New Jersey Adopts Emergency Child Care Center Requirements

In reaction to the Kiddie Kollege case where a daycare facility was built on the site of a former thermometer plant without proper remediation of the mercury contamination, the New Jersey Department of Children and Families has adopted regulations on an emergent basis to amend the physical plant requirements for all child care centers. A child care center is any facility maintained for the care of 6 or more children under the age of 13. Certain facilities, such as programs in bowling alleys and health clubs where children are dropped off for less than two hours while a parent is present in the building, are exempt from the definition of child care center.

As required by these new regulations, a day care center cannot be located in a place that was previously used in a way that poses an environmental concern, unless there is compliance with soil guidelines and indoor air has been tested. Factories, high hazard facilities, dry cleaners and nail salons are all identified as facilities posing an environmental concern. In addition, a child care center cannot be located in the same building or structure as a current dry cleaner or nail salon unless there is a demonstration of no impact. This may have a broad impact on child care centers that operate in strip malls or other types of shopping centers.

Of particular note is a requirement that all centers during initial application or renewal must provide a No Further Action Letter from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. This appears to be an Industrial Site Recovery Act type requirement for all child care facilities.

This was an emergency adoption dated October 17, 2006 and due to expire on December 16, 2006. Comments were to be submitted by December 6, 2006.