I live in Minnesota. My eight-year-old daughter will be in summer daycare (private home, licensed) for six weeks of the year. The daycare provider tells me that she cannot give insulin shots. Do you know if this is legally true? If she has training by a nurse (I know someone who would train her privately), do you think that would be sufficient? Also, if she cannot give the shots, then what happens when or if she ever had to use the glucagon?

Please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES for assistance, information, and/or to speak to ADA’s legal advocacy staff about your situation.

Daycare providers, as places of public accommodation, are required to meet legal obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act which means the needs of children with diabetes must be met unless doing so poses an undue burden or fundamental alteration to the subject business. You have not indicated the reason your provider cannot give injections. Is it because she is unwilling or feels that she is not able to do so under law? In addition to the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is important to become familiar with your state’s daycare licensing agency’s regulations regarding medication administration. Please call the American Diabetes Association to discuss this further and explore solutions.

CJ