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R400.8161 Maintenance of premises

Licensing Rules for Child Care Centers

R400.8161 Maintenance of premises

Rule 161 (1)

1. The premises must be maintained in a clean and safe condition.

Rationale

Clean, safe environments protect children and adults.

Technical Assistance

Floors must be clean and safe.

Rooms must be free of clutter.

Cords must be out of children’s reach.

No insects or rodents.

Outdoor areas must be free of debris, animal waste, standing water, and tripping hazards.

Hazardous items must be inaccessible to children.

Environmental Assessments

Staff must check daily for hazards such as open gates, unknown vehicles, structural issues, tripping hazards, poison ivy, and icy areas.

Best Practices

Install hinge guards on all doors. Safety gates should be at least 36 inches tall.

Rule 161 (2)

The premises must be maintained to eliminate rodent and insect harborage.

Rationale

Prevents bites, stings, and disease transmission.

Technical Assistance

Openings must not exist in foundations, floors, walls, ceilings, roofs, windows, exterior doors, or basements.

Insects can be kept out by outward‑opening doors, self‑closing doors, closed windows, and window screens

Rule 161 (3)

Roofs, exterior walls, doors, skylights, and windows must be weathertight and watertight.

Rule 161 (4)

Floors, interior walls, and ceilings must be maintained in sound condition, good repair, and maintained in a clean condition.

Rationale

Ensures the health and safety of children and adults.

Technical Assistance

There should not be:

  • Cracks
  • Tears
  • Gouges
  • Peeling paint, etc.

Ceilings must not have missing panels or tiles.

Rule 161 (5)

There must be no flaking or deteriorating paint on interior and exterior surfaces or on equipment accessible to children.

 

Rationale

Ensures the health and safety of children and adults.

Technical Assistance

Paint is considered “deteriorated” if it is:

  • peeling,
  • chipped,
  • chalking, or
  • cracked.

Rule 161 (6)

All toilet room floor surfaces must be easily cleanable and constructed and maintained so as to be impervious to water.

Rationale

Cracked or porous floors cannot be kept clean and sanitary. Dampness promotes the growth of mold.

Rule 161 (7)

Light fixtures, vent covers, wall-mounted fans, and similar equipment attached to walls and ceilings must be easily cleanable and maintained in good repair.

Rationale

Ensures a clean and safe indoor environment.

Rule 161 (8)

A lead-based paint inspection and lead hazard risk assessment along with a lead hazard risk assessment summary form provided by the department must be completed by a certified lead risk assessor on all centers built before 1978. The assessment must be completed for all child use areas, including any outdoor play areas. Any lead hazards identified must be addressed and lead clearance must be performed and results provided to the department before issuance of the original license. The results of the assessment or assessments and the summary form or forms must be maintained on file at the center.

Technical Assistance

There might be lead in paint made before 1978. The amount of lead in paint was reduced in 1950; lead was taken out of paint in 1978. Buildings built before 1950 likely have more lead paint.

Lead is a neurotoxicant. This means lead causes bad effects on the brain, spinal cord, etc. Lead-based paint is the most common source of lead poisoning in children. Research suggests that the primary sources of lead exposure for most children are:

  • Deteriorating lead-based paint.
  • Lead contaminated dust.
  • Lead contaminated soil.

The danger from lead paint depends on the:

  • Amount of lead on the painted surface.
  • Condition of paint.
  • Amount of paint that the child eats or takes in.

Taking in lead may happen by:

  • breathing or swallowing lead dust
  • eating soil or paint chips containing lead.

High lead levels in the blood can affect the central nervous system. If not found early, children with high levels of lead in their bodies can have:

  • brain damage,
  • slowed growth,
  • hearing problems, and
  • headaches.

Even at low levels, lead can cause:

  • lower IQ,
  • reading and learning disabilities
  • lower ability to learn,
  • lower success in school and
  • lower ability to function later in life.

Symptoms of low levels of lead in a child's body may be:

  • Subtle behavior changes,
  • irritability,
  • low appetite,
  • weight loss,
  • sleep disturbances, and
  • shortened attention span.

Most children with lead poisoning do not look or act sick. A blood lead test is the only way to know if children are being lead poisoned. There is no cure. The effects cannot be reversed once the damage is done. Children under six years of age are at the greatest risk for lead poisoning.

A center applying for an original license in a building made before 1978 has to submit a lead hazard risk assessment. The risk assessment has to say the child use space and the outdoor play areas are safe. The lead hazard risk assessment must be done by a certified risk assessor. A list of certified lead risk assessors and more information on lead risk hazard assessments can be found at Hire a Lead Professional.

Note: Lead hazard risk assessments can be shared if the owner changes and with licensees for the same approved use area within a building if the report says there is no lead, no matter the date. For any questions or further clarification regarding these changes please contact mileap-cclb-help@michigan.gov or your licensing consultant.

Any lead hazard risk assessment done after January 1, 2014, has to also have a Lead Hazard Risk Assessment Summary CCL-4344) form with the l risk assessment. The CCL-4344 shows compliance with this rule.

Exception: Centers that that are in a school building with only school-age children are exempt from the requirements of this rule.

Exception: A risk assessment is not needed for a center in a new addition to a building built before 1978 if children never use the older part. The applicant has to give a statement that the part built before 1978 will not be used by children in care.

Note: Standards for a lead hazard risk assessment are in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Administrative Rule 325.99404 (Lead Hazard Control).

All lead hazard risk assessments required in this rule must comply fully with these requirements. Copies of this standard can be found at MDHHS Lead under “Lead-Based Paint Regulations” or by calling MDHHS toll-free at 1 (866) 691-5323.

Briefly, requirements for a lead hazard risk assessment include:

  • Evaluating the condition of the paint on all surfaces inside and outside. [R 325.99404(4)].
    • Any paint in poor condition (peeling, chipping, cracking, chalking, etc.) must be tested for lead.
  • Wiping dust in two places – one on the floor, one on the window sills or trough. Dust wipes are required for each room up to six rooms plus any common areas next to the facility [R 325.99404(5)&(6)].
  • Soil sampling. This includes composite samples from bare soil around:
    • the outside wall of the building,
    • child play areas and
    • other bare soil areas in the yard that are more than nine square feet [R 325.99404(8)].

Lead Hazard Treatment

Lead-based paint hazards can be treated by abatement or interim control procedures.

There are three types of treatments that can be considered “lead abatement”:

  • Removal - Taking out the lead-based paint, or taking out the part that has led-based paint, (old windows or doors).
  • Enclosure - covering the lead-based paint with a rigid material that is firmly attached to what’s under the paint (such as drywall on a ceiling or wall, or underlayment on a floor).
  • Encapsulation - covering the lead-based paint with a long-lasting, paint-like material made to bind chemically with lead.

Enclosure and encapsulation procedures are designed to last for 20 years or more.

A dust wipe must be done to see if the abatement procedures worked.

“Interim control procedures” are temporary (good for less than 20 years) ways to cut down on lead-based paint hazards.

They can include, but are not limited to:

  • Wet sanding/scraping the paint, then repainting with regular latex paint.
  • “Super cleaning” the area using a HEPA vacuum and wet cleaning methods.
  • Adding tread guards on steps.
  • Repairing windows.

The following are not allowed to be done by law:

  • Dry scraping,
  • dry sanding,
  • using a torch to burn paint off,
  • using a heat gun over 1,100 degrees, and
  • using power sanders or grinders without HEPA filtration attachments.

Women and children can’t be in the area when lead hazard control activities are being done. They should never be allowed in the work areas.
Licensees must have a lead-based paint inspection.

Lead hazard risk assessments only look for lead-based paint hazards at the time of the inspection. The only areas tested are: deteriorated paint, paint that will be disturbed, and other potential hazard areas. A lead hazard risk assessment will not identify all lead painted surfaces.

A lead-based paint inspection must be done along with the lead hazard risk assessment. Both will identify all lead-based paint and all lead-based paint hazards.

If lead-based paint is identified, but it isn’t a hazard at the time, the risk assessor will share recommendations for monitoring the paint. Someone from the center (director, maintenance person, custodian, etc.) should check that all identified lead painted surfaces are still intact every six months to one year.

For additional information on lead poisoning, contact the Environmental Protection Agency at www.epa.gov or the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD. Additional information can also be found at Learn About Lead.

Rule 161 (9)

 

If a center is located in a new addition to a building constructed before 1978 and the older part of the building is never used by children in care, the center is exempt from subrule (8) of this rule if the center submits a statement to the department that the part of the building constructed before 1978 will not be used by children in care.

 

Rule 161 (10)

 

A center shall adopt and implement an integrated pest management policy pursuant to section 8316 of the natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.8316.

 

Technical Assistance

324.8316 Notice of pesticide application at school or day care center:

  • Beginning 1 year after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection, a person shall not apply a pesticide in a school or day care center unless the school or day care center has an integrated pest management program in place for the building.
  • The primary administrator of a school or day care center or his or her designee shall annually notify the parents or guardians of children attending that school or cared for at that day care center that the parents or guardians will receive advance notice of the application of a pesticide, other than a bait or gel formulation, at the school or day care center. The primary administrator of a school or his or her designee shall give the annual notification not more than 30 days after the beginning of the school year, and the primary administrator of a day care center or his or her designee shall give the annual notification in September.
  • An annual notification under subsection (2) shall satisfy all of the following requirements:
    • Be in writing.
    • Specify two methods by which advance notice of the application of a pesticide will be given at least 48 hours before the application. The first method shall be by posting at the entrances to the school or day care center. Subject to next subdivision
    • the second method shall be one of the following:
      • Posting in a public, common area of the school or day care center, other than an entrance.
      • E-mail.
      • A telephone call by which direct contact is made with a parent or guardian of a student of the school or a child under the care of the day care center or a message is recorded on an answering machine.
      • Providing students of the school or children under the care of the day care center with a written notice to be delivered to their parents or guardians.
      • Posting on the school's or day care center's website.
    • State that, in addition to notice under subdivision (b), parents or guardians are entitled to receive the notice by first-class United States mail postmarked at least 3 days before the application, if they so request, and the manner in which such a request shall be made.
    • For a school, inform parents and guardians that they may review the school's integrated pest management program, if any, and records on any pesticide applications.
    • For a school, provide the name, telephone number, and, if applicable, e-mail address of the person at the school building responsible for pesticide application procedures.
  • An advance notice of application of a pesticide, other than a bait or gel formulation, shall contain all of the following information:
    • A statement that a pesticide is expected to be applied.
    • The target pest or pests.
    • The approximate location of the application.
    • The date of the application.
    • The name, telephone number, and, if available, e-mail address of a contact person at the school or day care center responsible for maintaining records with specific information on pest infestation and actual pesticide application as required by rules.
    • A toll-free telephone number for a national pesticide information center recognized by the department and a telephone number for pesticide information from the department.
  • Before applying a pesticide, other than a bait or gel formulation, a school or day care center shall provide advance notice to parents and guardians consistent with subsections (3)(b) to (e) and (4). However, in an emergency, a school or day care center may apply a pesticide without providing advance notice to parents or guardians. Promptly after the emergency pesticide application, the school or day care center shall give parents or guardians notice of the emergency pesticide application that otherwise meets the requirements of subsection (3)(b) and (c). The notice shall contain a statement that a pesticide was applied and shall meet the requirements of subsection (4)(b) to (f).
  • Liquid spray or aerosol insecticide applications shall not be made in a room of a school building or day care center building unless the room will be unoccupied by students or children for not less than 4 hours after the application or unless the product label requires a longer reentry period. The building manager shall be notified of the reentry restrictions by the applicator.
  • The department shall do both of the following:\
    • Within 1 year after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection, develop a model integrated pest management policy for schools, in consultation with the department of education and the pesticide advisory committee created in section 8326, and make the policy available to all school districts, intermediate school districts, public school academies, and private schools.
    • Encourage local and intermediate school boards and boards of directors of public school academies to do both of the following:
      • Adopt and follow the model integrated pest management policy developed under subdivision (a).
      • Require appropriate staff to obtain periodic updates and training on integrated pest management from experts on the subject.
      • Subsections (1) to (7) do not apply to sanitizers, germicides, disinfectants, or antimicrobial agents.

Best Practice

A sample plan can be found at Child Care Resources.

 

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