POLICY: Each child will have a safe and comfortable space for sleeping that meets licensing requirements.
PURPOSE: To assure that the child’s physical needs are met at the center.
To individualize care.
To protect the health of the children and ensure every child’s
safety.
To reduce the risk of SIDS, suffocation, and sleep-related deaths.
To comply with Licensing Regulations.
PROCEDURE:
- Community Care Licensing defines an infant as a child under 2 years old. Some sleep-related regulations only apply to infants under 1 year old, but many other regulations continue to apply until 2 years old.
- The napping area will be quiet, dim, and conducive to rest.
- Children shall have at least 36 inches of space between them.
- Visual supervision will be maintained at all times.
- Children will be encouraged to rest by back rubs, music, stories, and other healthy interactions between adult and child.
- A crib or portable crib, meeting United States Consumer Product Safety Commission safety standards, shall be provided for each infant who is unable to climb out of a crib.
- Floor mats or cots shall be provided for all infants who are able to climb out of a crib.
- Each crib, mat or cot shall be occupied by only one child at a time.
- Cribs, mats, or cots shall be arranged to provide a walkway between them sufficient to permit staff to reach each child without having to step over or reach over any other child.
- Placement of cribs, mats, or cots shall not hinder entrance or exit to and from the napping space.
- Each child will have his own cot or crib with his individual linens and blankets.
- No food or drink will be consumed in the crib or cot.
- Each infant under 1 year of age must have an Individual Infant Sleep Plan completed (form LIC 9227 – found in section N).
- Licensing requirements state that “no infant under 1 year of age shall be forced to sleep, forced to stay awake, or forced to stay in the designated sleeping area. All infants shall be given the opportunity to sleep without distraction or disturbance from other activities at the center whenever the infant desires”.
- Infants up to 2 years old must be checked every 15 minutes while sleeping, and checks must be documented:
- Document any trouble breathing, signs of distress, and sleep position
- Include name of infant, date, time, and initials of staff
- Documentation must be on file for 3 years
References:
California Health and Safety Code, Sections 1596.72, 1596.81, 1596.847
California Code of Regulations Title 22, Division 12:
Chapter 1, Article 6, Section 101239.1
Chapter 1, Subchapter 2, Article 6, Section 101419.2 and Section 101429
Chapter 1, Subchapter 2, Article 7, Section 101439.1
Chapter 3, Article 6, Section 102425
The above regulations were retrieved from: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/letters-regulations/legislation-and-regulations/community-care-licensing-regulations/child-care
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