Abstract
Regulations for childcare facilities vary greatly in terms of licenses, services provided, times of operation, and type of care offered. Food safety regulations are determined by each state and they can differ depending on the type of childcare operation (childcare centers and in-home operations). Determining differences between food safety regulations for childcare centers and in-home operations is important to establish food safety education and training needs specific to each setting. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to identify food safety regulations of both center and in-home childcare operations through a questionnaire distributed to personnel responsible for the Child and Adult Care Food Program in each of the 50 states. A total of 41 representatives from 29 states completed the questionnaire. Different state agencies and personnel were involved in the regulation and licensing of childcare facilities. Personnel from most states reported having different opening requirements and food safety regulations between childcare centers and in-home childcare operations. The difference reported most often was the requirement for childcare centers to follow public state and local food safety regulations, while in-home operations are not required to follow these regulations. In-home operations are subject to licensing standards alone—or they have no regulations at all—in most of the responding states. However, similar food safety concerns and needs for education and training were reported for centers and in-home operations. Results from this study are intended to inform the future development of food safety education and training materials for childcare facilities.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
7 CFR § 226.2. (2012).
Ahnert, L., & Lamb, M. E. (2003). Establishing a balance between home and child care settings. Child Development, 74(4), 1044–1049. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3696203. Accessed June, 2018.
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2011). Caring for our children: National health and safety performance standards: Guidelines for early care and education programs (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Foodborne outbreak online database. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/foodborneoutbreaks/. Accessed June, 2018.
Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, 42 U.S.C. §2507. (2004). Congress. https://www.congress.gov/108/plaws/publ265/PLAW-108publ265.pdf. Accessed June, 2018.
Connors, M., & Morris, P. (2015). Comparing state policy approaches to early care and education quality: A multidimensional assessment of quality rating and improvement systems and child care licensing regulation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.05.006.
Enke, A., Briley, M., Curtis, S., Greninger, S., & Staskel, D. (2007). Quality management procedures influence the food safety practices at childcare centers. Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-006-0141-8.
Food and Drug Administration. (2017). Food safety: It’s especially important for at-risk groups. https://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/PeopleAtRisk/ucm352830.htm#FS2. Accessed June, 2018.
Hotz, J., & Xiao, M. (2011). The impact of regulations on the supply and quality of care in child care markets. American Economic Review. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.101.5.1775.
Laughlin, L. (2013). Who’s minding the kids? Child care arrangements: Spring 2011. Current population reports. U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p70-135.pdf. Accessed June, 2018.
Lu, N., Samuels, M., Shi, L., Baker, L., Glover, S., & Sanders, M. (2004). Child day care risks of common infectious diseases revisited. Child: Care, Health, & Development, 30(4), 361–368.
McGaha, C., Snow, C., & Teleki, J. (2001). Family childcare in the United States: A comparative analysis of 1981 and 1998 state regulations. Early Childhood Education Journal, 28(4), 251–255.
Melusky, R., Slavinsky, E., Strauser M., & Le, A. (2014). The 50-state child care licensing study. National Association for Regulatory Administration. http://www.naralicensing.org/assets/docs/ChildCareLicensingStudies/2011-2013_child%20care%20licensing%20study.pdf. Accessed June, 2018.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (2001). Child care and common communicable illnesses: Results from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.155.4.481.
Park, S., Kwak, T., & Chang, H. (2010). Evaluation of the food safety training for food handlers in restaurant operations. Nutrition Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2010.4.1.58.
Reynolds, J., & Rajagopal, L. (2017a). Childcare food handling employees’ perceived barriers and motivators to follow food safety practices. Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0885-3.
Reynolds, J., & Rajagopal, L. (2017b). Food safety practices: Exploratory assessment of South Carolina childcare facilities health and safety inspection data. Food Protection Trends, 37(2), 107–115.
Roberts, K. R., Barrett, B. B., Howells, A. D., Shanklin, C. W., Pilling, V. K., & Brannon, L. A. (2008). Food safety training and foodservice employees’ knowledge and behavior. Food Protection Trends, 28(4), 252–260. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/806. Accessed June, 2018.
Stevens, K. B. (2017). Work of today, workforce of tomorrow: The business case for high-quality childcare. US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/sites/default/files/Workforce%20of%20Today%2CWorkforce%20of%20Tomorrow%20Report_0.pdf. Accessed June, 2018.
Unites States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS). (2014). Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.fns.usda.gov/cacfp/why-cacfp-important. Accessed June, 2018.
United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS). (2017). Child and Adult Care Food Program: Average daily attendance. United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/pd/12ccfypart.pdf. Accessed June, 2018.
United States Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. (2016). Primary early care and education arragements and achivement at kindergarten entry. United States Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016070.pdf.
United States Office of Personnel Management. (n.d.). Child care resources handbook. US Office of Personnel Management. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/worklife/reference-materials/child-care-resources-handbook/. Accessed June, 2018.
World Health Organization. (2016). MCEE-WHO methods and data sources for child causes of death 2000–2015. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/ChildCOD_method_2000_2015.pdf. Accessed June, 2018.
Acknowledgements
This research was conducted by Kansas State University on behalf of the Center for Food Safety in Child Nutrition Programs and was funded in part by the United States Department of Agriculture. The contents of this article do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Agriculture nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government.
Funding
The United States Department of Agriculture funded this study in part (Grant No. FS-CE-15-KS-01).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Paez, P., Alcorn, M. Food Safety Regulations for Childcare Programs: State Agency Perspectives. Early Childhood Educ J 47, 53–61 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-018-0915-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-018-0915-9