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Children’s Environmental Health Services

The Edgecombe County Division of Environmental Health Section supports many programs for the protection of children’s health.  These programs include the inspection of daycares, school buildings, school cafeterias and childhood lead investigations. 

Daycares

Daycares are inspected twice per year.  These inspections ensure that proper procedures are followed for everything ranging from diaper changing to food service as well as general sanitation.  Daycares are graded on a demerit system in which a classification of superior, approved, provisional or disapproved.   

• To receive a superior, a demerit score of less than 15 must be achieved with no 6 demerit items deducted.

• An approved is received if the demerit score is more than 15 but less than 30.

• A provisional classification is assigned if any 6 demerit item is violated or if the total demerit score is more than 30 but not more than 45.

• If the demerit score is 46 or more or, if the conditions which resulted in a provisional classification have not been corrected in the time period specified by the Environmental Health Specialist, then the establishment will be placed in a disapproved status. 

If the provisional status exceeds 7 days, or the child care center is disapproved, the Division of Child Development shall be notified immediately for further action.  At the end of the inspection, a classification card is posted in a conspicuous place designated by the Environmental Health Specialist.

Daycare Related Links:

School Buildings and Cafeterias

School buildings are graded on an annual basis. The purpose of these inspections is to ensure that proper sanitation is maintained in all Edgecombe County schools as well as in all private schools in Edgecombe County.  The inspection process covers everything from proper maintenance of the school facilities to correctly controlling chemicals used within the school building.  Schools are graded on a 100 point scale and given number grade, however, no letter grade is posted for the school building. 

School cafeterias within the school systems are graded on a quarterly basis and are regulated in accordance with the Rules Governing the Sanitation of Foodservice Establishments.  The grading scale is on a 100 point scale and a letter grade is assigned and posted.  A score of 90 to 100 is awarded an A, a score of 80 to 89.5 is awarded a B and a score of 79 to 79.5 is awarded a C.  A score below 70 results in immediate suspension of the operation permit.  The purpose of the cafeteria inspection is to ensure the proper storage, preparation and serving of food as well as the proper cleaning and sanitation of all facilities and equipment.

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