8VAC20-781-40 Required policies and procedures

To Whom It May Concern,

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on 8VAC20-781-40 Required Policies and Procedures. I am Shannon Saxby, a Policy Associate and Licensed Social Worker in the State of Maine. More importantly, I am a family friend of Bodie Toohey. He should have turned one last month, on December 19th, but due to unsafe sleep practices at his childcare he passed away on March 4th, 2023. Since then, Bodie’s parents, Rebecca and Peter, have dedicated their time to advocating on behalf of all children to make sure any time they are in a provider’s setting they are cared for in a high-quality manner that follows all of the most up to date information around safe sleep practices. 

Thank you for considering a review of the current standards around safe sleep practices as it is a mission we have been working towards to enhance the required standards around this issue to prevent babies in the future from needlessly dying in Virginia Child Care:

1. 8VAC20-781-330 Daily Care and activities for infants. A-H  are wonderful safe sleep standards that will protect infants from dying. 

2. 8VAC20-781-440 J “Cribs should be used for children under 12 months” (I would recommend making this language clearer by mandating cribs be used for infants under 12 months, not doing so increases the risk of infants being put into containers to sleep that have warning labels on them stating the risks. We want to make sure all standards promote AAP’s recommendations).

3. Please reconsider- 8VAC20-781-40 Required Policies and Procedures

   1. There needs to be a direct safe sleep policy that aligns with AAP in the standards to create a universal high-quality care model

   2. Please change to what Religious Exempt Centers are required to follow. It currently reads that “ The licensee shall develop and implement the following written policies and procedures” ADD that comply with the MOST UP TO DATE Safe Sleep guidelines recommended by the AAP.

4. All standards should align with the American Academy of Pediatrics as clearly as possible so all providers develop and maintain safe sleep policies that address all of these updated provisions. 

In summary, this review is a step in the right direction of protecting the community's children in child care settings. However, more work needs to be done and our standards need to be clear and align with AAP to meet the most up to date research as it comes out. We want our childcare providers to meet the needs of children as they evolve in regards to safe sleep. Having language that can be flexed due to being vague in its nature leaves too much room for providers to make risky decisions that have ultimately led to innocent babies losing their lives. 

Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter. ,

Respectfully,

Shannon Saxby, LMSW

Policy Associate, Champion for Bodie