Licensing Standards for DayCare Centers

(1) The licensee shall provide food meeting the nutritional needs of the child in care, taking into consideration the:

(a) Number of children in care;

(b) Child's age and developmental level;

(c) Child's cultural background;

(d) Child's handicapping condition; and

(e) Hours of care on the premises.

(3) The licensee shall provide only whole milk to the child twenty-three months of age or younger except with written permission of the child's parent.

(4) The licensee may serve the child twenty-four months of age or older powdered Grade A milk mixed in the center provided the licensee completes the dry milk mixture, service, and storage in a safe and sanitary manner.

(5) The licensee may provide the child nutrient concentrates, nutrient supplements, a modified diet, or an allergy diet only with written permission of the child's health care provider. The licensee shall obtain from the parent or child's health care provider a written list of foods the child cannot consume.

(6) The licensee shall: -

(a) Record food and portion sizes planned and served;

(b) Prepare and date menus one week or more in advance, containing meals and snacks to be served, including parent-provided snacks; and

(c) Specify on the menu a variety of foods enabling the child to consume adequate nutrients.

(8) The licensee shall only make nutrition substitutions of comparable nutrient value and record changes on the menu.

(9) The licensee shall use the following meal pattern to provide food to the child in care in age-appropriate servings:

(a) Providing the child in care for nine or less hours:

(i) Two or more snacks and one meal; or

(ii) Two meals and one snack.

(b) Providing the child in care for nine or more hours:

(i) Two or more meals and two snacks; or

(ii) One meal and three snacks.

(c) Providing the child arriving after school a snack;

(d) Providing the child food at intervals not less than two hours and not more than three and one-half hours apart; and

(e) Allowing the occasional serving of party foods not meeting nutritional requirements.

(a) At a minimum, the child's breakfast must contain:

(i) A dairy product, including fluid milk, cheese, yogurt, or cottage cheese;

(ii) Cereal or bread, whole grain or enriched; and

(iii) Fruit or vegetable or juice containing a minimum of fifty percent real juice.

(b) At a minimum, the child's lunch or dinner must contain:

(i) A dairy product;

(ii) A protein food including lean meat, fish, poultry, egg, legumes, nut butters, or cheese;

(iii) Bread or bread alternate, whole grain or enriched; and

(iv) Fruit or vegetable, two total servings.

(c) In centers not serving full meals, the child's snacks must include one or more dairy or protein source provided daily, and contain a minimum of two of the following four components at each snack:

(i) A dairy product;

(ii) A protein food;

(iii) Bread or bread alternate; or

(iv) Fruit or vegetable or juice containing a minimum of fifty percent real juice.

(d) The child's food must contain:

(i) A minimum of one serving of Vitamin C fruit, vegetable, or juice, provided daily; and

(ii) Servings of food high in Vitamin A, provided three or more times weekly.

(a) Dinner to the child in evening care when the child did not receive dinner at home before arriving at the center;

(b) A bedtime snack to the child in nighttime care; and

(c) Breakfast to the child in nighttime care if the child remains at the center after the child's usual breakfast time.

(13) For the center permitting sack lunches, the licensee shall have available food supplies to supplement food deficient in meeting nutrition requirements brought from the child's home and to nourish the child arriving without home-supplied food.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.15.020 and 74.15.030. 93-18-001 (Order 3623), §388150-240, filed 8/18/93, effective 9/18/93. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.15.030. 90-23-078 (Order 3103), § 388-150-240, filed 11/20/90, effective 12/21/90.]

Director@Daycare.com

© 1999 Daycare.com