Negalance in Childcare Regulation - Research Paper Example

In this modern age, most of the people are working at various places to earn money so that they could fulfill their routine needs. As the inflation rate is going beyond its edges year by year, people do every effort to avoid loosing of even a single penny. To ensure this, men and women involve themselves in various job activities in both full time and part time. While, while they are on jobs, their children need them also, and as they are not able to give time to their children because they have much more to do, someone has to be there to take care of their children and to give an alternate of the true ethical and social training like the one given by the parents, the responsibilities of child care companies begin. The basic responsibilities of a child care company include assistance in the construction of a classroom environment which is helpful to learning and suitable to the physical, social, and emotional development of children with an emphasis on language development and emergent literacy skills. Children are most sensitive and most intuitive ingredient of our society so major precautions should be taken in their teaching and training, so the companies should perform duties as planned under the leadership of the Early Childhood Specialists (Child Care professional development training online, 2010). Like wise, child care companies also assist in the screening and preparation of children to let them fully participate in program services. To ensure best security, they have to implement the curriculum that is planned by the Early Childhood Specialist which has to be based on scientifically based reading research. Interaction with the children in a way which conveys respect and nurturing is also necessary. It will be the child care provider’s responsibility to play with children; this will often mean getting down on the floor to interact with them. They will provide activities and opportunities that encourage inquisitiveness, exploration, and problem-solving appropriate to the development levels of the children. This is an essential part of the training and overall development phase. To guarantee the best development of the adored children, they assist in the selection of books, equipment and other instructional materials suitable for the early childhood program. As all know that health is wealth, they emphasize significantly on the personal hygiene of each child in their care (Department of Children and Families, 2011). Basic OSHA Regulations Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a unit which has been set up within the Labor Department. This unit was established with a goal to provide safe and healthy working environment to the working class in the nation. OSHA achieves this goal by implementing its Regulations which empowers them to regulate the safety and health conditions at different workplaces. The basic responsibilities of OSHA Regulations include encouragement to both employers and employees to join hands and put in a combined effort to reduce the workplace hazards and to innovate and advance the health and safety conditions at the workplace. OSHA Regulations are also responsible to develop a competent Occupational Safety and Health work force with a target to maintain the required levels of health and safety at the workplace. Besides this, OSHA Regulations are also responsible to develop a system of record keeping to keep an eye on the injuries related to jobs and to report the same to the competent authorities (About Licensing, 2010). OSHA Regulations also play a vital role in implementing the safety and health standards by conducting regular inspections at different workplaces. Through these inspections, it is ensured that the employer is providing appropriate safety and health conditions to its employees. These inspections also make sure that the short-comings, if any, in the system are resolved by making arrangements to aware both the employer and the employees about their responsibilities for achieving the desired targets related to health and safety at the workplace (Department of Children and Families, 2011). Besides this, the basic responsibilities of OSHA Regulations also include the monitoring and review of applicable health and safety programs. Further, these regulations are also responsible to make sure that all the applicable safety and health measures are complied with both within the specific departments and in the organization as a whole. These regulations are also responsible to point out any deficiencies or problems and to develop strategies and measures to resolve such problems (Child Care professional development training online, 2010). OSHA Regulations are also responsible to create awareness amongst the employers about the effective and efficient implementation of the heath and safety standards. It also create awareness about the importance of conducting self-audits within the department in order to point out any short-comings and to resolve the same before any mishap. OSHA Regulations also creates awareness amongst the employees regarding the safety equipments and the health related precautions. Thus, OSHA Regulations play a significant role in maintaining the desired levels of health and safety at the workplaces. Liabilities of Childcare companies to OSHA rules Childcare facility is critically important not only in terms of children development but also its benefits go beyond the individuals since children today will be the future of tomorrow and hence it is mandatory that they should be provided with ethically sound and moral upbringing at child care centers where they are not under their parents direct supervision. It is imperative that child care companies follow the rules and regulations which are necessary to provide children with amiable ambiance and friendly atmosphere so they develop the best possible attributes in their personality and grow in a safe and secure environment. Occupational Safety and Health standards have defined and set rules and regulations for the child care companies to adhere to them to provide the children with required facilities. These OSHA rules demonstrate the minimum requirements that every child care facility should ensure at their place of operations and in failure of compliance to these standards would result in heavy fines and penalties on the operating company (Department of Children and Families, 2011). Although OSHA has set some standards which are specific to each and every industry but there are many generic requirements which are to be met by every child care facility including that even if, upon OSHA visit, a slight probability of any serious physical harm resulting in death or fatal injury at the place of operation due to the negligence in meeting minimum standards is found, it can result in hefty penalty on the company and in severe cases it continues to elevate if the problem is not taken care off (Department of Children and Families office of licensing, 2009). Furthermore, child care companies should make sure that their facility is insured and inspected by the relevant department and is fully equipped with the required facilities. They should also make sure to avoid fines that all the health and safety standards are fully met according to OSHA rules otherwise an unfortunate incident due to negligence in meeting these standards can cost company a fortune. Also, the staff and employees should be carefully selected based on their qualification, character and expertise so that the children feel safe and homely at the facility. Lastly, companies should buy insurance so that in case of any accident the day care facility’s expenses are covered for the property as well as the individuals by the insurance company. Negligence in Childcare Regulation that the childcare companies show in general The nourishment and development of a child once he or she marks his or her entry in this world is critically important and crucial. In this regard, child care apart from the care that a child receives from his parents and immediate family is also extremely critical and creates a lasting impact on the personality of the child. Recently, due to the rapid globalization and fast paced life, the trend of day care centers have increased exponentially where parents admit their children to day care centers to be taken care off while they are at work and this normally continues till the child reaches the age of school (Department of Children and Families office of licensing, 2009). Over the last few years, child care has come under extensive scrutiny in which behaviors and attitudes that were tolerated initially are no longer existent anymore since the rights of children and the relevant legislation on these sensitive issues have changed the scenario. Companies providing the services of child care have become more aware and careful regarding their responsibilities towards children but there are still some areas in which they lack and there is a dire need to overcome those shortcomings (About Licensing, 2010). One area that needs to be looked into is selection criteria of employees in these child care centers since they are the ones who remain in constant contact with children and act as the role model for them apart from children family. The employees should be well qualified not only academically but also ethically and morally so that they children end up learning positive attributes from these employees. Moreover, a study carried out in 2001 proved that the children admitted to child care centers are more likely to develop aggressive and hyper behavior in their personalities which again is a reflection of the ambiance they are exposed to while they are at child care centers. It is the management role to make sure that a healthy atmosphere is maintained all the time in order to let the children grow in a more positive and friendly environment. Hence, authorities should make sure that child care centers are fully adhering to their responsibilities as mentioned under the child care act 2002 in order to provide the society with responsible and ethically sound citizens for tomorrow (Department of Children and Families office of licensing, 2009). Training that childcare companies need in OSHA regulations For a childcare company to work certain guidelines are developed by Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The guidelines have been set up by Federal Law for the protection of day-care workers. There are some things that are necessary for the establishment of the safety of children and taking care of their health. For this purpose, childcare companies require certain training as per the regulations of OSHA. First of all, day-care workers are given training of first aid which requires that each of the workers is equipped with the necessary skills to give first aid to people in case of emergency. It implies giving first aid to both children and adults when any accident happens and no other medical facility is present. First aid training requires that a day-care worker be given extensive guidelines about how to clean wounds, bandage injuries, and wipe blood and other things. This first aid training should be given OSHA training workshop or any equivalent program taught at Red Cross (Child Care professional development training online, 2010). Secondly, child-care workers need to be trained about cardiopulmonary resuscitation as per OSHA guidelines. This type of training is often conducted in combination with first aid but it can be taken individually as well. Also there are specific courses available for teaching CPR for adults or children. Thirdly, people working in child-care setting are also trained in procedures required for protecting oneself from infections caused by exposure to blood. It is probable that day-care workers get themselves infected by their exposure to blood and other bodily fluids containing blood. Thus it is necessary to protect a child or oneself from spreading blood-related infections. Furthermore, OSHA regulations require day-care workers to get vaccinations for hepatitis as they are considered to be prone towards this disease because they are exposed to feces and other bodily fluids (Department of Children and Families office of licensing, 2009). OSHA regulations require childcare companies to take care of all these aspects described above and they must ensure that their employees are getting the required training. It is the responsibility of the employer to cover charges for training and other related things. A day-care worker should be trained by the child-care company according to the standards set by OSHA to ensure the safety and well-being of children. Conclusion: Childcare companies that do no train properly in OSHA Regulation will increase liabilities for the company OSHA forms regulations and guidelines for the safety and protection of workers and children which require a certain level of training imparted to the day-care workers by OSHA or equivalent program such as Red Cross Association. The training encompasses teaching how to give first aid to children and adults and taking care of certain things that expose one to blood. The training expenses are covered by the childcare companies and it is ensured that they give training as per the OSHA regulations provided they are liable to many future damages. It is important to mention that childcare companies not abiding the laws, rules and regulations set by OSHA are prone toward liabilities which would be harmful for the company itself. It can be done in the form of not giving first aid training to day-care workers which would result in worsening the condition of a victim in case of some emergency. Also, if a worker do not take care of the guidelines recommended by OSHA, he is likely to expose a child to blood or bodily fluids having blood that will be harmful for the child. It is also essential that day-care workers should be given vaccinations for hepatitis as they are more likely to be infected with this disease because of their increased exposure to feces (Nielsen, 1999). It is necessary to follow all of the guidelines set up by OSHA for the protection of children because if day-care staff is not trained properly, it would result in spreading infections, diseases and illnesses. As the workers employed in childcare companies have to expose themselves toward faces, blood and other bodily fluids with blood in them, they can not only become infected by viruses or can transmit the diseases to children also. It is therefore, necessary to comply with the regulations of OSHA or else it would negatively affect the company providing childcare services. Not properly training day-care staff on OSHA regulations causes a company to spoil its repute and would result in legal penalties and punishments for that company. It will cause harmful diseases to spread among children and adults in childcare setting and will disrupt the company’s image. References: About Licensing (2010) Minimum Requirements for Preservice Qualifications and Annual ongoing training hours for center teaching roles in 2011.  http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/cclicensingreq/cclr-teachers.html. retreived on August 9, 2011. Child Care professional development training online (2010) New Jersey Child Care Regulations Training Series Retrieved from http://newjersey.cdatraining.org retrieved on August 10, 2011. Department of Children and Families (2011) Licensing Laws and Regulations - State of New Jersey. Retrieved from http://www.state.nj.us/dcf/divisions/licensing/laws.html on August 9, 2011. Department of Children and Families office of licensing (2009) Chapter 122 manual of requirements For Child Care Centers. State of New Jersey, Department of Children and Families. Retrieved from http://www.state.nj.us/dcf/divisions/licensing/CCCmanual.pdf on August 10, 2011. Nielsen, R. (1999) OSHA Regulations and Guidelines: A guide for health care providers. Delmer Cangage learning. Read More