State Licenser Visit from Heck!!!

[Karen's Castle]

Hi, I have been a licensed and certified family child provider for 9 years now and have been providing daycare another 15 years. I have had 6 new licensors. Today was visit # 2 for this licensor this year. I can't believe some of the things that I got written up for! My biggest hit was her telling me that my 12 yr old daughter can no longer, hold any children, take any care of them , no disipline (when I'm in the other room), no diaper changes and no feeding babies bottles and can't walk SA children to or from school. She had her babysitting certificate and would never be left alone w/dckiddos. She is devastated!!!!! I got wrote up because my 5yr old dcb and my 8yr olf dcg were using sippy cup lids, they usually don't but we have temporarily moved our kids table into carpeted area, not because they don't know how to use a cup!!!! I forgot to wash my new 6wk old dcb's hands after diaper change!! I was written up for just rinsing cups w/water at lunchtime. I am to wash w/dishsoap and hot water at every refill. A child I hadn't had in a month, came back today @ 9:30 a.m. with a body/arm cast, and when licensor looked in my medical journal @ 10:00a.m. I had not written that info in yet. I could go on and on and on...... about everything she wrote me up for and verbally acoust me with. I about told her to shove the license you know where. If I didn't love my dckiddos so..... much! I can't stand the thought of losing any of them! Sorry for the length of words, but I really needed to vent.

[Michael]

Welcome to the Forum!

[SilverSabre25]

um...wow.

Others will add this, too, but you need to ask them to show you these regs in writing. Sounds like someone (not you...) was having a terrible day and was, to put it nicely, losing touch with reality a bit.

It has never, in my entire life, occurred to me to wash an infant's hands after a diaper change...if it weren't VERY late I'd have even more to say. But perhaps it's better I don't, .

What insanity!

And, welcome to the forum.

[Michelle]

I have never been written up for anything in 11 years of being licensed but the visit I had 3 years ago,I remember being so afraid of what the kids would do, I just made them all sit down and read to them the whole time while she did her
inspection. She thought I was the greatest thing since sliced bread but inside I was shaking and my heart was pounding.
Some licensers are very power hungry and like to mess with you.
My best advise is to be very nice and ask them if you could fix things before she leaves maybe she won't write it down.
I have never heard of an age limit on sippy cups, or why you would have to keep a medical record for injuries that didn't happen at your home.

[Cat Herder]

My biggest hit was her telling me that my 12 yr old daughter can no longer, hold any children, take any care of them , no discipline (when I'm in the other room), no diaper changes and no feeding babies bottles and can't walk SA children to or from school.

This 12 year old would count into my ratios.

I got wrote up because my 5yr old dcb and my 8yr old dcg were using sippy cup lids, they usually don't but we have temporarily moved our kids table into carpeted area, not because they don't know how to use a cup!!!!

I have the same regs. I no longer keep kids past age four because of the School Age regs.

I forgot to wash my new 6wk old dcb's hands after diaper change!!

Same reg here. You have to take them to warm running water and wash with soap every diaper change BUT the soap container cannot be within their reach.

I was written up for just rinsing cups w/water at lunchtime. I am to wash w/dish soap and hot water at every refill.

Ours is warm, soapy water with bleach added at each refill. I now prefill 3 cups, labeled per child (water, juice, milk) before they arrive then toss in dishwasher after use.. MUCH easier.

A child I hadn't had in a month, came back today @ 9:30 a.m. with a body/arm cast, and when licensor looked in my medical journal @ 10:00a.m.
I had not written that info in yet.

I understand. I had notary seals expire once (within 30 days of getting them ) without noticing. That deemed some child forms invalid...was written up as if they were never even in existence.

I could go on and on and on...... about everything she wrote me up for and verbally acoust me with..

I am sorry that happened. It is getting really hard to stay in this business with the constant changing of rules and regs.

After 17 years in business without an injury or complaint, I have never had issues until this past year, suddenly out of the blue.

I hope your weekend goes better

[Meeko]

If you do not see her "violations" in the WRITTEN rules.......don't accept them. Each state is different (for example, we only have to wash a diapered child's hands if they touched fecal matter during the change.) A licensor can not write you up on their whim or their opinion.

In the past 25 years I have only had one licensing inspection that went badly. She was in a bad mood and wrote me up on things I knew were bogus. (My eldest adult son lived in the house at the time, but did not help in the day care in any way,,,,but she wrote me up because he did not have first aid training or a food handlers permit.) She told that because he picked up one of the day care babies in front of her and said "Hi Sweetie" that he had to have all the same training etc as I did. He had the background check as he lived in the house and that was all he needed. I wrote to head office and they rescinded it. Never settle if you think it's not fair.

If it's not specifically written in the regs...they can't write you up. What they "think" doesn't matter.

Another thing she wrote me up on was that my husband was my helper and his first aid and cpr card was just barely out of date. She wrote me up. But the reg says "at least one provider must have first aid and cpr" Mine was up to date. My husband didn't even have to have one at all! Again...it was rescinded by HQ.

I know my regs inside and out and know I can argue head to head if necessary. At my last surprise inspection we got 100% perfect. But she almost wrote me up on something (don't remember what) and then said "Oh! Sorry! that's a center reg...not home day care....I get so confused!!" So they are only human too! Never just sit there. Question them if you think it's bogus.

ASK TO SEE THE WRITTEN REG.

[SandeeAR]

And this folks, is why I won't get licensed. I would rather keep fewer children and not deal with a a license.

[AfterSchoolMom]

And this folks, is why I won't get licensed. I would rather keep fewer children and not deal with a a license.

Ditto. Good Lord.

[MommyMuffin]

I am sorry that happened to you. I would look up the exact rules in the book and try to find ways to make them easy to follow. Some are very silly.

[Christian Mother]

Ditto. Good Lord.

Yup, Double Ditto...Yikes you guys!! I am super proud of those certified!! If I was made to be here in AZ I would too. But I don't bc of these very things plus, I can only handle 4...not to mention my 2. I'd go nutz. Hats off to all of you Certified Providers!! I hope you all have a Wonderful Fri. Sorry OP that your Lic. visit went the way it did. I agree with all the rest. Ck your reg's. in writing to make sure there legit and call lic. to have them corrected. I am not sure how that works on correcting if there's been an error. Sorry this happened to you!!

[GotKids]

are the 5 and 8 year olds that don't know how to use cups special needs? If so a note from parents or doctors saying they are unable to use a regular cup should help you. If not I would be making this a goal. With some of my kids over the years I have to be one to wean them off the sippy cup and it seems like there is a trend to keep kids on them longer and longer by the parents.

If you can't break them right now consider getting them reusable sports bottles that are more age appropriate for that group.

[wdmmom]

I'm curious about this sippy cup matter too. I don't allow cups beyond the hard wood floor (milk and juice) but I do allow water cups. I have a 3.5 yo DCG that is very clumsy. When she started, DCM told me give her all drinks out of a sippy. I'm not going to go against a parents request...especially when it's so minor.

Also, do cups with lids and straws violate this regulation too?!

All kids grow and mature differently. JMO but who is the state to say that by the time a child hits a certain age, they must only be allowed drinks out of regular cups?!

[2ndFamilyDC]

I think so many of the states rules are just stupid. Every year at re-licensing time I think about quiting because I dread the visit. I get very very crabby for weeks just thinking about it because I know that my licensor will come up with some new dumb rule they want me to follow. For the first 16 years of childcare my licensor never came up with anything, but then I got a new lic. and boy he just loved to find something petty to write me up on, otherwise he was not doing his job. When I said I was just going to quit daycare he said "oh no, don't do that, your one of the good ones" I laughed and said really, then why the pettiness. He said because it is one of the rules and sited examples of why it was a rule. BTW, the thing I was fighting was that he wanted locks put on my two sons rooms. They were then 18 & 19. He said if they were not in their bedroom that the doors had to be locked. Even thought their bedrooms were upstairs were no kids were allowed, and I had to have a gate blocking the stairway. I yi yi, it drives me crazy.

[mom2many]

Wow I thought CA had some crazy regs to follow... but after reading OP, I'm thinking it's crazy everywhere! Just a different kind of crazy!!!!

Try not to let it get you discouraged!

[Meeko]

They have to add and change the rules each year, because it's job security for someone at state level. Stupid...but true.

Our state is only allowed to make changes once a year. Any new regs are in force on January 1st each year. I check the written rules about every four to six months. Right before my scheduled visit and during the year. I go over each and every one. That way I KNOW I am 100% in compliance when I get a visit.

An inspector can talk up a storm all they want. If they can't back it up and show me that exact thing written in black and white in the regs...then it's just hot air and heaven help anyone who tried to write me up on it.

I am well known by the licensing staff here in my county. They know I run a good day care and they know I know the regs as well as they do and that I am not shy in standing my ground. So they don't mess with me.