10A NCAC 09 .2510         STAFF QUALIFICATIONS

(a)  The individual who is responsible for ensuring the administration of the program, whether on-site or off-site, shall:

(1)           Prior to employment, have at least:

(A)          400 hours of experience working with school-age children in a licensed child care program;

(B)          600 hours of verifiable experience working with school-age children in an unlicensed school-age care or camp setting; or

(C)          have an undergraduate, graduate, or associate degree, with at least 12 semester hours in school-age care related coursework; and

(2)           Meet the requirements for a child care administrator in G.S. 110-91(8).

(b)  At least one individual who is responsible for planning and ensuring the implementation of daily activities for a school-age program (program coordinator) shall:

(1)           Be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to employment;

(2)           Have completed two semester credit hours in child and youth development and two semester credit hours in school-age programming. Each individual who does not meet this requirement shall enroll in coursework within six months after becoming employed and shall complete this coursework within 18 months of enrollment. An individual who meets the staff requirements for administrator or lead teacher shall be considered as meeting the requirements for program coordinator, provided the individual completes Basic School-Age Care (BSAC) training as defined in 10A NCAC 09 .0102(4) of this Chapter, and

(3)           Be on site when children are in care for programs offering before and after school care only. For a full day program, the program coordinator shall be on site for two thirds of the hours of operation. This includes times when the individual is off site due to illness or vacation.

(c)  Staff who are responsible for supervising groups of school-age children (group leaders) shall be at least 18 years of age and have a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to employment, and shall complete the BSAC training. (d)  Staff who assist group leaders (assistant group leaders) shall be at least 16 years of age and shall complete the BSAC training.

(e)  The individual who is on-site and responsible for the administration of the school-age component of a center which also provides care to preschool-age children, shall meet the requirements for child care administrator in G.S. 110-91(8) and Rule .0704 of this Chapter.

(f)  When an individual has responsibility for both administering the program and planning and ensuring the implementation of the daily activities of a school-age program, the individual shall meet the staff requirements for an administrator and shall complete the BSAC training.

(g)  Completion of the BSAC training course, shall count toward meeting five hours of one year's annual on-going training requirements in Rule .1103 of this Chapter.

(h)  As used in this Rule, the term "experience working with school-age children" means experience working with school-age children as an administrator, program coordinator, group leader, assistant group leader, lead teacher, teacher, or aide.

(i)  All staff shall receive on-site training and orientation as follows:

(1)           Within the first two weeks of assuming responsibility for supervising a group of children, each employee shall complete at least six clock hours of training on:

(A)          recognizing, responding to, and reporting child abuse, neglect or maltreatment pursuant to G.S. 110-105.4 and G.S. 7B-301;

(B)          the center's operational policies, including the transportation policy, identification of building and premises safety issues, Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan and the emergency medical care plan;

(C)          adequate supervision of children, taking into account their age, emotional, physical, and cognitive development; and

(D)          prevention and control of infectious diseases, including immunization; and

(2)           Within the first six weeks of assuming responsibility for supervising a group of children, each employee shall complete at least three additional clock hours of training on:

(A)          maintaining a safe and healthy environment and developmentally appropriate activities for school-age children;

(B)          firsthand observations of the program's daily operations and instruction in the employee's assigned duties;

(C)          instruction in the administration of medication to children in accordance with 10A NCAC 09 .0803;

(D)          successfully complete CPR and First Aid training appropriate for the ages of children in care;

(E)           prevention of and response to emergencies due to food and allergic reactions;

(F)           review of the program's handling and storage of hazardous materials and the appropriate disposal of biocontaminants; and

(G)          review of child care licensing law and rules, including an explanation of the role of State and local government agencies in the regulation of child care and the employee's obligation to cooperate with representatives of State and local government agencies during visits and investigations.

(j)  Staff in part-time, full day, or track-out school-age care programs required to complete BSAC training shall do so within three months of becoming employed.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 110-85; 110-91(8),(11); 143B-168.3;

Eff. July 1, 1988;

Amended Eff. August 1, 2010; November 1, 2007; July 1, 2000; July 1, 1998; January 1, 1992; September 1, 1990;

Readopted Eff. October 1, 2017.