§416.5(a): Safety and health hazards
The rule requires suitable precautions to eliminate any condition, in areas children can reach, that poses a safety or health hazard. The wording is broad, and the public record does not name the hazard.
| State regulation (18 NYCRR) | §416.5(a) |
| Type | Building and equipment |
| Cited in our records | 322 times at 294 NYC home-based programs |
| Marked open right now | 57 |
The state's wording
Suitable precautions must be taken to eliminate all conditions in areas accessible to children which pose a safety or health hazard.
This is the text the state (OCFS) attaches to the citation. It is a template, so it can sound harsher or vaguer than the finding behind it.
Worth asking the provider
What hazard was cited, and what was done about it?
Reading it on a record
Look at whether the citation is marked open or corrected, how long ago it was cited, and whether the same section shows up on several inspections. One corrected citation is common. The same one on visit after visit is worth a direct question. Our guide to checking a daycare and methodology explain the rest.
Look up a home daycare and read its record
Related sections
Counts are from the inspection records we hold, as of 2026-10-18. The plain-English note was written by NYC Daycare Check from the city's wording; the citation on each provider's page is the record.