In order to keep your Philadelphia-area child day care running, you must renew your license each year, and a new law impacts the process of doing so for 2018. In 2016, Philadelphia City Council passed a new law (Bill No. 160609) requiring all family child day care businesses to receive a lead certification in order to obtain future licenses, with the law scheduled to officially go into effect in 2018.
See details of Bill requiring Child Day Care Centers to obtain lead-safe certification, CLICK HERE.
When Do You Need a Lead Paint Certification?
You will need a lead-safe or lead-free certificate before applying for your 2018 license. You must undergo a lead paint inspection at your day care property. Lead paint has been illegal since the late 1970s, but many older buildings may still have some layers of lead-based paint under newer layers of paint. Lead-based paint is prone to chipping and flaking, especially if you make any renovations or repairs to a building, or even if you hang pictures or other items on the walls.
Protecting Children Against Lead Poisoning
The measures being taken buy the City of Philadelphia are aimed at protecting the devastating and permanent damage done by lead poisoning.
According to the CDC, no levels of lead in the bloodstream are safe, and it is especially dangerous for young children. Exposure to lead has been proven to cause problems like attention and learning disorders, neurological issues, and much more.
Get a Lead Test by a Certified Inspection Service in Philadelphia
In order to obtain a lead certificate, you’ll need to schedule a lead inspection at your day care, with Bayhill Environmental Services. Most inspections can be done within 1-2 business days and your certificate can usually be issued within a week. During this service, technicians will conduct a lead paint inspection using a special tool that can detect all layers of paint on any surface inside your building, to see if any of them contain lead-based paint. They will also take samples with a special dust wipe that can detect lead particles.
Depending on the results, you will receive one of two types of lead certification. Your day care will either be deemed Lead Safe, which means there is a presence of lead paint but no active lead dust. In this case, you’ll need to have testing done again every two years. Or, you’ll be issued a Lead-Free certificate, which means there is no evidence of the presence of lead paint, and you will never need another test. Once you receive your lead certificate, you will need to sign it and mail it, along with a copy of the dust wipe results, to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. You will not be permitted to renew your day care license until this evidence of a lead inspection is on file with the Health Department.
In order to renew your license in time, it is important to schedule your lead paint testing now so that you can expedite the process as much as possible. Contact Bayhill Environmental today at 215-284-0086 to schedule your lead paint inspection today.
