California  Licensing Update

Each Family Child Care Association in California receives a quarterly update letter from Martha Lopez, Deputy Director of CCLD (Community Care Licensing Division).  Below is a summary of those letters by date.  If you have any questions or want to see any of the attachments, contact your local Family Child Care Association president.  If your association does not receive this update, contact CCLD to change the address to the current address for your association.

from  Martha Lopez, Deputy Director
December, 2000  Update
Holiday Greetings to Everyone. This is our last child care Update for 2000 and closes our seventh year of sharing information on licensing related programs and services with individuals  and organizations interested in child care. This has been an eventful year for both the California Department of Social Services and the licensing program in particular:

• We welcomed Dave Dodds, who replaced Frances Young upon her retirement, as the Northern Regional Manager.
• We added a Facility Search feature to the Community Care Licensing Division homepage.  This feature helps individuals search for selected types of licensed facilities using any one of the following search categories: Facility Name, City, Zip Code, County, Area Code, or licensing office.
• We developed a teacher/director qualifications "passport" that allows child care center teachers and directors to move freely between licensed programs without a re-evaluation of their qualifications.
• We improved the criminal background check process to provide enhanced protections for children while promoting consistency and fairness.

I appreciate your continuing support in sharing this information with others in your organization interested in child care.

As we begin the new year, it’s time again to review our Update mailing list to be sure it is current and accurate. Please use the enclosed Update interest form to let us know if you wish to  continue receiving the quarterly Update and if we are sending it to the right person and to the  right address for your organization. You can also indicate on the form if you wish to receive the Update electronically rather than by mail. In order to reduce unnecessary mailing, we will only  continue sending the Update to individuals who return the interest form by January 31, 2001.

2000 CHAPTERED LEGISLATION
A summary of legislation passed in 2000 that affects child care facilities. The  summary includes our implementation plan for each bill. Unless otherwise noted, each bill will become effective January 1, 2001.

If you have any questions regarding the implementation of any of the legislation discussed, please contact Carole Jacobi, Chief, Policy Development Bureau, at (916) 324-4031.

REGULATIONS IN PROCESS
The Department is currently revising the regulations for child care centers and family child care homes. The revisions will incorporate law changes enacted between 1996-99. These law changes have already been implemented and do not represent new requirements. The revised regulations will include the following:

• The requirement to attach an earthquake preparedness checklist to the facility's disaster plan.
• The requirement for licensees to make reports of facility visits and substantiated complaints accessible to the public at the facility.
• The requirement that child care facilities not use or have on the premises a crib that is unsafe for infants.
• Changes to the health-and-safety training law that require the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) to approve preventive health practices courses and that exempt training programs operated by accredited colleges and universities from EMSA approval.

A separate package will incorporate blood-glucose monitoring and nebulizer care requirements into the child care center and family child care home regulations. This package will probably not
require public hearing because the requirements are spelled out in statute. We will simply quote
the statutory requirements in the regulations. We will keep you informed on the status of these
regulations in future Updates.

GASTROSTOMY-TUBE CARE IN LICENSED CENTERS AND CHILD CARE HOMES
Ensuring that children with special needs can participate more fully in licensed child care programs continues to be an important issue. In September, we released new gastrostomy-tube
(G-tube) policies for child care centers and family child care homes in response to this issue.
These new policies were developed in consultation with health care professionals, including the
Board of Registered Nursing and the University of California Davis Medical Center. Child care facilities that want to provide this care must:

• Obtain prior approval from the Department
• Obtain written permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian
• Ensure that staff complete instruction in G-tube care given by a competent person designated by the child’s physician
• Follow specific instructions from the child’s physician
• Keep a copy of the G-tube manufacturer’s instructions on file at the facility
• Maintain a log detailing each time G-tube care is provided to the child

BICYCLE HELMET SAFETY
Bicycle riding is a wonderful, lifelong activity that is fun, healthy and good for the environment.  One way to ensure safe bicycle riding for children is to make sure they wear a bicycle helmet.
Wearing a bicycle helmet is the single, most effective way to prevent head injury and reduces the risk of head injury by 85 percent. California law requires all children under the age of 18 to wear a helmet whenever riding a bicycle.

The holiday season is a good time to check if children have outgrown their helmets, whether the helmet needs readjustment, or to see if the helmet has been damaged. If so, a new bicycle helmet can be a healthy holiday gift. We have enclosed some helpful information from the California Department of Health Services on "Tips for Parents About Bicycle Helmets" that you can share with parents.

SUBSTITUTE EMPLOYEE REGISTRY
At a number of presentations over the past few months, staff and I have shared the status of our Substitute Employee Registry pilot project and our plans to expand the program statewide for all facility categories. We have received very positive comments about the pilot project and agree that it is a good idea. However, we must postpone statewide implementation due to a lack of resources to expand the program as planned. We remain committed to continuing the pilot and are hopeful that we can expand the program statewide in the future. We will keep you informed in future Updates about the status of the project.

HOW TO PREVENT FINGERPRINTING DELAYS
We continue to encourage applicants and licensees to submit their fingerprints and Child Abuse
Central Index check requests through Live Scan, as the system is faster and more accurate than
traditional methods. Effective January 1, 2001, family child care home applicants will not be
charged the Live Scan processing fee if their requests are submitted at any California Department of Social Services Live Scan site. In addition, volunteers in child care centers or family child care homes will not be charged the Live Scan processing fee if they submit their requests at any California Department of Social Services Live Scan site or the Department of
 Justice site located at 4949 Broadway in Sacramento.

We are continuing to reduce the time involved in processing fingerprint clearances. Following
are some tips for preventing delays:

Applicants can contact their local law enforcement agency or Sylvan/Identix Fingerprinting
Centers to determine the nearest Live Scan location. Sylvan/Identix may be contacted at
(800) 315-4507. Live Scan locations may be found on our website at dss.cahwnet.gov/CCLD for licensing sites, or at www.caag.gov for law enforcement sites.

Some applicants have attempted to obtain services at the preprinted address on the fingerprint forms. Both the FD 258 and the Request for Live Scan Service (LIC 9163) have a preprinted  address of 744 P Street, Sacramento, CA. This address refers only to the address receiving information from the Department of Justice, and not the address for fingerprinting services. No Live Scan services are available at this location.

Please be sure to include your facility number on all FD 258 or LIC 9163 forms. Missing facility
numbers result in background clearance delays because manual entry is required for each
Department of Justice response that does not contain a facility number.

LICENSED CHILD CARE STATISTICS
Below are the most recent statistics on licensed child care facilities and capacities. Further breakouts by category and location are available. Your requests may be directed to Dennis Walker, Chief, Central Operations Branch, at (916) 324-4031.

B

for the complete update  http://ccld.ca.gov/docs/childcare/ccupdates/ccu1201.htm

back to top