Michigan is seeking public comments on proposed updates to licensing rules for child care centers.
Some of the changes would include updates to teacher and staff qualifications. Teachers who want to work at a childcare center would have more options for meeting those requirements.
The proposed changes also include new regulations for water and food safety at childcare centers. If approved, they would be required to create and use a drinking water management plan, including testing water at their building for lead and maintaining any water filters used.
Centers would also be required to create a plan for preventing and responding to allergic reactions. Measures would need to include posting enrolled children's known allergies prominently and warning parents or guardians of those allergens as well.
Less common kinds of childcare centers – small-capacity and nature-based programs – would be subject to their own regulations under the proposed rules. Small-capacity childcare centers have a maximum of 20 children. Outdoor nature-based centers provide a nature-based curriculum and spend more time outdoors. These types of programs weren’t included in the previous ruleset.
A draft of the proposed changes, including the previous regulations, is available online at the state’s administrative rules website. Regulations were last updated in 2019, according to paperwork the department filed with the state’s administrative rules office.
Complying with the proposed regulations won’t be easy, said Jared Rodriguez, the executive director of the Childcare Providers Association of Michigan.
He said the number of state agencies and departments that providers would have to interact with to meet licensing requirements would be too high, and that can mean a lot of homework for childcare providers.
More homework, said Rodriguez, is less efficient.
“I think one of the items that we would like to see improved is the amount of touch points that a childcare provider has within the state of Michigan,” Rodriguez said. “Our goal is to make sure that we are serving the needs of parents and children throughout the state of Michigan in the most cost effective and efficient manner possible."
The Lifelong Education Department said the proposals "reflect feedback gathered during 63 listening sessions from nearly 600 child care educators, community partners and state partners, as well as survey responses from nearly 1,300 people."
"The proposed changes streamline the child care licensing rules and reduce barriers for early educators, so they can focus on caring for Michigan children,” said Emily Laidlaw, deputy director of early childhood education at the department.
The department is holding a public hearing in Lansing on Tuesday, November 19, at 1:30 p.m. at the Michigan Library and Historical Center in Lansing. The deadline for comments that are mailed or emailed is 5 p.m. on Friday, November 22.
