SAFETY

Licensed foster parents are required to follow all safety requirements outlined in regulations at 7 AAC 67 Article 4 Health and Safety in the Foster Home.

Car Seats, Seat Belts and Child Booster Seats.

In Alaska, it is a primary offense to allow children under the age of 16 to travel without an appropriate safety device or seat belt.

• Children less than one year of age or a child one year of age or older who weigh less than 20 pounds must be properly secured in a federally approved rear-facing child safety seat.
• Children one or more years of age but less than four years of age who weigh 20 pounds or more must be properly secured in a federally approved child restraint device.
• Children over four years of age but less than eight years of age who are less than 57 inches in height and weigh 20 or more pounds but less than 65 pounds must be properly secured in a booster seat that is secured by a seat belt system or by another federally approved child passenger restraint system.
• Children over four years of age who exceed the height or weight requirements for a booster seat must be properly secured in a seat belt.
• Children eight years of age but less than 16 years of age who do not exceed the height and weight requirements for a booster seat must be properly secured in a federally approved, child safety device approved for a child of that size or in a safety belt, whichever is appropriate for the particular child.

Do not place a child under 80 pounds in the front seat of a car if there is an airbag, even if the child is in a car seat. Airbags have been associated with a high rate of injury to children when children are seated in the front seat. Children under 13 years old should ride in the back seat. Children should never be allowed to ride in the back of a truck. http://www.carseatsak.org/Links/index.cfm?fuseaction=AlaskaLaw

AS 28.05.095

Vehicle Restraint Requirements

Childproofing

Childproof your home so that children are safe and potential safety problems are minimized. This is especially important with everyday safety hazards, such as kitchen appliances, electrical outlets, heating appliances, cleaners, medicines or other harmful substances.

The foster care licensing regulations at 7 AAC 67 requires childproofing as follows:

• For infants or toddlers in care, install and use safety gates to prevent access to stairs.
• For children under 5 years, install childproof cover caps in electrical outlets not in use, but accessible to children.
• Keep hot water temperature reasonable and comfortable, not less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit and no more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. You may need to install a control if your hot water heater does not have one. Hot water tanks are generally set to this temperature at the factory. Remember, burns are some of the most common injuries to children.
• All cleaners, medicines, toxic materials, alcohol, tobacco products, marijuana, matches, lighters and harmful substances must be stored in a place that is inaccessible to children. Childproof locks on cabinets that store these items are advised. Do not keep your cleaners underneath the sink.
• Keeping medicines out of reach of children is required and it is advised that these also be locked.
• Lock and put out of reach all sharp tools such as knives, utensils, scissors, screwdrivers, nails, etc.
• Have a barrier around wood stove, fireplace, and heating sources for children under 6 years old or have limitations that put the child at risk.

Life and Fire Safety

Foster homes must meet basic life and fire safety standards according to 7 AAC 67.67.330. A licensing worker will inspect your home to determine if these standards have been met. Foster family homes need to have a plan for getting children out of the house during a fire. Fire moves fast! Think ahead about what you would do in a fire and practice your plan with the children.

• Practice fire drills once a month if there are children in care placed in your home. Agree on a meeting place outside the house. If you care for a child younger than 30 months old or with special needs (such as deafness or in a wheelchair or crib bound), you need to specify a way to evacuate that child in your fire plan and practice your plan.
• Document your fire drills. Regulations at 7 AAC 67.303(e) require that your evacuation procedures can evacuate everyone from your home within (3) minutes. Include the date, time, participants and evacuation time. Maintain documentation of fire drills and present it to the Department upon request. The licensed foster parent must provide training to all alternate caregivers. 
• At least one working AC primary-powered, smoke detector with battery backup, or at least one monitored battery-powered, smoke detector is located in each bedroom; in addition, for multi-level homes, at least one working smoke detector and a fully charged fire extinguisher (2A:10BC) are required on each level of the house.
• For homes that use oil, wood, natural gas, or propane as a heating or cooking fuel, a working carbon monoxide detector is required within each sleeping area, or no more than three feet from the entrance to that area; in addition, for multi-level homes, at least one working carbon monoxide detector must be installed on each level.
• Check your home for safety. Store flammable or combustible liquids in containers with tight fitting lids and out of the reach of children. Be careful with heating appliances. Do not locate heating appliances in exit ways, hallways, and sleeping areas (unless your home does not have separate sleeping rooms).

During the winter months, it is important to check your escape windows often to assure that they are not frozen shut.

If your home uses a wood stove, be sure it is properly installed and used correctly. Clean the stack frequently. Take special precautions to supervise children around a wood stove and teach them safety rules to prevent injury.

Firearms and Ammunition

Licensing regulations at 7 AAC 67.337(c) require that a foster home must inform the child’s assigned worker and licensing if firearms are present in the home. If you have firearms in your home, the foster care regulations specify that firearms need to be stored unloaded in a locked gun safe or other locked place that is not  accessible to children in care. Ammunition is to be stored separately from the guns and in a place that children cannot access.

Children in the custody of the state are not allowed to use firearms without advance permission from the child’s assigned worker and under direct supervision. The assigned worker and must obtain advance permission from the child’s parent to handle a firearm. If a youth in care is allowed to handle a gun, the resource family must submit a firearm safety plan acceptable by the department that addresses the firearms safety instruction approach the home will use. You need to put in writing how you are going to teach the child to use the gun safely. If your community has a gun safety course it is highly advised that the age-appropriate child in care complete the gun safety course, in advance of handling a firearm.

Household Plants

Many common household plants are poisonous. A poisonous plant is a plant, tree, or shrub that can cause injury or death, if a portion of that plant, tree, or shrub is ingested or touched.

The following household plants are considered poisonous but may be allowed in a foster home as long as the children are protected.

This includes but is not limited to:

• Poinsettia
• Dieffenbachia
• English Ivy
• Mother-in-law
• Philodendron

The foster home must submit a written list of all poisonous plants maintained inside and outside of the home, and a description of how the provider will protect children from harmful plants. A listing of poisonous plants is available at http://www.poison.org/articles/plant

If you have a plant around your home that is not on the list, call the Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222 to find out how poisonous it may be.

Hygiene

If you have babies or toddlers, use good hygiene when diapering.

• Wash your hands and the child’s hands frequently.
• Dispose of diapers in containers with lids or have a system for cleaning and sanitizing cloth diapers.
• Clean and sanitize the diaper-changing surface frequently.

If two or more young children are being cared for, label bottles and pacifiers. Do not let children share used pacifiers or bottles. When reusing bottles, clean and disinfect bottles either in a dishwasher or by boiling them for five minutes before use.

Pets and Animals

Pets can be a therapeutic experience for most children in care. Please inform the child’s worker of all pets or animals in your home and discuss whether the child has any allergies related to these animals. If children are unfamiliar or frightened by a pet, introduce them gradually and teach children proper pet handling and care.

Keep cages and pets clean and free of communicable disease. Animal waste should be removed daily, or at a frequency to prevent odor or contact with children in care. Teach children to wash hands after handling pets.

Resource family homes should avoid dangerous animals. A home may have ducklings, chicks, amphibians, ferrets, or reptiles, if approved by the agency. Please discuss any pets with your licensing and assigned workers.

Any animal kept in the home or on the premises must:

• Have no communicable disease,
• Have the required immunizations, and
• Be free of internal and external parasites. Proof of the animal’s health may be requested.

You must notify the worker if any animal in your home has been the subject of a past contact with an animal control official because of aggressive behavior or biting or has a history of aggressive behavior or biting, regardless of whether the animal has been the subject of past contact with an animal control official.

You must notify the worker within 24-hours of any occurrence of aggressive behavior or biting by an animal in the home, including whether the occurrence resulted in a contact with an animal control official. Additional steps to take may include:

• Immediately remove the animal from contact with children in care.
• Permanently remove the animal from the foster home for an animal that was aggressive or biting, if the department determines that the animal is a threat to life or safety of children in care.

Participating In High-Risk Activities

High-risk activities and hazards are prohibited by licensing regulations at 7 AAC 50.400. Examples of high-risk activities include:

• Participating in an airborne activity such as hang gliding;
• Operate a vehicle;
• Handle a firearem under supervision;
• Play with propelled objects such as paint guns without constant supervision.

Other activities may be considered high-risk. Please discuss other activities with the assigned worker. If you want a child in your care to participate in a high-risk activity, you must obtain advance permission of the assigned worker and the child’s parent before allowing the child to participate.

Participation in organized and supervised sports that may be considered risky or other potentially risky activities that are usual in the community in which the child resides is normal and appropriate for a child in care. For example, ice fishing would be usual in some communities. Participation in activities is encourage but parents must us the Reasonable Prudent Parent Standard to determine appropriateness for the child’s developmental age and community standard and balance it with child’s abilities and special needs.

If an older child wants to participate in an activity of moderate risk such as participation in a contact sport, or activities not common to your community, the child’s assigned worker must get permission from the child’s parent and give the foster parent written approval.

Sleeping Babies

Safe Sleep 7 AAC 67.360 outlines the safe sleep practices to follow for infants and children. An infant/baby is defined as a child under 1 year of age. Babies should sleep in bassinets or cribs (as age-appropriate) and should not sleep on regular beds until they have reached an appropriate age. Regulations prohibits co-sleeping. The sleeping surface should be firm with a fitted sheet or with a flat sheet tucked in snuggly around the mattress/sleep surface. No pillows, quilts, blankets, pets, siblings, sheepskins, bumper pads, or toys should be in the baby’s sleep area. Place the baby on his or her back for every sleep session, even naps.

Check on sleeping babies regularly. Babies should never sleep on waterbeds. Dress the baby in sleep clothing that is appropriate to room temperature with no more than 1 layer.

Research studies show a correlation between babies sleeping on their tummies and a higher rate of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Pediatricians now advise parents to place sleeping babies on their backs to minimize the risk of SIDS.

Smoking and Second-Hand Smoke

All resource parents should be aware of the potential hazards of smoking tobacco, e-cigarettes, and marijuana in the presence of children, particularly infants and children with respiratory or allergic sensitivity.

Smoking in a foster home must be limited to outside the home, not visible, not accessible and in well-ventilated area away from the immediate living area, and only after submitting a smoking plan acceptable to the department that addresses how children in care will be protected from second-hand smoke.

Additionally, any vehicle used to transport a child in care must be smoke-free.

Alcohol, Marijuana, and Other Regulated Substances

Use of alcohol, marijuana and other regulated substances in a foster home must be conducted in a manner that does not interfere with the supervision of children.  7 AAC 67.341.  The department may require a foster home to submit a plan for approval for the storage and use of marijuana and alcohol in the home.

Universal Precautions

Alaska State Regulations at 7 AAC 67.327 require all licensed foster homes to follow Universal Precautions to reduce risk against the spread of communicable, contagious, or infections deseases that could pose a significant threat to the health, safety, or welfare of children. I.e., Hepatitis B, giardiasis, HIV, and other infectious diseases. Universal Precautions reduce the risk of diseases passed through bodily fluids. Bodily fluids include blood, saliva, feces, vomit, and semen. Everyone in your house, including substitute caregivers and baby-sitters should take the following precautions:

• Always wash hands thoroughly with warm water and soap immediately after having contact with blood or body fluids, (saliva, urine, stool or vomitus) including, nose-wiping, changing diapers, using the toilet. Regular bar soap is adequate.
• Always wash hands before handling, preparing or eating food, setting the table or handling dishes or silverware.
• Always wash hands with water and soap after using the toilet and assisting a child in using the toilet.
• Always wash hands after handling pets or animals.
• Encourage children to wash their hands before and after participation in moist play, including molding clay or painting.
• Wash dishes in hot soapy water or in the dishwasher if you have one. It is not necessary to keep a high-risk child’s dishes separate.
• You may wash clothing with other family laundry in the washing machine or by hand, using hot soapy water.
• Do not allow sharing toothbrushes or razors.
• Avoid placing your fingers in any child’s mouth. Also, discourage other adults and children from doing this.
• Toys that have been in any child’s mouth should not be shared with other children.
• Wash toys, stuffed animals, favorite blankets and things children put in their mouths with hot soapy water regularly.
• Wash cloth diapers in the washing machine or in hot soapy water. Add a small amount of bleach.
• Place soiled diapers in a diaper pail lined with a plastic bag. Keep these in an area where small children do not have access to them. Securely tie the bag and dispose of with other household trash.

Other Universal Precautions specific to preventing the passing of hepatitis and HIV include:

• Wear disposable gloves to prevent possible exposure to bloodborne viruses when cleaning body fluid spills containing blood, or if your hands have cuts, abrasions, or a rash. Place the gloves and cleaning materials in a plastic bag, tie securely, and dispose of with other household trash.
• When changing a diaper, use disposable gloves if there is visible blood in the feces or if you have sores or cuts on your hands.
• Use disposable materials like paper towels to stop bleeding or when handling bodily fluids. Dispose of any tissues or paper towels in a sealed plastic bag placed in a covered container (such as in a plastic bag in a garbage can with a lid).
• Clean any surfaces containing body fluid spills with one (1) part bleach to nine (9) parts water.

Water Safety

Drowning is a major cause of death for children in Alaska. If water activities, such as boating, swimming, or fishing, are a regular part of your family life, make water safety a priority. Alaska Statutes at 05.25.010(g) requires children under age 13 wear a United States Coast Guard approved personal flotation device while boating. Teach children good water safety practices and review the safety rules each time you are around a body of water. Always check the weather forecast before a boating trip. For more boating information, see http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/boating/

The following practices will help to ensure the safety of children when they are near water:

• Always supervise children when around riverbanks or beaches and never let a child walk the shore or swim alone or unobserved.
• Never leave a very young child alone for even a moment near a pool, spa, bathtub, toilet or bucket of water.
• Empty buckets and containers of water when not in use and drain water from sinks and bathtubs after use.
• Keep toilet lids down.
• Ensure that the adult supervising children while in a pool is familiar with CPR and is within reach of infants or toddlers.
• Encourage children to participate in swimming lessons and water safety courses.
• Children should demonstrate their level of swimming proficiency when entering the water.
• Document the child’s level of swimming proficiency in your records about the child.
• Swimming activities away from home must take place where there is a lifeguard on duty.

Swimming pools, hot tubs, spas connected to a pool must meet the following to ensure they are safe and hazard free, Additionally, they must meet all state, tribal and/or local safety requirements:

• Swimming pools must have a barrier on all sides.
• Swimming pools must have their method of access through the barrier equipped with a safety device such as a bolt lock.
• Swimming pools must be equipped with a life-saving device such as a ring buoy.
• If the swimming pool cannot be emptied after each use, the pool must have a working pump and filtering system.
• Hot tubs and spas must have safety covers that are locked when not in use.