By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Working parents in Nebraska must rely on child care centers and day care centers to provide supervision, care and education to their children from infants to toddlers to school aged children. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services provides licensing information to parents, caregivers, and others who want to obtain or research information on a child care center, day care center, health care providers and others. Go to the Official Website for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services – Licensing Information. You can look up a day care center / child care center by name or city. Information posted includes name of the facility, license number, license type, hours of operation, subsidization status, and disciplinary actions by the State of Nebraska. All parents should research a day care center before enrollment. I recommend that parents obtain the online information. In addition, parents should visit the day care center, interview the owner, interview employees, and speak to other parents with children in the day care center.
Nebraska day care centers / child care centers must comply with criteria, rules, and regulations set forth by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Service – Title 391 Nebraska Administrative Code- Child Care Licensing – Chapter 8 – Child Care Centers.
These rules and regulations cover the following: administration, staff records, staff qualifications, in service requirements, staffing, staff ratio requirements, meals and snacks, discipline, materials and equipment, outdoor play areas / playgrounds, infant care, child health, written permission and instructions, parental responsibility, transportation, and other matters. It is important for Nebraska child care and day care centers to follow these rules and regulations. Many of these rules and regulations help promote the health, safety and welfare of children in Nebraska day care centers. When a child is hurt or injured as a result of day care negligence, a review of the rules and regulations will typically show that one or more of these regulations were not followed. Parents and caregivers in Nebraska should read these rules and regulations to make sure that their children’s day care facility is properly following the law and properly supervising the children.