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Child Care Updates - June 2002

This is our first Update for 2002. It marks the ninth year of our efforts to keep the child care community informed about licensing programs and services. It has been my pleasure during this time to share information with you through the Updates. This is my last Update, as I am retiring from the California Department of Social Services at the end of July 2002. It has been my privilege to work with you to improve California's licensing program. Together we have made important strides to enhance child care quality and improve the delivery of services to children, their families and child care providers:

• We restructured the Community Care Licensing Division from a regional, geographic structure to a program-based organization. All child care licensing staff now report to a single statewide child care program administrator. This will promote uniformity and improve customer service.
• We implemented Family Child Care at Its Best, a free training program for family child care home providers, which has provided over 2,100 classes in English, Spanish and Chinese to approximately 38,800 participants.
• We have partnered with local resource and referral agencies to provide training on child care issues, and have promoted quality improvement through participation in local child care planning and outreach to multi-cultural provider groups. We collaborated with the California Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Program and Department of Health Services to promote Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) awareness among child care providers.
• To meet the needs of welfare to work participants, we have increased the number of family child care homes by 18 percent and the number of child care centers by 9 percent since September 1999.
• We issued several self-assessment guides to help child care providers stay in compliance with licensing requirements, including guides in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Hmong, Vietnamese, Farsi and Korean.
• We instituted new policies and procedures that allow more flexibility for school-age child care without reducing health and safety standards.
• Through LiveScan electronic fingerprinting, we have made the fingerprinting process faster, more accessible and more convenient.
• We created a website to make it easier for providers and the public to obtain information on child care regulations, forms, self-assessment guides, and consumer information.

NEW CHILD CARE REQUIREMENTS

It is the goal of the department to ensure that parents have all the information they need to make informed choices about their children's care. To this end we are developing new strategies to let parents know about their rights and about what information is available to them. We first developed a new parents' rights poster that we mailed to all child care licensees in May 2002. The poster advises parents that their rights including being entitled to know if anyone associated with the child care facility has been granted a criminal background exemption. Licensees must display the poster where parents can easily see it. You can find a copy of the poster (PUB 393 for child care centers and PUB 394 for family child care homes) on our website at www.ccld.ca.gov.

In response to a Governor's directive, we are also developing emergency regulations to address the best way to provide criminal record exemption information to parents. We held forums in Los Angeles and Sacramento in May to get input from a wide range of stakeholders on the content of the regulations. We plan to issue the emergency regulations within the next 2-3 months. Once the regulations are in effect, we will notify all licensees, and we will begin to enforce any new provider requirements at that time.

In response to the Governor's directive, we are also conducting a comprehensive review of the criminal background check process. This review will be completed in the fall of 2002. Pending the outcome of the review, we have suspended issuing any new criminal record exemptions for a six-month period.

SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME (SIDS)

I am pleased to announce that SIDS brochures along with several other SIDS resources are now available on our website located at www.ccld.ca.gov. Besides the SIDS brochure, you will find the booklet, "What Childcare Providers and Other Caregivers Should Know," and a SIDS information flyer and mini poster. The documents are available in English and Spanish. You can also obtain copies from your Child Care Advocate, or the California SIDS Program at (800) 369-7437 or (916) 536-0146.

SERIOUS INCIDENT REPORTING IN FAMILY CHILD CARE HOMES

In previous Updates, I reported that the Department is developing regulations and procedures to require family child care homes to report serious incidents involving any child in care. Family child care providers will be required to report any of the following situations to the child's parent or guardian and the local licensing office.

• Death of a child from any cause
• Any injury to a child that requires professional medical treatment
• Any physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of a child in care
• Any act of violence occurring while children are in care
• Anytime a child in care is missing
• Any unusual incident that threatens the health or safety of any child in care

Once we have developed the procedures, reporting format, and regulations, we will share them with provider organizations and local child care advisory groups for additional input. If you have questions about this new requirement, please call Linda Inglett, Child Care Policy Manager, at (916) 229-4509.

CHILD CARE FOOD PROGRAM PARTNERSHIP

We continue to work with the California Department of Education, Child Care Food Program (CCFP) to increase awareness about the benefits of participating in the Food Program. This federal program provides healthy meals and snacks to children in child care facilities. For information on the Child Care Food Program in your area, call Ed Mattson, Child Care Food Program at (925) 686-0522, or the Nutrition Services Division at (800) 952-5609.

The CCFP Roundtable is holding its 11th Annual CCFP Sponsors' Conference entitled "CCFP: Taste the Magic," on October 15-18, 2002 in Anaheim. Many speakers and workshops are planned covering several areas, such as, Centers and Head Start, Personal Growth, Preventing Childhood Obesity, Skills for Monitors, and Program Issues. More information about CCFP and the conference is available on their website at www.ccfproundtable.org.

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. To prevent delays in processing background checks through Live Scan, licensees must include their facility number on the Request for Live Scan Service form (LIC 9163). This number should be entered in the section that asks for "Your 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 (LIC9163) on our website at http://www.ccld.ca.gov. 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. If you have any questions regarding Live Scan, please contact Kelly Kramer, Caregiver Background Check Bureau, at (916) 274-6213.

LICENSING MANAGEMENT / OFFICE CHANGES

I am pleased to announce that effective March 1, 2002, Melissa Miller, assumed the position of statewide Program Administrator for Child Care. Melissa comes to us from the Bay Area Child Care Regional Office where she served as Regional Manager. She has extensive licensing experience, working over 25 years with licensing. In her new role Melissa will be responsible for all child care licensing services, child care policy and regulatory development and the Child Care Advocate Program.

I am also pleased to announce that Fred Gill is the new manager of the Bay Area Child Care Regional Office. Fred also has extensive experience in licensing, most recently as manager of the Peninsula Regional Office. Please join me in welcoming Melissa and Fred to their new positions.

The San Gorgonio Child Care Regional Office is now called the Inland Empire Child Care Regional Office. The office staff, location and telephone numbers remain the same. Enclosed is a listing of all child care licensing offices and the areas they serve.

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. Your requests may be directed to Jeff Hiratsuka, Chief, 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 at (916) 229-4500. You may also visit our Internet website at www.ccld.ca.gov to obtain copies of licensing Updates, office locations, provider letters, regulations, forms, the Licensing Evaluator Manual, or to learn more about licensing programs and services.

Sincerely,

MARTHA LOPEZ
Deputy Director
Community Care Licensing

Enclosures