If you’re in the child care business, you’re probably already well aware of the newest federal crib safety regulations that were approved in December 2010. What you may not be completely aware of is how it impacts your child care center. Here, we break down what the new regulations mean to your child care business.

Child Care Cribs and Safety Regulations

In the last few years, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled millions of drop-side cribs due to suffocation, entrapment and fall risks. The CPSC has now taken a firm stand in crib safety.

On June 28, 2011, the new CPSC crib safety regulations that impose stricter guidelines for crib manufacturing, took effect that prohibit the manufacture, sale and resale of non-compliant cribs. Additionally in an unprecedented action the CPSC also banned all non-compliant in places of public accommodation as of December 28, 2012. These new standards have been approved since December 2010 and are just now going into effect to ensure that hotel cribs, child care cribs, and all other commercially used cribs are safe for use.

A common misconception is that the new safety standard only affects drop-side cribs. The new law is much farther reaching, encompassing almost every component of the crib including: improved labeling, more severe vertical impact testing, elimination of wood screws, reduction of toe hold exposure, and enhanced structural integrity of the slats.

With the new safety regulations in effect now, child care centers, hotels and furniture rental companies that offer cribs must begin making plans to have compliant cribs in their facilities by December 28, 2012. Yet, the bottom line is that all publicly used, non-compliant cribs currently being used, including child care cribs, must be replaced by cribs that have been tested to meet the newest crib safety standards by the deadline.

For a child care center purchasing a new crib it is critical to make sure the new cribs pass the new standards set forth by the CPSC. The most effective way to ensure this is to request from the manufacturer a certificate of compliance confirming a passing test to the new 16 CFR 1219 for full-size cribs and 16 CFR 1220 for non full-size cribs.