Duties of child care center operator

The operator is responsible for compliance with the requirements set forth in this chapter and North Dakota Century Code chapter 50-11.1. The operator shall: 1. Designate a qualified director and shall delegate appropriate duties to the director: a. The operator shall ensure that the director or a designated acting director is present at the child care center at least sixty percent of the time when the child care center is open; b. The operator shall ensure that the individual designated as an acting director meets the qualifications of a supervisor and for an ongoing period of more than thirty days meets the qualifications of a director; and c. The operator shall ensure that when the director and acting director are not present at the center, an individual who meets the qualifications of a supervisor is on duty; 2. Provide an environment that is physically and socially adequate for children; 3. Notify the department of any major changes in the operation, ownership, or governing body of the child care center, including staff member changes; 4. Ensure that liability insurance is carried to insure against bodily injury and property damage for the child care center; 5. Formulate written policies and procedures for the operation of the child care center. Policies must include: a. Hiring practices and personnel policies for staff members; b. Methods for obtaining references and employment histories of staff members; c. Methods of conducting staff member performance evaluations; d. Children's activities, care, and enrollment; e. The responsibilities and rights of staff members and parents; f. An explanation of how accidents and illnesses will be handled; g. The methods of developmentally appropriate discipline and guidance techniques that are to be used; h. The process for a parent or staff member to report a complaint, a suspected licensing violation, and suspected child abuse or neglect; i. The care and safeguarding of personal belongings brought to the child care center by a child or by another on a child's behalf; j. Procedures for accountability when a child fails to arrive as expected at the child care center; and k. Transportation procedures, if the operator provides transportation; 6. Maintain records of enrollment, attendance, health, and other required records; 7. May select an emergency designee; 8. Maintain necessary information to verify staff members' qualifications and to ensure safe care for the children in the child care center; 9. Ensure that parents of enrolled children and other interested parties are informed of the goals, policies, procedures, and content of the child care center's program; 10. Ensure that parents of enrolled children: a. Are advised of the child care center's service fees, operating policies and procedures, location, and the name, address, and telephone number of the operator and the director; b. Receive written notice of the effective date, duration, scope, and impact of any significant changes in the child care center's services; and c. Receive notice that they may request written daily reports for their child, including details regarding eating, napping, and diapering; 11. Ensure that the child care center is sufficiently staffed at all times to meet the child to staff ratios for children in attendance and that no more children than the licensed capacity are served at any one time; 12. Ensure that the child care center has sufficient qualified staff members available to substitute for regularly assigned staff who are sick, on leave, or otherwise unable to be on duty; 13. Ensure that there are signed written agreements with the parents of each child that specify the fees to be paid, methods of payment, and policies regarding delinquency of fees; 14. Provide parents with unlimited access and opportunities for parents to observe their children while in care, and provide parents with regular opportunities to meet with staff members responsible for caring for or teaching children before and during enrollment to discuss their children's needs. Providing unlimited access does not prohibit a child care center from locking its doors while children are in care; 15. Provide parents, upon request, with progress reports on their children; 16. Report immediately, as a mandatory reporter, suspected child abuse or neglect as required by North Dakota Century Code section 50-25.1-03; 17. Ensure that staff members responsible for caring for or teaching children under the age of eighteen are supervised by an adult staff member; 18. Meet the qualifications of the director set forth in section 75-03-10-10, if the operator is also the director; 19. Report to the department within twenty-four hours: a. A death or a serious accident or illness requiring hospitalization of a child while in the care of the child care center or attributable to care received in the child care center; b. An injury to any child which occurs while the child is in the care of the child care center and which requires medical treatment; c. Poisonings or errors in the administering of medication; d. Closures or relocations of the child care center due to emergencies; and e. Fire that occurs or explosions that occur in or on the premises of the child care center; 20. Ensure that children do not depart from the child care center premises unsupervised, except when the parent and provider consent that an unsupervised departure is safe and appropriate for the age and development of the child. The provider shall obtain written parental consent for the child to leave the child care center premises unsupervised, which must specify the activity, time the child is leaving and length of time the child will be gone, method of transportation, and parental responsibility for the child once the child leaves the child care center premises; and 21. Ensure that each child is released only to the child's parent, legal custodian, guardian, or an individual who has been authorized by the child's parent, legal custodian, or guardian.