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have one staff member, the caregiver, on site and therefore would always be out of compliance with the requirement for two (2) staff members. The State Superintendent appreciates this comment and acknowledges that this may be true in many homes. The State Superintendent did not intend to require more than one person in a home and has amended § 150.2 by adding “unless a caregiver in a child development home is serving no more than six (6) children with no more than two being under the age of two.”

Inclusion, Exclusion, And Dismissal Of Children And Staff Due To Illness Section 151 sets forth the requirements for excluding both children and staff from the facility due to illness. Two stakeholders commented that requiring a child or staff member, who exhibited symptoms in § 151.2 and was treated by a doctor, return to a facility with written permission from a licensed health practitioner is burdensome and may keep the student or staff member out of school longer than necessary. Written permission is necessary to ensure the child will not spread infectious agents to other children in care. Furthermore, that the requirements in § 151 for written permission is not a new requirement for children and is what is currently required in 29 DCMR § 326.8. As recommended by Caring for our Children, OSSE extended this requirement to staff because staff also can spread infectious disease.

Subsection 151.5 provides that if a child exhibits “mild symptoms” of illness, a facility, in consultation with the child’s parents, shall decide if the child should go home based on the three factors provided. One commenter requested that the State Superintendent define or provide clarity for the phrase “mild symptoms”. The State Superintendent appreciates this comment and request for clarity. Section 151.3 provides symptoms that a licensee should look for as indication of an illness that may require exclusion. OSSE intended that “mild symptoms” should be interpreted as symptoms that do not indicate an illness listed in § 151.3.

Medication Administration And Storage Subsection 153.1 prohibits a licensee from administering medication to a child in care unless the parent provides permission, the administration of medication is approved by a licensed health care practitioner, and the staff member has completed an approved medication administration training program. One commenter requested the State Superintendent provide at least two (2) years to allow staff members to receive training. The CCDBG Act requires that staff members in licensed facilities have sucessfully complete this training by September 30, 2017. Another commenter recommend the State Superintendent add a requirement for renewal of the training every two years. OSSE appreciates the comment; however, it is not necessary to insert additional regulatory language to address the comment. Similar to certification in First Aide/CPR, the approved entity that certifies an individual’s successful completion of medication administration training program shall set forth how long certification is valid and how often training shall be renewed.

A commenter sought clarification of the requirement prohibiting a Licensee from administering medication to a child if the child had not had at least one dose of the medication at home. The commenter asked whether it was one dose that day or one dose, ever. To ensure that no such misunderstanding occurs, OSSE has further clarified this in the final rule by adding “at a previous time or date” to Subsection 153.2.