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New Members - Welcome to the Daycare.com Forum!>Help! Please! Staffing Issues/Licensing
jayce 04:28 PM 06-16-2015
Hi my name is Jayce I'm a new teacher assistant in an infant class with 8 babies under the age of 1yr and 2 teachers (main teacher and I) in a preschool/daycare center in annandale,virginia . As far as I know licensing staffing for an infant class in a daycare center in Virginia is is 1 adult per 4 infants at all times. I'm not sure if I'm being ignorant or misinformed but does that apply during nap time as well when all the infants are in their cribs? Heres my problem: when the main teacher leaves for her 1hr lunch break which is the time considered nap time for the infants ( the lights in the room are turned off and I am being left alone in the infant room with 8 infants, most of which are NOT sleeping. My employer has led me to believe that this is "ok" because they are in their cribs or in the process of falling asleep but I don't feel like its right I feel that the ratio still needs to remain in compliance and another teacher should be there helping me while the main teacher is in her break. Can someone please give me some insight on this matter.

thanks
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Michael 04:59 PM 06-16-2015
Welcome to the forum!
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Blackcat31 05:07 PM 06-16-2015
Originally Posted by jayce:
Hi my name is Jayce I'm a new teacher assistant in an infant class with 8 babies under the age of 1yr and 2 teachers (main teacher and I) in a preschool/daycare center in annandale,virginia . As far as I know licensing staffing for an infant class in a daycare center in Virginia is is 1 adult per 4 infants at all times. I'm not sure if I'm being ignorant or misinformed but does that apply during nap time as well when all the infants are in their cribs? Heres my problem: when the main teacher leaves for her 1hr lunch break which is the time considered nap time for the infants ( the lights in the room are turned off and I am being left alone in the infant room with 8 infants, most of which are NOT sleeping. My employer has led me to believe that this is "ok" because they are in their cribs or in the process of falling asleep but I don't feel like its right I feel that the ratio still needs to remain in compliance and another teacher should be there helping me while the main teacher is in her break. Can someone please give me some insight on this matter.

thanks
here are your states requirements:

STATE BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES Page 39 of 73 STANDARDS FOR LICENSED
CHILD DAY CENTERS 22 VAC 40-185 11/12
22 VAC 40-185-350. Staff-to-children ratio requirements.
A. Staff shall be counted in the required staff-to-children ratios only when they are directly supervising children.

B. A child volunteer 13 years of age or older not enrolled in the program shall not be counted as a child in the staff-to-children ratio requirements.

C. When children are regularly in ongoing mixed age groups, the staff-to-children ratio applicable to the youngest child in the group shall apply to the entire group.

D. During the designated rest period and the designated sleep period of evening and overnight care programs, the ratio of staff to children may be double the number of children to each staff required by subdivisions E 2 through 4 and 7 of this section if:
1. A staff person is within sight and sound of the resting/sleeping children;
2. Staffcountedintheoverallrestperiodratioarewithinthebuildingandavailable to ensure safe evacuation in an emergency; and
3. Anadditionalpersonispresentatthecentertohelp,ifnecessary.

E. The following ratios of staff to children are required wherever children are in care:
1. For children from birth to the age of 16 months: one staff member for every four children;
2. For children 16 months old to two years: one staff member for every five children;
3. For Two-year-oldchildrenonestaffmemberforeveryeightchildreneffective June 1, 2006;
4. For children from three years to the age of eligibility to attend public school, five years by September 30: one staff member for every 10 children effective June 1, 2006;
5. For children from age of eligibility to attend public school through eight years, one staff member for every 18 children; and
6. For children from nine years through 12 years, one staff member for every 20 children effective June 1, 2006.
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Blackcat31 05:10 PM 06-16-2015
The above was copied/pasted from here:

http://va.childcareaware.org/wp/wp-c...upervision.pdf
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Sugar Magnolia 09:29 AM 06-18-2015
In Florida, your supervisor would be wrong. You would be correct. When your lead teacher leaves the room and is not directly supervising, it would be a violation, and a serious one at tbat. From reading what BC posted, that second person would have to be within sight and sound of tge sleepers. Am I reading that right?
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melilley 11:00 AM 06-18-2015
Here, a teacher can leave if the correct ratio of children are sleeping, which here if 4:1. If even one wakes up, someone has to go into that room. There is no way that your director is right.
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Heidi 11:18 AM 06-18-2015
It says in overnight care programs. Unless yours is overnight, then your director is wrong.

I imagine it is for 24 hour programs where children are presumably sleeping all night. That is clearly not intended for "nap time".

Also, if they are all infants, are you even allowed to enforce a schedule on them? In WI, they need to follow their own schedule at least until age 1. Even if you gently coax them into the group's schedule, with a group of all infants, that couldn't happen. If licensing walked into a center and found all the infants in bed, lights off, and half of them awake, they'd def. site them. No way they'd buy that bologna.
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Ruthie Tuite 12:18 PM 06-18-2015
[Having problems with several groups of parents. Becoming very aggressive and threating. I would like to know what I can do leagally or put something in the parents booklet that would give them consequences.
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jayce 01:01 PM 06-18-2015
its not an overnight program. its a center and runs from 7am-5pm. and the lead teachers break is at 12noon-1pm. thanks for the insight.
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jayce 01:03 PM 06-18-2015
Originally Posted by Heidi:
It says in overnight care programs. Unless yours is overnight, then your director is wrong.

I imagine it is for 24 hour programs where children are presumably sleeping all night. That is clearly not intended for "nap time".

Also, if they are all infants, are you even allowed to enforce a schedule on them? In WI, they need to follow their own schedule at least until age 1. Even if you gently coax them into the group's schedule, with a group of all infants, that couldn't happen. If licensing walked into a center and found all the infants in bed, lights off, and half of them awake, they'd def. site them. No way they'd buy that bologna.
its not an overnight program. its a center and runs from 7am-5pm. and the lead teachers break is at 12noon-1pm. thanks for the insight.
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Tags:daycare center, licensing regulations, preschool, staffing issues, virginia requirements
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