DEL's Safe Sleep Update: Ways to Give Feedback

On Tuesday July 14, DEL released it's plan to update current licensing regulations regarding infant safe sleep practices in licensed child care settings.

At the beginning of February,  DEL filed a pre-proposal statement of inquiry requesting consideration of changes  needed to update licensing rules related to infant safe sleep practices for licensed family home child care providers and child care centers. 

DEL is able to consult the American Academy of Pediatrics as they have developed several recommendations for safe sleep guides. The latest research and best practices have identified the need for:

• additional licensee and staff training,
• changes to record-keeping documentation and violation notification requirements,
• updates to program policy handbooks and
• new rules for infant sleeping equipment and bedding.

The American Academy of Pediatrics refers parents to healthychildren.org, specifically this article, last updated in May, regarding safe sleep.

DEL is proposing rule changes to update health and safety standards related to infant safe sleep practices for licensed family home child care providers (WAC 170-296A) and child care centers (WAC 170-295). Click the previous links to see the suggested changes to the Washington Administrative Code (WAC)--the standard by which licensors monitor providers in Washington State.

Ways to Give Feedback 

Below are the methods available to the public for comment on proposed rules. 

1. Attend a Public Hearing: 

For: Licensed Family Home Child Care Providers 

When: Tuesday, August 4, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. 

Where:Department of Early Learning - State Office 1110 Jefferson Street SE Olympia, WA 98501 

For: Licensed Child Care Centers 

When: Wednesday, August 5, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. 

Where:Department of Early Learning - State Office 1110 Jefferson Street SE Olympia, WA 98501 

2. Give your input in writing by midnight Wednesday, August 5, 2015: 

Online: DEL Rules Comment Webpage 

Email: Rules@del.wa.gov Fax: 360-725-4925 

Mail: DEL Rules Coordinator PO Box 40970 Olympia, WA 98504-0970 

Only input received at the public hearings or in writing as noted above will become part of the official record. Everyone who provides input on this proposal will receive the DEL’s combined written response known as the Concise Explanatory Statement. The statement will also be posted on the DEL website and is available to anyone who asks for it by writing to the DEL.

DEL to Issue Updated Safe Sleep Guidelines

The Washington State Department of Early Learning (DEL) is in the process of updating safe sleep guidelines, policies and procedures for licensors to use when licensing child care centers and family home providers.

“We are happy to revisit our current policy and procedures regarding safe sleep, and to consistently apply the most effective guidelines possible to our licensing work,” said Mary Kay Quinlan, DEL’s Early Learning and Child Care Statewide Licensing Administrator. “We want licensed care providers, parents and the public to have access to training and to continually practice safe sleep guidelines to promote the safety of children throughout Washington.”

DEL’s website was recently updated with safe sleep training modules (in both English and Spanish), and new Washington Administrative Code (WAC) sections regarding safe sleep in child care have been drafted  and filed to reflect the most up-to-date guidelines for safe sleep. After public input, the new WAC regarding safe sleep should be approved by the end of the summer.

DEL’s training explains the importance of protecting infants during a crucial time of their development, and also allows providers, parents and the public to learn about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and what you can do to reduce the risk of SIDS with recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics, focusing on a safe sleep environment. Resources to print out are included in these training modules.

The updated guidelines will state that infant safe sleep practices must be followed when infants are napping or sleeping. In child care (either at a center or at a family home setting), staff must do the following when practicing safe sleep in accordance with the updated WAC:

• Place an infant to sleep on his or her back. If the infant has turned over while sleeping, the infant does not need to be returned to his or her back;
• Not allow blankets, stuffed toys, pillows, crib bumpers and similar items in the infant sleeping equipment, or allow a blanket to cover or drape over the sleeping equipment;
• Not cover an infant’s head and face during sleep;
• Take steps so infants do not get too warm during sleep with the infant’s arms free; and
• Not place the infant in another sleeping position other than on their back, or use a sleep positioning device unless required by a written directive or medical order from the infant’s health care provider. This directive or medical order must be in the infant’s file.

In the proposed WAC update, child care staff at a licensed facility who work with infants must complete annual safe sleep training and document this training annually. If a violation occurs, the provider must post notice of the violation in the licensed space and within five working days of receiving the notice, provide parents and guardians of the enrolled child with a letter describing the sleep violation and written information on safe sleep practices.  

To read the full listing of current child care licensing requirements, click here. To view the portion of DEL's site dedicated to public commentary on safe sleep policy update, click here.

A Day in the Life of a Family Home Child Care Licensor

The Department of Early Learning (DEL) is responsible for licensing and monitoring child care facilities around the state to ensure  providers meet the health and safety requirements necessary for children to receive safe, healthy and quality care while parents are working or away.

DEL's licensing work is guided by state laws, state rules, which are also called WACs (Washington Administrative Codes), and internal DEL policies and procedures. 

Enforcing Washington's laws in child care across the state is a demanding and challenging job--it is practiced by many DEL employees each day. The following post was written after spending a full day shadowing a DEL licensor while she worked in the field. 

The average day for a licensor begins like any other state employee's--coffee, checking email, answering phone calls. For a licensor, however, much of their job occurs "in the field." Many people in this position spend a large percent of their work day driving to various provider homes. Licensors may work from one's car or in a coffee shop when not in the field office. Using a provider's kitchen table or the roof of a playhouse as a desk while on a visit is not uncommon.

Play space at a family home child care setting.

All DEL licensors are currently equipped with tablets that can connect to the Internet when needed to ensure open and consistent dialogue with supervisors, licensees and colleagues. Tablets are also used so licensors have constant access to WAC documents and guidelines, as well as the electronic forms used for inspections. 

"No day is the same because a big part of my job is spent out and about, visiting licensees," said Cindy Anstiss, Tacoma licensor. "We [family home licensors] have between approximately 80 and 120 providers in each of our case load."

Being a licensor means building relationships with child care providers. This allows for a level of trust to develop that both the provider and the licensor have the best interests of children at heart.

In any home visit, Cindy starts by noting the outside of the family home. She raises questions about the general first impressions of the home business. Questions like: Does it have new paint? How are the doors and windows? Is the lawn mowed? (Just to name a few).

DEL licensing visits are generally unannounced so licensors can get a feel for what an average day looks like at a home. Cindy maintains a positive, welcoming attitude and stresses that she wants to simply observe the house, the children's behavior and activities on an average day. The care and needs of the children come first.

Nap space at family home child care setting.

The initial part of her time is spent surveying the kitchen, living, play and nap areas--licensed areas of the home. She takes notes on the status of lighting fixtures and bulbs, checks that there are smoke alarms and fire extinguishers, pays attention to the layout of the play areas (both indoor and outdoor) and asks questions like: is there enough space around outdoor play equipment for a "fall zone" and does it have ground cover? Are there locks and alarms on doors? Are wading pools empty when not in use? Questions vary depending on the setting and/or visit.

"It doesn't necessarily worry me to see a little messy play area with toys on the floor," said Cindy. "It usually means the kids are active or busy."

Licensors are required to conduct monitoring visits each year using an in-depth checklist of requirements. 

If a licensor finds that certain areas of the checklist are not up to code (according to the WACs), the provider and the licensor develop a compliance agreement with a plan of correction stating that they will fix the issues in a certain amount of time. Providers are required to make the checklists available to parents upon request.

Violations are available for anyone to view online at DEL's Child Care Check. These violations range in severity. A violation could be failure of reporting or record keeping - failure to keep record of a child's vaccination history, or a violation could involve lack of supervision). Parents should take note of violations, but keep an open dialogue with their provider as some citations may not be serious health and safety issues.

After Cindy surveys the active play spaces, kitchen and nap areas, she spends time observing the children while they participate in every-day activities like playing or eating lunch. She also spends time talking with the provider--getting a sense for how the home life is going outside of business hours. 

Working with people who own a business in their homes is unique and it can be challenging to regulate. Licensors need to know if changes affect the home or household members. For example, if someone moves in to a provider's home, accurate background checks of the new individual must be obtained and the licensor must be notified. 

Licensors take the health and safety of children seriously--and are fast to act if they feel a provider is putting children at risk. Summary suspensions are served to providers who have allegations that pose imminent risk to children.

"Families who choose child care in a home setting usually choose providers with similar ideals," said Cindy. "Children in child care homes have the opportunity to build strong, lasting bonds with their provider."

Cindy's day usually ends after she has surveyed provider's homes thoroughly and come away with next steps  to ensure a home is up-to-code and safe for kids.

Homes can be warm, comforting places for children to learn and grow when parents are away. For example, it is common to find pets at family homes--this may be an opportunity for children to bond and learn to interact with animals, if done safely and in accordance with WAC.

Cindy is a good example of a licensor that values providers' time, is open for questions and supports family home providers to ensure they maintain quality care. She provides technical assistance and can act as an important resource for licensees. 

If you are looking for child care, don't be afraid to ask questions of potential providers or to visit. All of DEL's WACs and policies and procedures are available online, and their subject matter ranges from safe outdoor play equipment to safe sleeping practices in child care settings. A good place to start learning about licensed child care in WA is here.  

Historic Early Start Act Passes: Governor Inslee's Speech

For those of you that missed the signing in Olympia, Governor Inslee gave an inspirational speech regarding the passing of the historic Early Start Act. Here are the remarks made yesterday:

More than 48,000 children in Washington will benefit from access to quality early learning thanks to historic new levels of early learning funding. Gov. Jay Inslee today signed the Early Start Act which helps expand and strengthen the state’s early learning programs and continues efforts to improve the quality of these programs. The governor’s remarks are below and photos are available online here. He was joined by Senator Steve Litzow, State Rep. Ruth Kagi, and numerous other legislators, supporters and more than a dozen of Washington’s youngest learners.

Governor Inslee signs the Early Start Act on July 6, 2015

“This landmark legislation will help ensure that 48,200 children like those here with us today will get the best start on their path to a world class education. In Washington, we have what I like to call a ‘continuum of education.’ And it starts here, with our youngest learners, and extends right on through college. I’ll be signing a bill later today to make that last step more affordable for students and their families.

“Today, we invest in a big way in the future of our youngest Washingtonians. Research soundly proves that early childhood education gives our kids a solid foundation for future learning and for life. We know that early learning programs help improve children’s health and boost kindergarten readiness. We know that because scientists at the University of Washington’s I-Labs tell us that children’s minds have a tremendous capacity for learning — by the age of 2, the human brain is almost 80 percent of adult size.

“This bill invests an additional $94.5 million for the Early Start Act alone as part of a total early learning budget of $158 million. Here are the just a couple of the many benefits of this bill:

“First, it maintains Early Achievers, our state’s quality rating and improvement system, and makes it the quality standard for all our state’s early learning programs. This way, Washington will continue its unwavering commitment to educating and training our child care and preschool providers in effective early learning strategies so children in ECEAP and Working Connections are prepared for kindergarten. By making Early Achievers mandatory, we’re not just raising the quality of care — we’re also funding the professional development of providers through scholarships, training and technical assistance. This will help ensure that providers are culturally responsive and that they mirror the diversity of the children they serve.

“I have heard concerns from providers and parents about the mandatory requirements of the bill, which have the potential to reduce the number of licensed child care providers in the state. I share those worries — and we will do what we can to make sure it doesn’t happen. That is why I am directing my staff to work to preserve our wonderful child care and early learning facilities and to take the steps necessary to ensure that we are growing the licensed care in our state, not shrinking it.

“This bill also ensures that when a young student participates in Working Connections Child Care — the state’s subsidized child care program for low-income and working families that now serves 31,000 children— that they get that benefit for a full 12 months. This allows children to develop and strengthen bonds with their caregivers, which brain science tells us is critical to healthy child development.

“I thank the bipartisan group of members who have shown outstanding leadership on this bill. Rep. Ruth Kagi has long been a champion for children and for early learning in particular. She has been instrumental in moving our state forward as the national leader in early learning. Sen. Steve Litzow was his chamber’s sponsor of the bill. I also recognize Rep. Walsh and Sen. Billig who have co-sponsored it over the past few sessions. And I appreciate the hard work of the budget team, Sens. Hill and Hargrove, and Reps. Hunter and Chandler.

“In addition to legislative support, a number of organizations have contributed to this effort — Thrive, Children’s Alliance, Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP, the League of Education Voters, SEIU 925, Fight Crime and Invest in Kids, and other members of the Early Learning Action Alliance.

“I also recognize my wife, Trudi, who has long supported early learning programs, and continues to advocate on behalf of all Washington’s children.”

Four Ways to Make July 4 Meaningful for Kids

Read About It
Head to the library or local bookstore and pick up a children’s book about July 4. According to the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, reading to kids of all ages is proven to be beneficial to their language development (this includes young children).

Activity idea: Read a book about the holiday before and after the celebration.

"Whenever you link a book to what’s happening in your community and culture, it brings the event to life," said Marisa Conner, coordinator of Youth Services for Baltimore County Public Libraries in Maryland. "If you are going to a 4th of July parade, then read a book about parades before and after you go. Reading about the event makes it more real for them."

Throw a Birthday Party for America
Although your child may be too young to understand the concept of Independence Day and the history behind it, he or she probably understands what a birthday is and what it means to be born. 

Activity idea: Have a party complete with red, white and blue cake, music and games. Many online music hubs like Spotify and Pandora offer "patriotic playlists" for events like this.

Get Creative
You can make sparkly hats or headbands to wear, let your kids use their imaginations. Think about arts and crafts as a way to exercise children's motor skills, visual learning and decision making. 

"Parents need to be aware that children learn a lot more from graphic sources now than in the past,” says Dr. Kerry Freedman, Head of Art and Design Education at Northern Illinois University. “Children need to know more about the world than just what they can learn through text and numbers. Art education teaches students how to interpret, criticize, and use visual information, and how to make choices based on it.”

Activity idea: Have a flag hunt. Help kids make their own American flags with construction paper, paint, glitter, etc. and then hide the flags for an outdoor hunt. 

Make it a Learning Experience
Consider teaching your kids about who signed the Declaration of Independence, why it's important and some important facts about the signers. Kids can learn about important past events and personalities and relate them to their own experiences.

"It's the knowledge of a subject like history that gives you the wisdom you need to put your own life in a broader context, and know what you might be capable of in the future, by knowing what people have done in the past," said Lynne Munson, the Executive Director of Common Core. "Without a knowledge of history, your world is very small."

Activity idea: Browse kids.usa.gov for coloring pages, interactive games and more. One cool resource to help children understand colonial life in America is colonialwilliamsburg.org. The site has a variety of interactive maps, stories and games.  

For a more detailed list, check out Camp PBS Parents.

How DEL Olympia Took Kids to Work

On Thursday, June 25, DEL in Olympia celebrated "Take Your Child to Work Day" by inviting the children of employees to attend work for either full or half of the day. Around 40 kids attended, ranging in ages from toddler to 15.

DEL designed their celebration after receiving the governor's proclamation regarding the event. In the state-wide, suggested guidelines it states that,

"Children who are between the ages of seven and eighteen years old will gain the most benefit from this experience. Children under seven may not have the comprehension skills or attention span to benefit from this event."

Because the Department of Early Learning's work affects young children (birth to three and beyond), the agency felt it was essential to include their own little learners. DEL offered activities that represent early learning principles, showing that children start learning at birth (and even before).

The day’s festivities included:

• Block Fest, 
• a work-themed scavenger hunt, 
• social-emotional learning activities, 
• capital tours, 
• a tour of the HVAC system on the roof of headquarters, 
• badge-making and
• a “mock meeting” with ice cream.

Kids were also encouraged to create their own graffiti in DEL's Partnerships and Collaboration division: Strengthening Families. This is the area of DEL that focuses on:

• strengthening family bonds,
• understanding childhood development,
• coping with the challenge of parenting and
• developing positive discipline skills.

DEL employee's children created graffiti in the Strengthening Families area. 

Children were able to visit the Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) division within DEL and practice social-emotional development with a simple exercise: identifying emotions through facial expressions.

Kids can practice social-emotional development by identifying facial expressions.

From a facilities perspective, kids and their families were invited to see Olympia from the roof of DEL headquarters and learn more about the HVAC system and servers that keep the building going.

Facilities manager, Shaun Sullivan shows kids how the HVAC system heats or cools DEL headquarters.

This allowed the kids to enjoy a great view and teach them the mechanics of facilities. 

Block Fest (activities that teach STEM lessons) takes over a DEL headquarters conference room.

Block Fest was a great opportunity for kids to practice Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) activities--which represents their capacity to learn those disciplines from a young age.

DEL's scavenger hunt list

The day ended with a "mock meeting" socialization that invited families to meet each other and discuss the activities they experienced that day. 

Overall, the day exemplified the governor's proclamation and the theme #MPOWR, as DEL's employees and their kids (even young kids) experienced an action-packed work-day with their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles--all while participating in some of the early learning essential and empowering activities that the department promotes daily.

Washington Celebrates National Get Outdoors Month

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and the Washington State Parks Foundation invite the public to celebrate National Get Outdoors Month with an outdoor expo June 27 on the Washington State Capitol Campus.

The Get Outdoors Adventure Awaits Expo is one of many events being offered at state capitols around the nation, in conjunction with the American Recreation Coalition’s Great Outdoors Month. The Expo takes place from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, June 27, near the steps of the Legislative Building in Olympia.

“One reason Washington is such a remarkable place to live is because of its remarkable beauty. National Great Outdoors Month and Get Outdoors Day provide a great opportunity for all of us to experience the beautiful parks and outdoor places that make our state so unique,” said Gov. Inslee. “This Expo is the perfect place to find ideas for family trips and adventures close to home.”

About 40 young campers from the Boys and Girls Club of Thurston County and the South Sound YMCA have been selected to participate in a variety of activities the day and evening preceding expo day and then will camp overnight on the lawn at the Governor’s Mansion. Washington State Parks staff will provide an interpretive campfire program and activities such as fire safety fishing lessons, orienteering, crafts, songs and games. 

The Coleman Company, Delaware North, Albertsons and Take Me Fishing are major sponsors of the nationwide event. Coleman is providing camping gear, which the campers will take home with them when the event wraps up on Saturday morning. Delaware North is providing chefs, who will be sharing tips for healthy eating and cooking. Food is provided by Albertsons. Take Me Fishing is providing fishing gear for the youth involved in the Capitol Campout to take home with them. Camper shirts and snacks are being provided by the Washington State Employee Credit Union and the Manufactured Home and Recreation Vehicle Show Association.

The Washington State Parks Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to engage, expand, and sustain a broad base of supporters who give to, advocate for, and treasure our state parks.” The foundation is coordinating participation in the Expo, where it will be presented with a $5,400 check from the Washington State Employees Credit Union. The Washington State Parks agency is coordinating the kids’ Capitol Campout.

For up-to-date event information, visit the Washington State Parks Foundation website: http://wspf.org/event/second-annual-outdoor-expo.