The challenge of compliance without infrastructure
Across 15 early childhood campuses in the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles areas, California Children’s Academy faces the daily logistical challenge of meeting strict hygiene standards in facilities not originally designed with sinks in every classroom or yard.
For Facility and Compliance Manager, Karen Pinedo, access to hand-washing is a regulatory and instructional priority.
“Some of our yards don’t have outdoor sinks or outdoor plumbing, so this really helps out with that. It would be nice if our classrooms all had indoor sinks, but they don’t.”
Rather than undertake expensive plumbing renovations across facilities, the academy adopted portable sinks from Monsam to meet state hand-washing requirements and support infant classroom layouts. The strategy reflects a broader reality in publicly funded early childhood education, where compliance mandates are fixed, but building infrastructure and capital budgets are not.
A compliance-driven environment
Hand-washing is embedded into the academy’s curriculum, not treated as an incidental routine. Children wash their hands after morning drop-off, after outdoor play, and before and after meals. Administrators track compliance, and classrooms are evaluated using the Environment Rating Scales for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
For state-funded child care providers, the requirements are more than operational standards. Failure to meet hygiene and classroom configuration rules can jeopardize funding streams and licensing status. Ensuring that sinks are accessible in infant and toddler rooms protects program eligibility and revenue, in addition to being a best sanitary practice.
In California, Title 22 requires that infant classrooms with changing tables have a sink within arm’s reach. Similar regulations are enforced by health departments across the United States. In Texas, preschools are required to provide at least one sink for every 17 children aged 18 months or older and be available in diaper-changing areas. In New York, all daycare centers must have two sinks in rooms serving infants, and in Illinois, a handwashing sink must be in the same room if caring for children wearing diapers. The specific guidelines vary, but all require immediate and direct accessibility to hot and cold running water. The guidelines are universally seen as important for maintaining a healthy educational setting, but can pose a challenge in buildings without permanent plumbing at every location. Meeting those requirements can be difficult without costly construction.
“If we’re going to implement policies for washing your hands, we need to have a resource, right?” Pinedo said.
Avoiding costly plumbing retrofits
The California Children’s Academy first purchased Monsam portable sinks in 2008 for five infant campuses, using them both indoors and outdoors. Since then, the program has expanded its use across additional locations.
“From a facilities perspective, it’s easier to put in a portable, self-contained sink than to contract a plumber and go through permitting,” Pinedo said.
While the cost of permanent plumbing installation can vary, depending on contractor labor, permitting, and site modifications, it’s often a costly investment and can be disruptive to normal operations. Portable units allow classrooms to meet compliance requirements without structural renovation. In classrooms requiring access to running water, portable units represent thousands of dollars in avoided capital expense per installation.
Operational flexibility, health impacts
Studies show that environmental factors such as the availability of hand-washing supplies and fixtures are associated with greater hygiene compliance among caregivers in daycare settings, highlighting how infrastructure supports behavior.
“The kids have access to wash their hands. We’re teaching them a skill that they’re going to use when they go home,” she said. “And it does help with colds, runny noses, and other easily transmissible illnesses.”
Pinedo said the self-contained sinks are especially valuable for babies and toddlers who do not have the autonomy to walk independently to centralized restrooms. Pinedo also observed practical health benefits beyond compliance and cost-savings.
Bridging regulation and real-world facilities
Facility decisions are rarely cosmetic in publicly funded early education. Infrastructure must support compliance, inspection performance, and reimbursement eligibility. At the California Children’s Academy, Monsam portable sinks provide a practical bridge between regulatory mandates and aging building stock.
