What would elevate a Class II violation to a Class I violation?

A Class I violation is a more serious category of infraction compared to a Class II violation. What elevates a Class II violation to a Class I violation primarily involves the outcome or impact of the violation. If a violation leads to death or serious harm to a child, it indicates a significant failure in safeguarding the child's well-being, which underscores the necessity for a stringent classification. This kind of impact demonstrates a severe breach of regulatory standards that protect children, thus warranting its elevation to a Class I status.

In contrast, while multiple incidents of the same nature may suggest a pattern of negligence and could potentially lead to elevated concerns, they do not inherently indicate the same level of immediate risk to a child's safety as a situation leading to death or serious injury. Similarly, failure to maintain sanitary conditions or inadequate staff training are serious issues but may not necessarily result in immediate harm or fatal consequences in the same way that a violation resulting in serious harm does. Therefore, the severity of the outcome—particularly in terms of injury or fatality—rightly elevates the violation's classification.