What is a Daycare? Here are the Regulations for Childcare Facilities

Daycare is another term for a childcare facility. It serves as a solution for working parents who must leave their children during work hours. However, not just anyone can establish a daycare; there are applicable regulations for daycare or childcare facilities. Here is more detailed information.

What is a Daycare?

Quoting from the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Regulation Number 4 of 2024 on the Implementation of Child Rights Fulfilment Services, Taman Pengasuhan Anak (TPA)/Childcare Facility/Daycare is a welfare facility used to meet children’s needs for care, development, and social guidance when they are not with their parents, also known as a childcare facility during working hours.

TPA/Daycare acts as a temporary alternative care facility that performs childcare functions as a substitute for the role of parents and family. TPA/Daycare also serves as a bridge for information to maintain the quality of childcare both at the TPA/Daycare and at home.

Regulations for Operating Daycare

Taman Pengasuhan Berbasis Hak Anak, hereinafter referred to as Taman Asuh Ramah Anak (TARA), is a place/container that provides temporary childcare services for children aged 0-6 years, offering quality care and development based on children’s basic rights according to their developmental stages. TARA is intended for employees/workers who temporarily transfer childcare to TPA/Daycare and similar facilities provided by the central government, local government, companies, or community institutions.

TPA/Daycare must certainly apply child rights principles in the provision of facilities and infrastructure, services, and human resource management within it. The application of child rights principles in TPA/Daycare services is expected to enable children to grow physically, mentally, and psychologically healthy according to their developmental phases.

Here are the provisions for operating TARA services for TPA/Daycare.

1. Service Management

TARA service management for TPA/Daycare refers to the guidelines and standards issued by the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA).

1. Child Protection and Safety Policy

1. The service provider institution must have one of the following legal documents:

• Notarial deed

• Non-profit legal entity status

• Certificate of domicile

The documents must be known to the institution/agency authorised to oversee childcare and education policies in the respective region, or have a written establishment document issued by the ministry/institution, local government, community institution, or business world where TARA is located.

2. Coordinate and enter into cooperation agreements with the local Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Office.

3. Must be carried out by resources with established competencies and standards, adjusted to the values and conditions of each region.

4. Must adhere to five service principles, namely:

• Non-discrimination;

• Best interests of the child and family;

• Right to life, survival, and development;

• Respect for the views of the child; and

• Accessibility.

5. All personnel must undergo training on child protection, childcare, and child safety policies.

6. Every personnel must sign the child safety policy and integrity pact to ensure awareness, prevention, handling, and reporting of child safety and protection.

2. Human Resource Management

Qualified human resources are needed for quality operations. Daycare personnel are every human resource directly involved in daily childcare activities.

Personnel must minimally consist of a manager or head of daycare, caregivers, and a counsellor or psychologist. It can also be adjusted to needs by providing administrative and financial staff, as well as other support staff.

3. Service Planning and Implementation Mechanism

The manager must prepare an operational plan for childcare services, compiled and implemented by the manager adjusted to local conditions, children’s needs, and capabilities. The manager must have planning and strategy documents as follows:

1. Vision, mission, goals, and values;

2. Statement of the four principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, namely:

1. Non-discrimination,

2. Best interests of the child,

3. Right to life and development of the child,

4. Child participation.

3. Code of ethics for working with children;

4. Integrity pact for parents and personnel to not commit violence against children;

5. Programme work and activity planning matrix including annual budgeting;

6. Guidelines for planned childcare, education, and guidance on a quarterly basis; and

7. Daily schedule of childcare and learning activities.

4. Service SOP

Must provide standard operating procedures (SOP) for the entire service programme, consisting of SOP for admission, childcare services (physical, psychological, and support), and disaster response SOP.

5. Emergency Response Management

Must have preparedness for disasters, as disaster risks can affect anyone and anywhere given Indonesia’s disaster-prone areas. One form of disaster preparedness is conducting risk assessments and disaster mitigation.

2. Service Facilities

Facilities and infrastructure must be child-friendly, considering the selection of items and equipment that support children’s independence and learning process with minimal potential risks of injuring children, with the following provisions:

1. The environment must meet criteria of being safe, clean, healthy, and comfortable for children.

2. Building or Structure

1. The building is a permanent structure that is child-friendly.

2. The building ensures that its materials and architectural design have no potential to injure children. Floors in all rooms are level (not stepped), wall corners are blunt, doors and windows are safe for children, roofs do not use toxic asbestos materials, bathrooms are safe for children. The building design meets criteria for child-friendly structures for children with special needs and persons with disabilities.

3. The use of paint on the building also m