Recent Changes in Regulations Regarding Cribs Used in Child Care Facilities

Many churches provide day care services as part of their ministry.  While providing day care is a valuable asset to a church and its members, the church must be aware of numerous federal and state requirements.  Most recently, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission released a new "crib rule" that will require many churches to replace their cribs with new cribs that meet the newly adopted safety requirements.  Churches affected by the new rule must replace all existing, non-compliant cribs with new cribs by December 28, 2012.  The new crib rule is directed at older, "drop side" cribs.  However, even if your church does not use "drop side" cribs, any older crib used may still be non-compliant.  

The new federal requirements only apply to churches who charge a fee for child care.  If the church uses volunteers to provide care during church services and does not charge for this service, then the new crib rules do not apply to those churches.  That being said, we recommend that any church that uses cribs in providing day care services (whether the church charges for the service or not) adopt a "best practice" to comply with the new crib rules.  Even if the new federal rules do not specifically require a church to comply, if the church decides not to comply, this decision could be problematic if a child is injured or killed as a result of the cribs used.  An experienced attorney representing a child and his or her parents would expose the church's decision not to convert to new cribs, regardless of the applicability of the federal rule, and the church's decision could be fatal to its defense. Additionally, when it comes right down to it, if the federal government has decided that certain cribs are not safe to use, those cribs should be discarded and replaced with safer cribs.

If the church has purchased any crib prior to June 28, 2011 (the effective date for manufacturers, retailers, importers and distributors to comply with the new rules), the church should demand proof from the manufacturer, retailer, importer or distributor to show a Certificate of Compliance to ensure that the crib meets the new requirements. Additionally, the crib must have a label attached with the date of manufacture.  If the cribs being used are not compliant with the new standards, they must be replaced by December 28, 2012.  

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has also provided guidance regarding disposal of older, non-compliant cribs.  The Commission has made it clear that child care facilities should not resell or donate any non-compliant cribs.  All non-compliant cribs should be disassembled and discarded.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mark Sahl or any attorney with our firm.  Also, please feel free to visit www.cpsc.gov for more information.