1. Subject to the provisions of chapter 17A, the department shall adopt rules setting minimum standards to provide quality child care in the operation and maintenance of child care centers and registered child development homes, relating to all of the following:

 a. The number and qualifications of personnel necessary to assure the health, safety, and welfare of children in the facilities. Rules for facilities which are preschools shall be drawn so that any staff-to-children ratios which relate to the age of the children enrolled shall be based on the age of the majority of the children served by a particular class rather than on the age of the youngest child served.
 b. Physical facilities.
 c. The adequacy of activity programs and food services available to the children. The department shall not restrict the use of or apply nutritional standards to a lunch or other meal which is brought to the center, child development home, or child care home by a school-age child for the child’s consumption.
 d. Policies established by the center for parental participation.
 e. Programs for education and in-service training of staff.
 f. Records kept by the facilities.
 g. Administration.
 h. Health, safety, and medical policies for children.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 237A.12

  • Administrator: means the administrator of the division of the department designated by the director to administer this chapter. See Iowa Code 237A.1
  • center: means a facility providing child care or preschool services for seven or more children, except when the facility is registered as a child development home. See Iowa Code 237A.1
  • Child: means either of the following:
     a. See Iowa Code 237A.1
  • Child care: means the care, supervision, and guidance of a child by a person other than the child's parent, guardian, or custodian for periods of less than twenty-four hours per day per child on a regular basis, but does not include care, supervision, and guidance of a child by any of the following:
     a. See Iowa Code 237A.1
  • Child care home: means a person or program providing child care to any of the following children at any one time that is not registered to provide child care under this chapter, as authorized under section 237A. See Iowa Code 237A.1
  • Child development home: means a person or program registered under section 237A. See Iowa Code 237A.1
  • Department: means the department of human services. See Iowa Code 237A.1
  • Director: means the director of human services. See Iowa Code 237A.1
  • facility: means a child care center, preschool, or a registered child development home. See Iowa Code 237A.1
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • School: means kindergarten or a higher grade level. See Iowa Code 237A.1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • State child care advisory committee: means the state child care advisory committee established pursuant tosection 135. See Iowa Code 237A.1
 2. Rules adopted by the state fire marshal for buildings, other than school buildings, used as child care centers as an adjunct to the primary purpose of the building shall take into consideration that children are received for temporary care only and shall not differ from rules adopted for these buildings when they are used by groups of persons congregating from time to time in the primary use and occupancy of the buildings. However, the rules may require a fire-rated separation from the remaining portion of the building if the fire marshal determines that the separation is necessary for the protection of children from a specific flammable hazard.
 3. Rules relating to fire safety for child care centers shall be adopted under this chapter by the state fire marshal in consultation with the department. Rules adopted by the state fire marshal for a building which is owned or leased by a school district or accredited nonpublic school and used as a child care facility shall not differ from standards adopted by the state fire marshal for school buildings under chapter 100. Rules relating to sanitation shall be adopted by the department in consultation with the director of public health. All rules shall be developed in consultation with the state child care advisory committee. The state fire marshal shall inspect the facilities.
 4. If a building is owned or leased by a school district or accredited nonpublic school and complies with standards adopted by the state fire marshal for school buildings under chapter 100, the building is considered appropriate for use by a child care facility. The rules adopted by the administrator under this section shall not require the facility to comply with building requirements which differ from requirements for use of the building as a school.
 5. Standards and requirements set by a city or county for a building which is owned or leased by a school district or accredited nonpublic school and used as a child care facility shall take into consideration that children are received for temporary care only and shall not differ from standards and requirements set for use of the building as a school.
 6. Rules adopted relating to physical examination requirements for licensed or registered facility personnel and the children being provided child care by the licensed or registered facility shall allow for any licensed physician as defined in section 135.1 to perform the physical examination.
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