Wisconsin Legislature: DCF 252.44(2)(d)

8. Self-expression and communication skills.

9. Literacy skills.

Note: With parental consent and consultation, it is recommended that camps who care for children who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) coordinate programming activities with the local school district.

(b) The program shall:

1. Protect the children from excessive fatigue and from overstimulation.

2. Encourage spontaneous activities.

3. Be planned to provide a flexible balance each day of:

a. Active and quiet activities.

b. Individual and group activities.

4. Provide daily opportunities for children to play outdoors except during inclement weather or when not advisable for health reasons.

5. Provide reasonable regularity in eating, resting and other routines.

6. Provide daily periods when a variety of experiences are concurrently available for the children to select their own activities.

7. Limit the amount of time that children are kept waiting in lines or assembled in large groups during routines such as toileting and eating and intervals between activities.

(2) Child guidance.

(a) Each day camp shall have a written policy on guiding children’s behavior which provides for positive guidance, redirection and the setting of clear-cut limits. The policy shall be designed to help each child develop self-control, self-esteem, and respect for the rights of others.

(b)

1. In this paragraph, “time-out period” means a break from the large group that a counselor offers a child to provide the child an opportunity to calm and regain composure while being supported by the counselor.

2. A camp may use a time-out period to handle a child’s unacceptable behavior only if all of the following conditions are met:

a. The counselor offers the child the time-out period in a non-humiliating manner.

b. The time-out period does not exceed 3 minutes.

c. The child is not isolated.

d. The child is not removed from the group location.

3. The procedures for a time-out period shall be included in the camp guidance policy under par. (a).

(c) Actions that may be psychologically, emotionally or physically painful, discomforting, dangerous or potentially injurious are prohibited. Examples of prohibited actions include:

1. Spanking, hitting, pinching, shaking, slapping, twisting, throwing or inflicting any other form of corporal punishment.

2. Verbal abuse, threats or derogatory remarks about the child or the child’s family.

3. Physical restraint, binding or tying to restrict movement or enclosing in a confined space such as a closet, locked room, box or similar cubicle.

4. Withholding or forcing meals, snacks or naps.

5. Actions that are aversive, cruel, frightening or humiliating.

(d) Children shall not be punished for lapses in toilet training.

(3) Equipment and furnishings.

(a) The camp shall provide program equipment and furnishings in a variety and quantity that allows staff to implement activities outlined in the written policy on program objectives and activities required under s. DCF 252.41 (1) (f) 5. and meets all of the following criteria:

1. Provides for large muscle development.

2. Provides construction activities and for the development of manipulative skills.

3. Encourages social interaction.

4. Provides intellectual stimulation.

5. Encourages creative expression.

(b) All equipment and furnishings, whether or not owned by the camp, shall be:

1. Scaled to the developmental level, size and ability of the children.

2. Safe, durable, of sturdy construction with no sharp, rough, loose, protruding, pinching or pointed edges, or areas of entrapment, in good operating condition, and anchored when necessary.

3. Placed to avoid danger of accident and collision and to permit freedom of action.

4. Used in accordance with all manufacturer’s instructions and any manufacturer’s recommendations that may affect the safety of children in care.

(d) No trampolines or inflatable bounce surfaces on the premises may be accessible to children or used by children in care.

(4) Rest. When a session is more than 4 hours in length, there shall be a rest period or period of quiet activities of at least 30 minutes for all children under 5 years of age.

(5) Meals, snacks, and food service.

(a) Food shall be provided in accordance with Table DCF 252.44 which is based on the amount of time children are present. Food may be served at flexible intervals, but no child may go without nourishment for longer than 3 hours.

(b) Camp-provided transportation time shall be included in determining the total number of hours a child is present for the purpose of par. (a).

(c) Food allergies of specific children shall be reported to cooks, counselors and substitutes having direct contact with children.

(d) Menus for meals and snacks provided by the camp shall:

1. Be posted in the kitchen and in a conspicuous place accessible to parents.

2. Be planned at least one week in advance, dated and kept on file for 3 months.

3. Be available for review by the department.

4. Include diverse types of food.

(e) At a minimum, each meal and snack provided to children shall meet the U.S. department of agriculture child and adult care food program minimum meal requirements for amounts and types of food. Additional portions of vegetables, fruits, bread, and milk shall be available.

Note: The USDA meal program requirements may be found on the website, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cacfp/meals-and-snacks.

(f) When food for a child is provided by the child’s parent, the camp shall provide the parent with information about requirements for food groups and quantities specified by the U.S. department of agriculture child and adult care food program minimum meal requirements.

(g) A special diet, based on a medical condition, excluding food allergies, but including nutrient concentrates and supplements, may be served only upon written instruction of a child’s physician and upon request of the parent. A special diet based on a food allergy may be served upon the written request of the parent.

(6) Health.

(a) Observation. Each child upon arrival at the camp shall be observed by a staff person for symptoms of illness. For an apparently ill child, the procedure under par. (c) shall be followed.

(b) Health supervision. There shall be an adult at the camp at all times who is responsible for health supervision. The on-site health supervisor shall be one of the following:

1. A physician licensed in Wisconsin.

2. A registered nurse or practical nurse licensed in Wisconsin.

3. A physician assistant licensed in Wisconsin.

4. An emergency medical technician.

5. A person currently certified as having completed the American Red Cross Standard First Aid course or equivalent.

(bm) If a public or private rescue or emergency vehicle cannot arrive at the camp within 10 minutes of a phone call, a person who is certified by the department as a first responder under ch. DHS 110 must be on the premises during the hours when children are present. This person may serve as the camp health supervisor.

1. There shall be an isolation or first aid area for the care of children who become ill. If the area is not a separate room, it shall be separated from space used by other children by a partition, screen or other means.

2. When an apparently ill child is observed in the day camp, the following procedures shall apply:

a. A child with symptoms of illness or a condition such as vomiting or diarrhea, shall be isolated and shall be made comfortable, with a place to lie down available, with a staff member within the sight or hearing of the child. Isolation shall be used until the child can be removed from the camp.

b. The child’s parent, or a designated responsible person when parents cannot be reached, shall be contacted as soon as possible after the illness is discovered to take the child from the camp.

(d) Communicable disease.

1. No child or any other person with a reportable communicable disease specified in ch. DHS 145 may be admitted or readmitted to a camp, be permitted to remain in a camp, or be permitted to have contact with children in care during the period when the disease is communicable.

3. A person in contact with children or a child may be allowed to return to a camp if the person’s physician provides a written statement that the condition is no longer contagious or the person has been absent for a period of time equal to the longest usual incubation period of the disease as specified by the department.

Note: The Division of Public Health in the Department of Health Services has developed materials that identify those communicable diseases that are required to be reported to the local public health officer. These materials also provide information on the symptoms of each disease and guidance on how long an infected child must be excluded from the camp. Copies of the communicable disease chart are available from the Department of Health Services website at https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p4/p44397.pdf.

(e) Medication.

1. Camp staff may give prescription and non-prescription medication to a child only under the following conditions:

a. A signed, dated, written authorization that includes the child’s name and birthdate, name of the medication, administration instructions, medication intervals, and the length of the authorization from the parent is on file. Blanket authorizations that exceed the length of time specified on the label are prohibited.

Note: The department’s form, Authorization to Administer Medication, or the provider’s own form may be used to obtain the parent’s authorization to administer medication. Information on how to obtain the form is available on the department’s website, http://dcf.wisconsin.gov, or from any of the regional licensing offices in Appendix A.

b. The medication is in the original container and labeled with the child’s name, and the label includes the dosage and directions for administering.

2. All medications shall be stored so that they are not accessible to the children.

3. Medications shall be stored at the appropriate temperature as indicated on the label.

3m. All medication for a child in care shall be administered by the camp as directed on the label and as authorized by the parent.

4. No medication may be kept at the camp without a current authorization from the parent.

5. Bee sting medication, inhalers, an insulin syringe, or other medication or device used in the event of a life-threatening situation may be carried by a child over the age of 7 years with written authorization from the parent and the child’s physician.

(f) Injury. Written procedures for the treatment of children who are in accidents or otherwise injured shall be available, made known to staff, and carried out as follows:

1. Written permission from the parent to call a child’s physician or refer the child for medical care in case of injury shall be on file at the camp. The camp shall contact the parent as soon as possible after an emergency has occurred or, if the injury is minor, when the parent picks up the child.

Note: The camp may use the department’s form, Child Care Enrollment, or its own form for obtaining medical consent from the parent. Information on how to obtain forms is available on the department’s website, http://dcf.wisconsin.gov, or from any regional licensing office in Appendix A.