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State advances family child‑care rule revisions and creates pathway for outdoor‑only preschools
Summary
Child Care Licensing Division presented revised family child‑care rules to strengthen health and safety, add equity considerations (including cradleboards), ease some capacity barriers (removing a second‑toilet requirement for certified family homes), and begin a separate rule set to license outdoor‑only programs (mandated by HB 2717) with RAC and public comment slated for early 2025.
Child Care Licensing Division (CCLD) staff outlined two rulemaking efforts: a family child‑care rule revision and a new rule pathway for outdoor nature‑based programs. CCLD Director Alicia Gardner and policy analyst Abby Strom explained that family child‑care rules are being clarified to reduce inconsistent licensing practice and to make minimum health and safety standards explicit. Equity considerations include preserving use of cradleboards and other Indigenous sleep equipment and adding requirements that providers consider family culture when planning activities.
The revision removes a certified‑family second‑toilet requirement (which may increase capacity for some homes), tightens storage and hazard rules, standardizes outdoor play‑equipment guidance (pulling CPSC guidance into rule), proposes private well testing for homes that use wells, and adds certain small safety costs (first‑aid supplies, blind‑cord hardware). Registered family provider ratios are set in statute and not changed by this rulemaking; DELC staff said they have filed a legislative concept to give the council future rule authority over registered‑family numbers.
Separately, CCLD described work to create an outdoor nature‑based (OMB) license type required by HB 2717 (2023). Staff used Washington State’s OMB rules as a model, convened community workgroups and site visits, and plan a RAC in January 2025, public comment period in Jan–Feb 2025, and proposed adoption in March 2025 with a 07/01/2025 effective date. "We are creating a pathway for programs that are entirely outdoors to be licensed and connected to state resources," a CCLD analyst said.
