will be published and in the hands of providers for enforcement by March 2015,” Webb said in an email.
The proposed changes can be viewed at http://humanservices.arkansas.gov/dccece/ pages/childcarelicensing.aspx. They can also be viewed or obtained at the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education, 700 Main St. in Little Rock, or by calling 1-800-445-3316.
Comments can also be sent by mail to DCCECE Licensing and Accreditation Unit, Attn: David Griffin, associate director: Licensing and Accreditation, P.O. Box 1437 Slot S-150, Little Rock, Ark., 72203; by telephone to (501) 682-8590; or by email to david.griffin@dhs.arkansas.gov. All comments must be received no later than 4 p.m. on Oct. 16.