Home-based day-care providers, upset after emergency pool rules from the Department of Health and Human Services required they hire a lifeguard for most water activities this summer, have gotten a reprieve.
On June 20, after a June 11 public hearing, the department dropped the requirement for lifeguards at backyard pools less that 16 feet wide. The move enables the home-based providers to keep their kids cool over the summer without increased overhead costs.
Emergency pool rules were put into effect June 1 by the Department of Health and Human Services following the March drowning of young boy at the Koala Day Kare Center in Westbrook. Home-based providers had complained that hiring a lifeguard would be too expensive for their small operations. The providers were also concerned that many couldn’t attend the public hearings in Augusta because of the nature of the businesses, and thus they would be underrepresented.
Another in the department’s series of public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, July 9, at 41 Anthony Ave. in Augusta. The emergency rules will stay in effect until the Legislature tackles them in next year’s session and makes them, or a variation of them, permanent.
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