CS/CS/HB 139

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to child care facilities; amending s.
3	402.281, F.S.; revising the criteria for a child care
4	facility, large family child care home, or family day care
5	home to obtain and maintain a designation as a Gold Seal
6	Quality Care provider; amending s. 402.302, F.S.; revising
7	and providing definitions; providing for certain household
8	children to be included in calculations regarding the
9	capacity of licensed family day care homes and large
10	family child care homes; providing conditions for
11	supervision of household children of operators of family
12	day care homes and large family child care homes;
13	providing guidelines for the calculation of usable floor
14	space; amending s. 402.318, F.S.; revising advertising
15	requirements applicable to child care facilities;
16	providing penalties; amending s. 411.01, F.S.; conforming
17	a cross-reference; providing an effective date.
18
19	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21	Section 1.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section
22	402.281, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
23	402.281  Gold Seal Quality Care program.-
24	(4)  In order to obtain and maintain a designation as a
25	Gold Seal Quality Care provider, a child care facility, large
26	family child care home, or family day care home must meet the
27	following additional criteria:
28	(c)  The child care provider must not have been cited for
29	the same class III violation, as defined by rule, three or more
30	times and failed to correct the violation within 1 year after
31	the date of each citation, within the 2 years preceding its
32	application for designation as a Gold Seal Quality Care
33	provider. Commission of the same class III violation three or
34	more times and failure to correct within the required time
35	during a 2-year period may shall be grounds for termination of
36	the designation as a Gold Seal Quality Care provider until the
37	provider has no class III violations for a period of 1 year.
38	Section 2.  Section 402.302, Florida Statutes, is amended
39	to read:
40	402.302  Definitions.-As used in this chapter, the term:
41	(1)  "Child care" means the care, protection, and
42	supervision of a child, for a period of less than 24 hours a day
43	on a regular basis, which supplements parental care, enrichment,
44	and health supervision for the child, in accordance with his or
45	her individual needs, and for which a payment, fee, or grant is
46	made for care.
47	(2)  "Child care facility" includes any child care center
48	or child care arrangement which provides child care for more
49	than five children unrelated to the operator and which receives
50	a payment, fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care,
51	wherever operated, and whether or not operated for profit. The
52	following are not included:
53	(a)  Public schools and nonpublic schools and their
54	integral programs, except as provided in s. 402.3025;
55	(b)  Summer camps having children in full-time residence;
56	(c)  Summer day camps;
57	(d)  Bible schools normally conducted during vacation
58	periods; and
59	(e)  Operators of transient establishments, as defined in
60	chapter 509, which provide child care services solely for the
61	guests of their establishment or resort, provided that all child
62	care personnel of the establishment are screened according to
63	the level 2 screening requirements of chapter 435.
64	(3)  "Child care personnel" means all owners, operators,
65	employees, and volunteers working in a child care facility. The
66	term does not include persons who work in a child care facility
67	after hours when children are not present or parents of children
68	in a child care facility. For purposes of screening, the term
69	includes any member, over the age of 12 years, of a child care
70	facility operator's family, or person, over the age of 12 years,
71	residing with a child care facility operator if the child care
72	facility is located in or adjacent to the home of the operator
73	or if the family member of, or person residing with, the child
74	care facility operator has any direct contact with the children
75	in the facility during its hours of operation. Members of the
76	operator's family or persons residing with the operator who are
77	between the ages of 12 years and 18 years are not required to be
78	fingerprinted but must be screened for delinquency records. For
79	purposes of screening, the term also includes persons who work
80	in child care programs that provide care for children 15 hours
81	or more each week in public or nonpublic schools, family day
82	care homes, or programs otherwise exempted under s. 402.316. The
83	term does not include public or nonpublic school personnel who
84	are providing care during regular school hours, or after hours
85	for activities related to a school's program for grades
86	kindergarten through 12. A volunteer who assists on an
87	intermittent basis for less than 10 hours per month is not
88	included in the term "personnel" for the purposes of screening
89	and training if a person who meets the screening requirement of
90	s. 402.305(2) is always present and has the volunteer in his or
91	her line of sight. Students who observe and participate in a
92	child care facility as a part of their required coursework are
93	not considered child care personnel, provided such observation
94	and participation are on an intermittent basis and a person who
95	meets the screening requirement of s. 402.305(2) is always
96	present and has the student in his or her line of sight.
97	(4)  "Child welfare provider" means a licensed child-caring
98	or child-placing agency.
99	(5)  "Department" means the Department of Children and
100	Family Services.
101	(6)  "Drop-in child care" means child care provided
102	occasionally in a child care facility in a shopping mall or
103	business establishment where a child is in care for no more than
104	a 4-hour period and the parent remains on the premises of the
105	shopping mall or business establishment at all times. Drop-in
106	child care arrangements shall meet all requirements for a child
107	care facility unless specifically exempted.
108	(7)  "Evening child care" means child care provided during
109	the evening hours and may encompass the hours of 6:00 p.m. to
110	7:00 a.m. to accommodate parents who work evenings and late-
111	night shifts.
112	(8)  "Family day care home" means an occupied residence in
113	which child care is regularly provided for children from at
114	least two unrelated families and which receives a payment, fee,
115	or grant for any of the children receiving care, whether or not
116	operated for profit. Household children under 13 years of age,
117	when on the premises of the family day care home or on a field
118	trip with children enrolled in child care, shall be included in
119	the overall capacity of the licensed home. A family day care
120	home shall be allowed to provide care for one of the following
121	groups of children, which shall include household those children
122	under 13 years of age who are related to the caregiver:
123	(a)  A maximum of four children from birth to 12 months of
124	age.
125	(b)  A maximum of three children from birth to 12 months of
126	age, and other children, for a maximum total of six children.
127	(c)  A maximum of six preschool children if all are older
128	than 12 months of age.
129	(d)  A maximum of 10 children if no more than 5 are
130	preschool age and, of those 5, no more than 2 are under 12
131	months of age.
132	(9)  "Household children" means children who are related by
133	blood, marriage, or legal adoption to, or who are the legal
134	wards of, the family day care home operator, the large family
135	child care home operator, or an adult household member who
136	permanently or temporarily resides in the home. Supervision of
137	the operator's household children shall be left to the
138	discretion of the operator unless those children receive
139	subsidized child care through the School Readiness Program
140	pursuant to s. 411.0101 to be in the home.
141	(10)  "Indoor recreational facility" means an indoor
142	commercial facility which is established for the primary purpose
143	of entertaining children in a planned fitness environment
144	through equipment, games, and activities in conjunction with
145	food service and which provides child care for a particular
146	child no more than 4 hours on any one day. An indoor
147	recreational facility must be licensed as a child care facility
148	under s. 402.305, but is exempt from the minimum outdoor-square-
149	footage-per-child requirement specified in that section, if the
150	indoor recreational facility has, at a minimum, 3,000 square
151	feet of usable indoor floor space.
152	(11)(9)  "Large family child care home" means an occupied
153	residence in which child care is regularly provided for children
154	from at least two unrelated families, which receives a payment,
155	fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care, whether or
156	not operated for profit, and which has at least two full-time
157	child care personnel on the premises during the hours of
158	operation. One of the two full-time child care personnel must be
159	the owner or occupant of the residence. A large family child
160	care home must first have operated as a licensed family day care
161	home for 2 years, with an operator who has had a child
162	development associate credential or its equivalent for 1 year,
163	before seeking licensure as a large family child care home.
164	Household children under 13 years of age, when on the premises
165	of the large family child care home or on a field trip with
166	children enrolled in child care, shall be included in the
167	overall capacity of the licensed home. A large family child care
168	home shall be allowed to provide care for one of the following
169	groups of children, which shall include household those children
170	under 13 years of age who are related to the caregiver:
171	(a)  A maximum of 8 children from birth to 24 months of
172	age.
173	(b)  A maximum of 12 children, with no more than 4 children
174	under 24 months of age.
175	(12)(11)  "Local licensing agency" means any agency or
176	individual designated by the county to license child care
177	facilities.
178	(13)(12)  "Operator" means any onsite person ultimately
179	responsible for the overall operation of a child care facility,
180	whether or not he or she is the owner or administrator of such
181	facility.
182	(14)(13)  "Owner" means the person who is licensed to
183	operate the child care facility.
184	(15)(14)  "Screening" means the act of assessing the
185	background of child care personnel and volunteers and includes,
186	but is not limited to, employment history checks, local criminal
187	records checks through local law enforcement agencies,
188	fingerprinting for all purposes and checks in this subsection,
189	statewide criminal records checks through the Department of Law
190	Enforcement, and federal criminal records checks through the
191	Federal Bureau of Investigation.
192	(16)(15)  "Secretary" means the Secretary of Children and
193	Family Services.
194	(17)(16)  "Substantial compliance" means that level of
195	adherence which is sufficient to safeguard the health, safety,
196	and well-being of all children under care. Substantial
197	compliance is greater than minimal adherence but not to the
198	level of absolute adherence. Where a violation or variation is
199	identified as the type which impacts, or can be reasonably
200	expected within 90 days to impact, the health, safety, or well-
201	being of a child, there is no substantial compliance.
202	(18)  "Usable floor space" means the total available floor
203	space for the facility as a whole, minus space for stairways,
204	toilet and bath facilities, permanent fixtures, kitchens,
205	offices, laundry rooms, storage areas, hallways, or other areas
206	not used in the normal day-to-day operation of a child care
207	facility. For the purpose of calculating the usable floor space
208	for each child required under s. 402.305(6), the total available
209	floor space of the facility, and not of each room, shall be
210	used.
211	(19)(17)  "Weekend child care" means child care provided
212	between the hours of 6 p.m. on Friday and 6 a.m. on Monday.
213	Section 3.  Section 402.318, Florida Statutes, is amended
214	to read:
215	402.318  Advertisement.-A No person, as defined in s.
216	1.01(3), may not shall advertise a child care facility, family
217	day care home, or large family child care home without including
218	within such advertisement the state or local agency license
219	number or registration number of such facility or home.
220	Violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree,
221	punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
222	Section 4.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (5) of section
223	411.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
224	411.01  School readiness programs; early learning
225	coalitions.-
226	(5)  CREATION OF EARLY LEARNING COALITIONS.-
227	(c)  Program expectations.-
228	1.  The school readiness program must meet the following
229	expectations:
230	a.  The program must, at a minimum, enhance the age-
231	appropriate progress of each child in attaining the performance
232	standards and outcome measures adopted by the Agency for
233	Workforce Innovation.
234	b.  The program must provide extended-day and extended-year
235	services to the maximum extent possible without compromising the
236	quality of the program to meet the needs of parents who work.
237	c.  The program must provide a coordinated professional
238	development system that supports the achievement and maintenance
239	of core competencies by school readiness instructors in helping
240	children attain the performance standards and outcome measures
241	adopted by the Agency for Workforce Innovation.
242	d.  There must be expanded access to community services and
243	resources for families to help achieve economic self-
244	sufficiency.
245	e.  There must be a single point of entry and unified
246	waiting list. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the term "single
247	point of entry" means an integrated information system that
248	allows a parent to enroll his or her child in the school
249	readiness program at various locations throughout a county, that
250	may allow a parent to enroll his or her child by telephone or
251	through an Internet website, and that uses a unified waiting
252	list to track eligible children waiting for enrollment in the
253	school readiness program. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
254	shall establish through technology a single statewide
255	information system that each coalition must use for the purposes
256	of managing the single point of entry, tracking children's
257	progress, coordinating services among stakeholders, determining
258	eligibility, tracking child attendance, and streamlining
259	administrative processes for providers and early learning
260	coalitions.
261	f.  The Agency for Workforce Innovation must consider the
262	access of eligible children to the school readiness program, as
263	demonstrated in part by waiting lists, before approving a
264	proposed increase in payment rates submitted by an early
265	learning coalition. In addition, early learning coalitions shall
266	use school readiness funds made available due to enrollment
267	shifts from school readiness programs to the Voluntary
268	Prekindergarten Education Program for increasing the number of
269	children served in school readiness programs before increasing
270	payment rates.
271	g.  The program must meet all state licensing guidelines,
272	where applicable.
273	h.  The program must ensure that minimum standards for
274	child discipline practices are age-appropriate. Such standards
275	must provide that children not be subjected to discipline that
276	is severe, humiliating, or frightening or discipline that is
277	associated with food, rest, or toileting. Spanking or any other
278	form of physical punishment is prohibited.
279	2.  Each early learning coalition must implement a
280	comprehensive program of school readiness services in accordance
281	with the rules adopted by the agency which enhance the
282	cognitive, social, and physical development of children to
283	achieve the performance standards and outcome measures. At a
284	minimum, these programs must contain the following system
285	support service elements:
286	a.  Developmentally appropriate curriculum designed to
287	enhance the age-appropriate progress of children in attaining
288	the performance standards adopted by the Agency for Workforce
289	Innovation under subparagraph (4)(d)8.
290	b.  A character development program to develop basic
291	values.
292	c.  An age-appropriate screening of each child's
293	development.
294	d.  An age-appropriate assessment administered to children
295	when they enter a program and an age-appropriate assessment
296	administered to children when they leave the program.
297	e.  An appropriate staff-to-children ratio, pursuant to s.
298	402.305(4) or s. 402.302(8) or (11)(7) or (8), as applicable,
299	and as verified pursuant to s. 402.311.
300	f.  A healthy and safe environment pursuant to s.
301	401.305(5), (6), and (7), as applicable, and as verified
302	pursuant to s. 402.311.
303	g.  A resource and referral network established under s.
304	411.0101 to assist parents in making an informed choice and a
305	regional Warm-Line under s. 411.01015.
306
307	The Agency for Workforce Innovation, the Department of
308	Education, and early learning coalitions shall coordinate with
309	the Child Care Services Program Office of the Department of
310	Children and Family Services to minimize duplicating interagency
311	activities pertaining to acquiring and composing data for child
312	care training and credentialing.
313	Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

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