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Childminder 08:00 AM 10-19-2012
OP, this is the supervision requirements from the State of MI, maybe it will help you with your dilemma. Remember to keep it simple, you do not have to include all of the rationale just a statement like I highlited below.

R 400.1911 (1) Supervision.
(1) The caregiver shall assure appropriate care and supervision of
children at all times.

Rationale Assures for the safety and well-being of children as supervision is basic
to the prevention of harm. Also assures that children's basic needs are
being met.
Technical
Assistance
The caregiver is responsible and accountable for:
• Providing a program that meets the developmental needs of all
children in care.
• Using reasonable judgment when caring for children.
• Being close enough to the children to provide for their safety.
• Assuring that lighting in the napping area is sufficient to observe
the children at all times.
• Everything that goes on in the home, including those times when
children are left in the care of an assistant caregiver.
Effective monitoring of children must occur at all times regardless of
whether direct or indirect supervision is being used. Individual judgment,
as to the use of appropriate direct and indirect supervision,
depends on circumstances unique to each home and child.
The following factors should be considered in determining the appropriate
level of supervision:
• Ages of children.
• Number of children.
• Developmental needs, including any special needs, of each child.
• Activities taking place, including water activities.
• Areas being used.
• Outdoor hazards.
• Field trips.
DIRECT SUPERVISION means the caregiving staff are:
• In the same area as the children (e.g., single room, adjoining
rooms).
• Immediately available to them.
• Directly overseeing their activities.
• Interacting with them.
INDIRECT SUPERVISION means the caregiving staff are:
• Overseeing the children's activities from another area.
• Aware of the activities in which the children are involved.
• Providing regular, periodic direct supervision of children.
School-age children may play in an approved basement use area with
indirect supervision provided they are able to demonstrate that they can
exit through the door or exit window without assistance.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CONSULTATION
FAMILY AND GROUP CHILD CARE HOMES
R 400.1911
10/01/2011
R 400.1911 2 of 5 FAMILY AND GROUP CHILD CARE HOMES
10/01/2011 STATE OF MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
R 400.1911
Indirect supervision may also be used when school-age children are
outdoors. School-age children may go down the block to a nearby playground,
bike in the immediate neighborhood or wait at a bus stop with
written parental permission specifying:
• Clear boundaries for the children’s travels.
• Time frames for checking out and checking back in. Children, parents
and the caregiver should have an understanding of the safety
of the neighborhood.
Note: For the purposes of this rule, school-age is defined as any child
attending kindergarten or a higher grade.
Visiting children of all ages (friends of the caregiver's children, neighborhood
children, etc.) can present supervisory issues. The caregiving
staff need to assure that:
• The visiting children do not require direct care and supervision.
• The parents of the visiting children are at home and immediately
available should the children need to be sent home.
• The visiting children are not interfering in any way with the care
and supervision of the child care children or taking away from adequate
space and equipment.
Consultation The following publications are available on the department's website
(www.michigan.gov/michildcare):
• Keeping Track at all Times: Preventing Lost Children (BCAL-Pub
687).
• Biting: What Can I Do To Stop It (BCAL-Pub 688).
• Animals and Children: Friends or Foes (BCAL-Pub 685).
• Fussy Baby (BCAL-Pub 689).
R 400.1911 (2) Supervision.
(2) A caregiver or adult assistant caregiver shall be present in the
home at all times when children are in care.
Rationale Assures for the safety and well-being of children as supervision is basic
to the prevention of harm. Also assures that children's basic needs are
being met.
R 400.1911 3 of 5 FAMILY AND GROUP CHILD CARE HOMES
10/01/2011 STATE OF MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
R 400.1911
R 400.1911 (3) Supervision.
(3) Caregiving staff shall be up and awake at all times when children
are in care except as provided in R 400.1922 (2) of these
rules.
Rationale Assures for the safety and well-being of children as supervision is basic
to the prevention of harm. Also assures that children's basic needs are
being met.
Technical
Assistance
If there is an appropriate number of awake caregiving staff supervising
the children, a caregiver may rest or sleep.
R 400.1911 (4) Supervision.
(4) Caregiving staff shall know the location of each child at all
times.
Rationale Assures for the safety and well-being of children as supervision is basic
to the prevention of harm. Also assures children's basic needs are
being met.
Technical
Assistance
Refer to subrule (1) of this rule for the requirements regarding appropriate
care and supervision.
Consultation Keeping Track at All Times: Preventing Lost Children (BCAL-Pub 687)
is available on the department’s website
(www.michigan.gov/michildcare).
R 400.1911 (5) Supervision.
(5) Caregiving staff shall never leave a child unattended or with a
minor in a vehicle.
Rationale Assures for the safety and protection of children.
R 400.1911 4 of 5 FAMILY AND GROUP CHILD CARE HOMES
10/01/2011 STATE OF MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
R 400.1911
R 400.1911 (6) Supervision.
(6) A caregiver or adult assistant caregiver shall at all times
directly supervise children who are engaged in water activities or
are near collections or bodies of water.
Rationale • According to the US Consumer Products Safety Commission, in
2005, of all children between one to four years of age who died,
almost 30% died from drowning. For every child who drowns, an
additional four are hospitalized for near-drowning; and for every
hospital admission, approximately four children are treated in hospital
emergency rooms.
• An estimated 5,000 children ages 14 and under are hospitalized
due to unintentional drowning-related incidents each year; 15 percent
die in the hospital and as many as 20 percent suffer a severe,
permanent neurological disability.
• An estimated 50 infants and toddlers drown each year in buckets
containing liquid used for mopping floors and other household
chores.
• Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental deaths of children
ages five and under.
• Small children can drown within 30 seconds in as little as two
inches of liquid.
• A child can drown in less time than it takes to answer the telephone.
Irreversible brain damage can occur in three to five minutes.
• Most drownings happen in fresh water - often in home swimming
pools.
• Most children drown within a few feet of safety.
• Twenty-five percent of all drowning victims have had swimming
lessons.
• Close continuous supervision is one essential factor in reducing
the number of children’s drownings and water related injuries.
Technical
Assistance
Water activities are defined as a play activity where children are allowed
to enter the water under adult supervision by playing in swimming/wading
pools in the backyard and other swimming areas at lakes or public
beaches. It also includes any other activities where children are in or on
the water.
During water activities the caregiving staff are responsible and accountable
for all the following:
• Providing direct supervision at all times to children engaged in
water activities or in the water activity area.
R 400.1911 5 of 5 FAMILY AND GROUP CHILD CARE HOMES
10/01/2011 STATE OF MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
R 400.1911
• Assuring appropriate supervision of children who are engaged in
non-water activities away from the immediate water activity area.
• Assuring that all children engaged in water activities can be easily
observed.
• Assuring that telephone usage and other distractions are limited to
emergencies.
• Assuring the water activity is appropriate and checking the water
activity area for general safety.
• Assuring that inflatable toys and rings are used for play purposes
only and not as safety devices.
• Assuring the adult to child ratio is maintained for all children in
care.
• Assuring a CPR-trained adult is supervising children in the water
activity area.
Refer to R 400.1921 (1-11) regarding additional regulation for water
hazards and water activities.
Consultation To assure compliance with this subrule, the following best practices are
recommended:
• Assure that children are familiar with the rules for behavior in and
around the water activity area.
• Assure that only strong swimmers are permitted to use, with caution,
diving boards and water slides.
• Know the water depths and/or strength of currents when in natural
water settings.
• At the swimming area, designate specific boundaries, both inside
the water and on the shore or pool deck, for the child care children.
• Institute a buddy system for the children.
1 of 1
STATE OF MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
R 400.1912
R 400.1912 (1-6) Infant supervision and sleeping.
(1) Infants, birth to 12 months of age, shall be placed on their
backs for resting and sleeping.
(2) Infants unable to roll from their stomachs to their backs, and
from their backs to their stomachs, when found facedown, shall be
placed on their backs.
(3) If infants can easily turn over from their backs to their stomachs,
then they shall be initially placed on their backs, but allowed
to adopt whatever position they prefer for sleeping.
(4) For an infant who cannot rest or sleep on her/his back due to
disability or illness, the caregiver shall have written instructions,
signed by a physician, detailing an alternative safe sleep position
and/or other special sleeping arrangements for the infant. The caregiver/
assistant caregiver shall rest/sleep children in accordance
with a physician's written instructions.
(5) Caregiving staff shall maintain supervision and monitor infants'
breathing, sleep position, bedding, and possible signs of distress
except as provided in R 400.1922.
(6) Video surveillance equipment and baby monitors shall not be
used in place of subrule (5) of this rule.
Rationale Assures for the safety and well-being of infants as placing infants to
sleep on their backs instead of their stomachs has been associated with
a dramatic decrease in infant deaths.
Technical
Assistance
Monitoring must be continual and must include visual observation of
infants, with caregiving staff standing close enough to the infant to
observe breathing patterns, sleep position and any signs of distress or
discomfort.
Consultation It is recommended that the caregiver observe a sleeping infant frequently,
every 15-20 minutes, to assure the infant is not in distress.
Resources include the following:
• National SIDS Resource Center and the Back to Sleep Campaign
- www.sidscenter.org.
• Local and state health departments.
• Tomorrow's Child - www.tomorrowschildmi.org or 1-800-331-7437.
• American Academy of Pediatrics - www.healthychildcare.org.
• Department of Human Services - www.michigan.gov/safesleep.
Refer to R 400.1916 for information on bedding and sleeping equipment.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CONSULTATION
FAMILY AND GROUP CHILD CARE HOMES
R 400.1912
07/01/2009
1 of 4
STATE OF MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
R 400.1913
R 400.1913 (1)
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