Recently in California, the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) published changes to the Title 24 Fire and Building Code that is at odds with state child care licensing regulations. The new fire regulation— for which no recent study has been conducted or cited—moves licensed child care facilities with more than five infants and toddlers into a new occupancy group (Group I-4 Occupancy) with increased requirements. Most notably, child care programs in Group I-4 must install an automatic fire sprinkler system. The costs to meet this code change are estimated at $100K–$200K per classroom, and without any additional funding to address the required changes. 

Child care advocates, including Build Up CA, were able to pause the implementation of these changes in order to buy time for child care providers to prepare for potentially large and expensive facilities renovations, but this perhaps slows positive changes to child safety protocols. The crux of this issue is how to make child care facilities unquestionably safe for young children without imposing burdensome facilities requirements for child care providers and owners. 

Build Up California is investing resources this year to research and advocate for policy solutions that keep child care facilities safe while prioritizing what is practical for providers.