Home Daycare Rules Tighten in Fairfax County

Update is the first in a decade

Fairfax County has changed some rules for home daycare operators to improve the safety of children.

The Board of Supervisors has approved new guidelines for operators and the homes where children are located.

Home daycare providers and the adults living in the homes must now be tested for tuberculosis every two years. That rule is in response to a recent  increase in the number of TB cases in the county.

Also, carbon monoxide detectors must be installed in homes with appliances that produce carbon monoxide.  That rule follows the recommendation of the Fairfax Fire and Rescue Department.

Home daycare operators must have additional training under the new rules -- 16 hours each year. This requirement will be phased in over the next three years.

A provider may use a substitute for up to 240 hours each year, provided that substitute is an adult who passed a criminal background check and is certified in CPR and has been screened for TB.

Providers who provide snacks will be required to follow USDA guidelines.

The new rules affect home daycare operations with five or fewer children. They take effect Feb. 1.

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