Section 400.8101. Definitions.

Rule 101. As used in these rules:

(a)    “Accredited college or university” means a college or university that has been accredited by a regional or national institutional accrediting association recognized by the United States department of education.

(b)   “Ages” means all of the following:

(i)   “Infant” - birth until 1 year of age.

(ii)   “Toddler” – 1 year of age until 30 months of age.

(iii)   “Preschooler” – 30 months of age until eligible to attend a grade of kindergarten or higher.

(iv)    “School-ager” – a child who is eligible to attend a grade of kindergarten or higher, but less than 13 years of age. A child is considered a school-ager on the first day of the school year in which he or she is eligible.

(c)   “Caregiver” means a person 18 years of age or older who provides direct care, education, supervision, and guidance of children. A 17-year-old shall qualify as a caregiver if he or she meets 1 of the following:

(i)    Has satisfactorily completed at least 1 year of a vocational-occupational child care aide training program approved by the department of licensing and  regulatory affairs.

(ii)   Has completed 1 year of apprenticeship in a recognized child care apprenticeship program sponsored by the United State department of labor.

(d)   “Center” means a child care center or day care center which is a facility other than a private residence, which receives 1 or more children under 13 years of age for care for periods of less than 24 hours a day, and at which the parents or guardians are not immediately available to the children. “Center” includes a facility that provides care for not less than 2 consecutive weeks, regardless of the number of hours of care per day. The facility is generally described as a child care center, day care center, day nursery, nursery school, parent cooperative preschool, prekindergarten, play group, or drop-in center. “Center” does not include any of the following:

(i)   A Sunday school, a vacation Bible school, or a religious instructional class which is conducted by a religious organization and at which children are in attendance for not

more than 3 hours per day for an indefinite period, or not more than 8 hours per day for a period not to exceed 4 weeks during a 12-month period, or a facility operated by a religious organization where children are cared for not more than 3 hours while persons responsible for the children are attending religious services.

(ii)   A special education program or service conducted under the authority of article 3 of 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1701 to 380.1766.

(iii)     A kindergarten operated by a local or intermediate school district under the authority of 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1 to 380.761 or as part of a nonpublic elementary school. However, this exemption shall not apply to a nonpublic kindergarten operated as part of a center.

(iv)    A program that is primarily supervised, school-age-child-focused training in a specific subject, including, but not limited to, dancing, drama, music, or religion. This exclusion applies only to the time a child is involved in supervised, school-age-child- focused training.

(v)   A program that is primarily an incident of group athletic or social activities for school-age children sponsored by or under the supervision of an organized club or hobby group, including, but not limited to, youth clubs, scouting, and school-age recreational or supplementary education programs. This exclusion applies only to the time the school- age child is engaged in the group athletic or social activities and if the school-age child can come and go at will.

(e)   “CEU” means a continuing education unit awarded by an accredited college or university sponsor of continuing education units or equivalent awarded by the state board of education.

(f)    “Degrees and semester hours” means only those degrees and hours from an accredited college or university.

(g)   “Department” means the department of human services.

(h)   “Developmentally appropriate” means age appropriate as well as appropriate to the individual child.

(i)    “Easily cleanable” means that surfaces are readily accessible and made of such materials and finish and so fabricated that residue may be effectively removed by normal cleaning methods.

(j)    “Field trip” means children and caregivers leaving the center premises for an excursion, trip, or program activity.

(k)   “First aid kit” means a kit containing, at a minimum, all of the following: sterile gauze pads, assorted sizes, a roll of gauze, adhesive bandages, assorted sizes, adhesive cloth tape, an elastic bandage, tweezers, and scissors. A first aid kit is prohibited from containing any non-prescription or prescription medications as defined under R 400.8152.

(l)   “Group size” means the specified number of children assigned to a caregiver or team of caregivers occupying an individual classroom or well-defined space for each group within a larger room. Two or more groups may be combined for collective activities as long as appropriate child/staff ratios are maintained in the room or area.

(m)   "Licensee designee" means the individual designated in writing by the board of directors of the corporation or by the owner or person with legal authority to act on behalf of the company or organization on licensing matters.

(n)     “Parent” or “parental” means a child’s parent, guardian, or other legally responsible person.

(o)    “Playspace” means a piece or pieces of age-appropriate toys, play equipment, and materials that 1 child can use independently for 15 minutes.

(p)    “Program components” means the different services offered by a center. They include, but are not limited to, infant/toddler, preschool, and school-age care and education; nighttime care; food service; swimming; and transportation.

(q)   “Routine transportation” means regularly scheduled travel on the same day of the week, at the same time, to the same destination.

(r)    “Sanitization” means effective bactericidal treatment by a process that provides enough accumulative heat or concentration of chemicals for enough time to reduce the bacterial count, including pathogens, to a safe level.

(s)   “School” means a building or part of a building which is owned or leased by, or under the control of, a public or private school or school system for the purpose of instruction as required by 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1561 which is occupied by 6 or more students, and which is used 4 or more hours per day or more than 12 hours per week.

(t)  “Staff” means any compensated employee of the center.

(u)   “Volunteer” means a person 16 years of age or older who is not a compensated employee of the center. Volunteers may be counted in the caregiver-to-child ratios outlined in R 400.8182(3) if they meet the definition of caregiver as defined by subdivision (c) of this rule.

(v)   “Well-defined space” means space designed and used exclusively for a specific group of children.

History: 2013 AACS.