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Child Care Updates - July 2003
COMMUNITY CARE LICENSING CHILD CARE UPDATE
This Update marks the tenth year of our efforts to keep the child care community informed about licensing programs and services. The Updates continue to be an important method for sharing information. We appreciate your support in sharing these Updates with those in your organization and others interested in child care issues.
2002 CHAPTERED LEGISLATION
Enclosed is a summary of legislation passed in 2002 that affects child care facilities. The summary includes our implementation plan for each bill. Unless otherwise noted, each bill became effective January 1, 2003. Questions regarding the implementation of any of the legislation discussed, should be directed to Linda Inglett, Child Care Programs Policy Manager, at (916) 229-4500.
NEW CRIMINAL RECORD CLEARANCE REGULATIONS AND THE END OF THE MORATORIUM ON PROCESSING CRIMINAL RECORD EXEMPTIONS
The Department's comprehensive review of the Criminal Record Background Check Process has been completed. New regulations reflecting changes in the process were filed on July 2, 2003 on an emergency basis, and the moratorium on processing criminal record exemptions has been lifted. Exemption processing has begun, and priority is being given to child care license applicants awaiting exemption decisions.
The major change for child care providers is that all individuals who submit their fingerprints on or after July 16, 2003, must have a Department of Justice (DOJ) clearance or an approved criminal record exemption before being allowed in a facility. All licensed child care providers have been sent a separate letter explaining this and other changes made to the Department's background check procedures. A copy of that letter is enclosed here for more information.
CRIMINAL RECORD CLEARANCE INFORMATION ON CCLD WEBSITE
To coincide with the new regulations requiring individuals to obtain a State background check clearance prior to working in a licensed facility, the Community Care Licensing Division has added a new feature on our website which allows individuals to determine whether a DOJ criminal record clearance has been processed. The information provided online is regarding an individual's DOJ background check clearance only. Information regarding Federal Bureau of Investigation clearances, Child Abuse Central Index clearances, fingerprint clearance delays and rejections by DOJ will not be posted on this site. Clearances granted only after Department review will not be listed on the website. In these cases, Community Care Licensing Division will send a clearance letter to the individual, as is our current practice.
The DOJ clearance information on our website is updated daily and remains available for thirty days. This site will allow licensees almost immediate verification of their employee's DOJ clearance and allows the employee to begin work. The site can be accessed by visiting www.ccld.ca.gov/ and selecting the first button entitled DOJ Clearance Listing .
ELECTRONIC MAIL RESPONSES
DOJ is now providing state clearance information to employers via e-mail. The e-mail process will shorten the overall processing time because the notification will not be dependent on physical mail delivery. Licensees who want to use the e-mail service, should apply with the DOJ. Applications for e-mail codes may be accessed on the Internet at www.ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/pdf/bcii9004.pdf . Licensees who do not have access to the Internet may contact Ulric Bellaire at (916) 227-5226.
DUPLICATE CRIMINAL RECORD BACKGROUND CHECKS
Community Care Licensing is committed to conducting criminal record background checks as quickly as possible. Review of the documents submitted for background checks indicates we often receive a large number of duplicate requests. Some facilities apparently, are submitting criminal background check requests for prospective employees who have already been cleared as an employee of another community care facility. These duplicate requests result in increased costs to the facility, and often cause delays in the process. To eliminate duplicate background checks, we suggest that licensees contact their local licensing office to find out whether a new employee has a current criminal background clearance. If the employee already has a clearance, licensees can submit a written request to their local licensing office to transfer the clearance or exemption to their facility. The local licensing office will process the clearance transfer or forward a request for an exemption transfer to the Caregiver Background Check Bureau for processing. The LIC 9182, Criminal Background Clearance Transfer Request, and the LIC 9188, Criminal Record Exemption Transfer Request forms are used to request criminal background clearance and exemption transfers. Both forms are available on our website . If there are questions regarding this process, please contact Kelly Kramer, Caregiver Background Check Bureau, at (916) 274-6213.
LIVE SCAN INFORMATION
We continue to encourage applicants and licensees to submit their fingerprint and Child Abuse Central Index check requests through Live Scan, as the system is faster and more accurate than traditional methods. The Department contracts with Sylvan/Indentix Fingerprinting Centers to provide Live Scan service for our applicants at 15 licensing offices and 40 additional sites throughout the state. Sylvan/Identix offers same day or next day service by calling 1-800-315-4507 to schedule an appointment.
Applicants should have their Request for Live Scan form (LIC 9163) completed, with special care given to the inclusion of the nine digit facility number, entered on line 6 in the section that asks for "Your Number". The inclusion of a facility number will reduce the number of errors received at Caregiver Background Check Bureau and ensure the quickest turnaround time of background checks. Applicants for background checks can contact their prospective employer or the local licensing office if they do not know the facility number. Applicants for background checks can contact their prospective employer or the local licensing office if they do not know the facility number.
You can find more information on Live Scan and the Request for Live Scan Service form (LIC 9163) on our website . You can also order the LIC 9163 from the Department Warehouse, by mail or fax. You must include your name, phone number, delivery address, and the name and number of the form (in this case, Request for Live Scan Services, LIC 9163). Our Warehouse address is: CDSS Warehouse, P.O. Box 980788, West Sacramento, CA 95798-0788. The fax number is (916) 371-3518. Live Scan locations can be found on our website at www.ccld.ca.gov .
CAREGIVER BACKGROUND CHECK INFORMATION
A new form, Caregiver Background Check Information (LIC 995F) is now available. The form provides information on: what is a background check, what happens if a person has a criminal conviction, how to get a criminal record exemption, how long the exemption process takes, and public disclosure of criminal record exemption information. Copies of the Caregiver Background Check Information form (LIC 995F) are available at www.dss.cahwnet.gov/forms/english/LIC995F.PDF .
FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME INCIDENT REPORTING
Beginning August 1, 2003, family child care home licensees will be required to report unusual incidents and injuries of children in care. The incident or injury must be reported to the parent or authorized representative of the child and to the local child care licensing office. Unusual incidents or injuries that must be reported include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Death of any child in care from any cause
- Any incident or injury to a child in care that requires professional medical treatment
- Any act of violence occurring while children are in care
- Any time any child in care is missing for any reason without the knowledge, permission, or supervision of the licensee
- Any suspected physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of a child in care
- Any unusual incident or injury that threatens the physical or emotional health or safety of any child in care
A copy of the all Family Child Care Home Licensee letter and the Unusual Incident/Injury Report-Family Child Care Homes form (LIC 624B) is enclosed. The reporting form may be photocopied for use by licensees or downloaded by visiting our website at www.ccld.ca.gov .
FAMILY CHILD CARE CONSUMER AWARENESS BROCHURE
To help ensure that parents are well informed about their child care arrangements, regulations are being developed to require that at the time children are admitted into a family child care home, licensees provide parents with the Family Child Care (PUB 72) brochure. The regulations will require licensees to maintain verification in the children's files that parents received the brochure. To ensure this new requirement does not create additional paperwork, the Family Child Care Home Notification of Parents' Rights form (LIC 955A), is being revised to include acknowledgement by the parent of the receipt of the Family Child Care brochure. We expect these proposed regulations to be scheduled for public hearing in October, 2003. We will keep you informed on the status of these regulations in future Updates.
Until the regulations are in place, we are encouraging family child care providers to begin immediately providing the brochure to parents when their children are admitted to the family child care home. No citations will be issued for failure by the licensee to provide the brochure to parents until the regulations have been adopted.
Enclosed is a copy of the All Family Child Care Home Licensee letter notifying them of the changes to the regulations. A copy of the brochure, Family Child Care (PUB 72) , is also enclosed. The brochure may be photocopied for use or downloaded by visiting our website at www.ccld.ca.gov .
CALIFORNIA CHILDCARE HEALTH PROGRAM (CCHP)
The California Childcare Health Program is a community-oriented organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of child care for California's children by creating and strengthening linkages among the health, safety and child care communities and the families they serve.
The California Childcare Health Program is a nonprofit organization of the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing, Department of Family Health Care Nursing. The California Childcare Health Program offers a Child Care Healthline, which provides health and safety information to the child care community, the families being served, and related professionals statewide through a toll-free telephone number. The Healthline team of specialists provide information on issues such as safety promotion and injury prevention, car seat safety, child abuse and violence prevention, nutrition, staff health, prevention and control of infectious disease, and serving children with special needs. Bilingual public health nurses are available to respond to the Spanish speaking community. The Healthline can be reached at 1-800-333-3212, Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Visit the California Childcare Health Program website to learn more about their program and to obtain information and resource materials. Health and safety information is available in both English and Spanish. The California Childcare Health Program website is located at www.ucsfchildcarehealth.org . You can also find a link on our website at www.ccld.ca.gov .
CHILDHOOD ASTHMA INITIATIVE
The Childhood Asthma Initiative is a project of the California Department of Health Services and is funded by the California Children and Families Commission. The goal of the Childhood Asthma Initiative is to improve the quality of life for children with asthma, ages zero to five years. The Childhood Asthma Initiative and Community Care Licensing Division are working in partnership to increase awareness about asthma and its management and control in child care settings.
Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood - in a classroom of 30 children, at least two are likely to have asthma. With over one million California children spending some of the day in a licensed child care facility, child care providers play a significant role for children with asthma. While no one knows exactly why people develop asthma, it is well known that "triggers" in the environment can cause a person with asthma to have an asthma attack. Triggers for asthma include: tobacco smoke, dust, pollen, pets with fur or feathers, mold and mildew, strong smelling cleaners and paints, cockroaches and wild mice. Not everyone with asthma has the same triggers. To make child care facilities more asthma-friendly, child care providers can do the following:
- Ensure their facilities are 100% free of tobacco smoke
- Control dust mites by cleaning regularly (when children are not present) by damp dusting, vacuuming, and washing stuffed animals, pillows and linens in hot water
- Ensure there is no mold and mildew
- Have an effective pest control program (this does not mean using more pesticides)
- Find a new home for furry or feathered pets
A checklist to assess how your child care facility is doing in providing care for children with asthma, is located on the Internet at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/lung/asthma/chc_chk.htm . The checklist is available in English and Spanish. If you would like more information regarding environmental triggers for asthma, please contact Katherine Feldman, California Department of Health Services, (510) 622-4468.
The California Childcare Health Program's Healthline has developed an Asthma Action Plan, which is used to list a child's triggers, gives instructions on administering medication to keep a child's asthma under control, and direction on what to do when an asthma attack occurs. The plan not only helps children with asthma, it also helps providers gain confidence in caring for children with asthma. The Asthma Action Plan, designed specifically for children zero to five years old, should be completed by the child's healthcare provider. The plan is printed in triplicate, which allows the family, child care provider and healthcare provider to each have a copy. Copies of the Child Asthma Plan are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese and can be ordered by calling the Healthline at 1-800-333-3212. Copies are also available on the Internet at www.rampasthma.org/AAP%20page.htm .
MANDATED CHILD ABUSE REPORTER ONLINE TRAINING
The Child Abuse Mandated Reporter Project, which is funded by the California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention and conducted by the California Institute on Human Services, Sonoma State University, works to provide training for mandated child abuse reporters so that they can carry out their responsibilities properly. The project is now offering a Child Abuse Mandated Reporting on-line course. By taking this course, you will learn about the requirements of the law, how to spot evidence of child abuse, how to report it, and what happens after a report is filed. The course consists of a pre-test, three lessons, and a post-test. An optional set of modules for child care providers is available. The on-line course is located on the Internet at www.cattacenter.org/mandated/ . For questions regarding the Child Abuse Mandated Reporting on-line course, please call Barbara Thorsen at (707) 664-3325.
STATE EMPLOYEE DEPENDENT CARE GRANT PROGRAM
The State Employee Dependent Care Grant Program is a new grant program to establish or expand child care facilities for children or adult dependents of State employees. Grant applications are being accepted now. A limited amount of funds will be available through June 30, 2005, or when all funds are expended, whichever comes first. More information regarding this program, including a description of the program, criteria that must be met to receive funding, and the steps to participate in the program, is available on the Department of Personnel Administration website located at www.dpa.ca.gov . Rosanne McHenry, Work & Family Program Coordinator, can be contacted at (916) 327-0522, rosannemchenry@dpa.ca.gov for more information.
PREPAREDNESS FOR NATIONAL EMERGENCIES
The United States Department of Homeland Security has prepared a short publication entitled "Preparing Makes Sense. Get Ready Now." It contains useful information about preparing for your safety in the event of a terrorist event. The brochure and other preparedness information can be found at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website at www.ready.gov . We must all consider the steps to take if a national emergency occurs. This brochure will help with your planning.
SUMMER SAFETY FOR CHILDREN
Keeping the children in your care safe is important all year long, however, the following risks are increased during the summer months, and require special attention:
Water SafetyDrowning is a major cause of death among children under five years of age in California. It can happen quickly and silently in as little as two inches of water. Extra supervision is important when children play near water - not just around pools and hot tubs, but also near buckets, wading pools, and toilets.
Licensing regulations require that providers use covers or fences to make pools and other bodies of water inaccessible to children. Licensing policy requires that fencing must be permanently in place to make sure the pool or body of water is not accessible. Any fence used to prevent access to a swimming pool must be inspected and approved by licensing staff before its use. Approved mesh fences that meet licensing standards for swimming pool fencing may be used provided that the licensee keeps the fence in place whenever licensed care is provided, and so long as the mesh fence makes the swimming pool inaccessible to children as determined by licensing staff. Please review the enclosed policy memo dated May 11, 2001 for additional information about using mesh fences.
Children in VehiclesLicensees are responsible for providing supervision to children in facilities at all times. This responsibility includes never leaving children unattended in motor vehicles. On a warm, sunny day, even at temperatures as mild as 60 degrees Fahrenheit, a closed vehicle can heat up to dangerous levels within minutes, and children left in this environment can face serious injury or even death. Because heat affects children more quickly and severely than adults, they are especially vulnerable.
To address these dangers, the Unattended Child in Motor Vehicle Safety Act (also known as "Kaitlyn's Law") was incorporated into the California Vehicle Code (Division 6.7), and became effective on January 1, 2002. This law makes it an infraction, punishable by a fine of $100, for a parent, guardian or other person responsible for a child six years of age or younger to leave that child in a motor vehicle without supervision.
Please be mindful of these increased summertime risks to children, and take the precautions necessary and provide the supervision required to keep our children safe.
LICENSING MANAGEMENT CHANGES
I am pleased to announce that effective December 1, 2002, Tom Hersant assumed the Regional Manager position of the Mission Valley Child Care Regional Office. Tom has over 24 years of experience with licensing, including previously managing our regional office located in San Diego.
I am also pleased to announce the appointment of Barbara Mordy as the Regional Manager of the Peninsula Child Care Regional Office. Barbara has been with Community Care Licensing since 1984 and has extensive experience, most recently as Regional Manger of the Children's Residential San Jose Office. Please join me in welcoming both Tom and Barbara to their new positions.
In addition, our Sacramento Child Care Regional Office has changed their name to River City Child Care Regional Office. The Regional Manager, office address, telephone number, and fax number remain the same.
LICENSED CHILD CARE STATISTICS
Enclosed are the most recent statistics on licensed child care facilities and capacities. Further breakouts by category and location are available. Please direct your requests to Jeff Hiratsuka, Chief of the Central Operations Branch, at (916) 322-4875.
SUMMARY
If you have questions about items included in this Update or suggestions for future topics, please contact Melissa Miller, Program Administrator, at (916) 229-4500. Also, please visit our website at www.ccld.ca.gov to obtain copies of Updates, office locations, provider letters, regulations, or to learn more about licensing services.
Sincerely,
DAVE DODDS, Deputy Director
Community Care Licensing Division
Enclosures