Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Social Services
 
Board
State Board of Social Services
 
chapter
Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers [22 VAC 40 ‑ 185]
Action Amend Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers to Address Federal Health and Safety Requirements
Stage Proposed
Comment Period Ended on 4/6/2018
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4/4/18  10:29 pm
Commenter: Kate Livis

Volunteer Parents in Cooperative Preschools should be counted in staff ratios
 

On behalf of FB Meekins Cooperative Preschool, I am requesting changes to the Proposed Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers, specifically in regard to the requirements for staff orientation and ongoing training.

Since 1964, Meekins has been a place for parents to actively participate in their children’s education by working directly in our classrooms as teachers’ aides. The new requirements for staff orientation (22VAC40-185-240) and ongoing training (22VAC40-185-245) would impose an undue burden on our parents by expecting them to complete 16 hours of orientation and 20 hours per year of ongoing training. Parents who are volunteering their time are simply not going to be willing or able to complete the same orientation and training requirements as our paid classroom teachers. Meekins is a part time preschool program which operates 3 hours a day for 9 months a year. Holding parent volunteers in cooperative preschools to the same training standards as full-time day care providers is unrealistic.

We request that the total number of training hours (both orientation and ongoing, collectively) for cooperative preschool parents be limited to the current 4 hours. Please remove the language "who are not considered staff" from section 22VAC40-185-245C describing the required annual training for cooperative preschool parents. Please include an exception for cooperative preschool parents in the new orientation training section 22VAC40-185-240.

CommentID: 64592