CS/HB 139

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to child care facilities; amending s.
3	402.302, F.S.; revising and providing definitions;
4	providing for certain household children to be included in
5	calculations regarding the capacity of licensed family day
6	care homes and large family child care homes; providing
7	conditions for supervision of household children of
8	operators of family day care homes and large family child
9	care homes; amending s. 402.318, F.S.; revising
10	advertising requirements applicable to child care
11	facilities; providing penalties; amending s. 411.01, F.S.;
12	conforming a cross-reference; providing an effective date.
13
14	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16	Section 1.  Section 402.302, Florida Statutes, is amended
17	to read:
18	402.302  Definitions.-As used in this chapter, the term:
19	(1)  "Child care" means the care, protection, and
20	supervision of a child, for a period of less than 24 hours a day
21	on a regular basis, which supplements parental care, enrichment,
22	and health supervision for the child, in accordance with his or
23	her individual needs, and for which a payment, fee, or grant is
24	made for care.
25	(2)  "Child care facility" includes any child care center
26	or child care arrangement which provides child care for more
27	than five children unrelated to the operator and which receives
28	a payment, fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care,
29	wherever operated, and whether or not operated for profit. The
30	following are not included:
31	(a)  Public schools and nonpublic schools and their
32	integral programs, except as provided in s. 402.3025;
33	(b)  Summer camps having children in full-time residence;
34	(c)  Summer day camps;
35	(d)  Bible schools normally conducted during vacation
36	periods; and
37	(e)  Operators of transient establishments, as defined in
38	chapter 509, which provide child care services solely for the
39	guests of their establishment or resort, provided that all child
40	care personnel of the establishment are screened according to
41	the level 2 screening requirements of chapter 435.
42	(3)  "Child care personnel" means all owners, operators,
43	employees, and volunteers working in a child care facility. The
44	term does not include persons who work in a child care facility
45	after hours when children are not present or parents of children
46	in a child care facility. For purposes of screening, the term
47	includes any member, over the age of 12 years, of a child care
48	facility operator's family, or person, over the age of 12 years,
49	residing with a child care facility operator if the child care
50	facility is located in or adjacent to the home of the operator
51	or if the family member of, or person residing with, the child
52	care facility operator has any direct contact with the children
53	in the facility during its hours of operation. Members of the
54	operator's family or persons residing with the operator who are
55	between the ages of 12 years and 18 years are not required to be
56	fingerprinted but must be screened for delinquency records. For
57	purposes of screening, the term also includes persons who work
58	in child care programs that provide care for children 15 hours
59	or more each week in public or nonpublic schools, family day
60	care homes, or programs otherwise exempted under s. 402.316. The
61	term does not include public or nonpublic school personnel who
62	are providing care during regular school hours, or after hours
63	for activities related to a school's program for grades
64	kindergarten through 12. A volunteer who assists on an
65	intermittent basis for less than 10 hours per month is not
66	included in the term "personnel" for the purposes of screening
67	and training if a person who meets the screening requirement of
68	s. 402.305(2) is always present and has the volunteer in his or
69	her line of sight. Students who observe and participate in a
70	child care facility as a part of their required coursework are
71	not considered child care personnel, provided such observation
72	and participation are on an intermittent basis and a person who
73	meets the screening requirement of s. 402.305(2) is always
74	present and has the student in his or her line of sight.
75	(4)  "Child welfare provider" means a licensed child-caring
76	or child-placing agency.
77	(5)  "Department" means the Department of Children and
78	Family Services.
79	(6)  "Drop-in child care" means child care provided
80	occasionally in a child care facility in a shopping mall or
81	business establishment where a child is in care for no more than
82	a 4-hour period and the parent remains on the premises of the
83	shopping mall or business establishment at all times. Drop-in
84	child care arrangements shall meet all requirements for a child
85	care facility unless specifically exempted.
86	(7)  "Evening child care" means child care provided during
87	the evening hours and may encompass the hours of 6:00 p.m. to
88	7:00 a.m. to accommodate parents who work evenings and late-
89	night shifts.
90	(8)  "Family day care home" means an occupied residence in
91	which child care is regularly provided for children from at
92	least two unrelated families and which receives a payment, fee,
93	or grant for any of the children receiving care, whether or not
94	operated for profit. Household children under 13 years of age,
95	when on the premises of the family day care home or on a field
96	trip with children enrolled in child care, shall be included in
97	the overall capacity of the licensed home. A family day care
98	home shall be allowed to provide care for one of the following
99	groups of children, which shall include household those children
100	under 13 years of age who are related to the caregiver:
101	(a)  A maximum of four children from birth to 12 months of
102	age.
103	(b)  A maximum of three children from birth to 12 months of
104	age, and other children, for a maximum total of six children.
105	(c)  A maximum of six preschool children if all are older
106	than 12 months of age.
107	(d)  A maximum of 10 children if no more than 5 are
108	preschool age and, of those 5, no more than 2 are under 12
109	months of age.
110	(9)  "Household children" means children who are related by
111	blood, marriage, or legal adoption to, or who are the legal
112	wards of, the family day care home operator, the large family
113	child care home operator, or an adult household member who
114	permanently or temporarily resides in the home. Supervision of
115	the operator's household children shall be left to the
116	discretion of the operator unless those children receive
117	subsidized child care through the School Readiness Program
118	pursuant to s. 411.0101 to be in the home.
119	(10)  "Indoor recreational facility" means an indoor
120	commercial facility which is established for the primary purpose
121	of entertaining children in a planned fitness environment
122	through equipment, games, and activities in conjunction with
123	food service and which provides child care for a particular
124	child no more than 4 hours on any one day. An indoor
125	recreational facility must be licensed as a child care facility
126	under s. 402.305, but is exempt from the minimum outdoor-square-
127	footage-per-child requirement specified in that section, if the
128	indoor recreational facility has, at a minimum, 3,000 square
129	feet of usable indoor floor space.
130	(11)(9)  "Large family child care home" means an occupied
131	residence in which child care is regularly provided for children
132	from at least two unrelated families, which receives a payment,
133	fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care, whether or
134	not operated for profit, and which has at least two full-time
135	child care personnel on the premises during the hours of
136	operation. One of the two full-time child care personnel must be
137	the owner or occupant of the residence. A large family child
138	care home must first have operated as a licensed family day care
139	home for 2 years, with an operator who has had a child
140	development associate credential or its equivalent for 1 year,
141	before seeking licensure as a large family child care home.
142	Household children under 13 years of age, when on the premises
143	of the large family child care home or on a field trip with
144	children enrolled in child care, shall be included in the
145	overall capacity of the licensed home. A large family child care
146	home shall be allowed to provide care for one of the following
147	groups of children, which shall include household those children
148	under 13 years of age who are related to the caregiver:
149	(a)  A maximum of 8 children from birth to 24 months of
150	age.
151	(b)  A maximum of 12 children, with no more than 4 children
152	under 24 months of age.
153	(12)(11)  "Local licensing agency" means any agency or
154	individual designated by the county to license child care
155	facilities.
156	(13)(12)  "Operator" means any onsite person ultimately
157	responsible for the overall operation of a child care facility,
158	whether or not he or she is the owner or administrator of such
159	facility.
160	(14)(13)  "Owner" means the person who is licensed to
161	operate the child care facility.
162	(15)(14)  "Screening" means the act of assessing the
163	background of child care personnel and volunteers and includes,
164	but is not limited to, employment history checks, local criminal
165	records checks through local law enforcement agencies,
166	fingerprinting for all purposes and checks in this subsection,
167	statewide criminal records checks through the Department of Law
168	Enforcement, and federal criminal records checks through the
169	Federal Bureau of Investigation.
170	(16)(15)  "Secretary" means the Secretary of Children and
171	Family Services.
172	(17)(16)  "Substantial compliance" means that level of
173	adherence which is sufficient to safeguard the health, safety,
174	and well-being of all children under care. Substantial
175	compliance is greater than minimal adherence but not to the
176	level of absolute adherence. Where a violation or variation is
177	identified as the type which impacts, or can be reasonably
178	expected within 90 days to impact, the health, safety, or well-
179	being of a child, there is no substantial compliance.
180	(18)(17)  "Weekend child care" means child care provided
181	between the hours of 6 p.m. on Friday and 6 a.m. on Monday.
182	Section 2.  Section 402.318, Florida Statutes, is amended
183	to read:
184	402.318  Advertisement.-A No person, as defined in s.
185	1.01(3), may not shall advertise a child care facility, family
186	day care home, or large family child care home without including
187	within such advertisement the state or local agency license
188	number or registration number of such facility or home.
189	Violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree,
190	punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
191	Section 3.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (5) of section
192	411.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
193	411.01  School readiness programs; early learning
194	coalitions.-
195	(5)  CREATION OF EARLY LEARNING COALITIONS.-
196	(c)  Program expectations.-
197	1.  The school readiness program must meet the following
198	expectations:
199	a.  The program must, at a minimum, enhance the age-
200	appropriate progress of each child in attaining the performance
201	standards and outcome measures adopted by the Agency for
202	Workforce Innovation.
203	b.  The program must provide extended-day and extended-year
204	services to the maximum extent possible without compromising the
205	quality of the program to meet the needs of parents who work.
206	c.  The program must provide a coordinated professional
207	development system that supports the achievement and maintenance
208	of core competencies by school readiness instructors in helping
209	children attain the performance standards and outcome measures
210	adopted by the Agency for Workforce Innovation.
211	d.  There must be expanded access to community services and
212	resources for families to help achieve economic self-
213	sufficiency.
214	e.  There must be a single point of entry and unified
215	waiting list. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the term "single
216	point of entry" means an integrated information system that
217	allows a parent to enroll his or her child in the school
218	readiness program at various locations throughout a county, that
219	may allow a parent to enroll his or her child by telephone or
220	through an Internet website, and that uses a unified waiting
221	list to track eligible children waiting for enrollment in the
222	school readiness program. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
223	shall establish through technology a single statewide
224	information system that each coalition must use for the purposes
225	of managing the single point of entry, tracking children's
226	progress, coordinating services among stakeholders, determining
227	eligibility, tracking child attendance, and streamlining
228	administrative processes for providers and early learning
229	coalitions.
230	f.  The Agency for Workforce Innovation must consider the
231	access of eligible children to the school readiness program, as
232	demonstrated in part by waiting lists, before approving a
233	proposed increase in payment rates submitted by an early
234	learning coalition. In addition, early learning coalitions shall
235	use school readiness funds made available due to enrollment
236	shifts from school readiness programs to the Voluntary
237	Prekindergarten Education Program for increasing the number of
238	children served in school readiness programs before increasing
239	payment rates.
240	g.  The program must meet all state licensing guidelines,
241	where applicable.
242	h.  The program must ensure that minimum standards for
243	child discipline practices are age-appropriate. Such standards
244	must provide that children not be subjected to discipline that
245	is severe, humiliating, or frightening or discipline that is
246	associated with food, rest, or toileting. Spanking or any other
247	form of physical punishment is prohibited.
248	2.  Each early learning coalition must implement a
249	comprehensive program of school readiness services in accordance
250	with the rules adopted by the agency which enhance the
251	cognitive, social, and physical development of children to
252	achieve the performance standards and outcome measures. At a
253	minimum, these programs must contain the following system
254	support service elements:
255	a.  Developmentally appropriate curriculum designed to
256	enhance the age-appropriate progress of children in attaining
257	the performance standards adopted by the Agency for Workforce
258	Innovation under subparagraph (4)(d)8.
259	b.  A character development program to develop basic
260	values.
261	c.  An age-appropriate screening of each child's
262	development.
263	d.  An age-appropriate assessment administered to children
264	when they enter a program and an age-appropriate assessment
265	administered to children when they leave the program.
266	e.  An appropriate staff-to-children ratio, pursuant to s.
267	402.305(4) or s. 402.302(8) or (11)(7) or (8), as applicable,
268	and as verified pursuant to s. 402.311.
269	f.  A healthy and safe environment pursuant to s.
270	401.305(5), (6), and (7), as applicable, and as verified
271	pursuant to s. 402.311.
272	g.  A resource and referral network established under s.
273	411.0101 to assist parents in making an informed choice and a
274	regional Warm-Line under s. 411.01015.
275
276	The Agency for Workforce Innovation, the Department of
277	Education, and early learning coalitions shall coordinate with
278	the Child Care Services Program Office of the Department of
279	Children and Family Services to minimize duplicating interagency
280	activities pertaining to acquiring and composing data for child
281	care training and credentialing.
282	Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.