Bill Text: FL S1234 | 2010 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Child Care Facilities/Licensing Standards [SPSC]
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Messages [S1234 Detail]
Download: Florida-2010-S1234-Engrossed.html
CS for CS for SB 1234 First Engrossed 20101234e1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to licensing standards for child care 3 facilities; providing a short title; amending s. 4 402.305, F.S.; providing minimum licensing 5 requirements for window blinds and other window 6 coverings; requiring child care facilities to retrofit 7 window blinds, window coverings, pull cords, or inner 8 cords by a specified date in order to eliminate cords 9 that pose a risk of strangulation; providing a 10 definition; authorizing the Department of Children and 11 Family Services to provide certain information 12 regarding window blinds and window coverings; 13 authorizing the department to adopt rules; amending s. 14 402.302, F.S.; revising and providing definitions; 15 providing for certain household children to be 16 included in calculations regarding the capacity of 17 licensed family day care homes and large family child 18 care homes; providing conditions for supervision of 19 household children of operators of family day care 20 homes and large family child care homes; amending s. 21 402.318, F.S.; revising advertising requirements 22 applicable to child care facilities; providing 23 penalties; providing an effective date. 24 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26 27 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “John F. Serrano, 28 Rachel Lou Napier, and Alexandra Ali Safety and Accountability 29 Act.” 30 Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 402.305, Florida 31 Statutes, is amended to read: 32 402.305 Licensing standards; child care facilities.— 33 (5) PHYSICAL FACILITIES.—Minimum standards shall include 34 requirements for building conditions, indoor play space, outdoor 35 play space, napping space, bathroom facilities, food preparation 36 facilities, outdoor equipment, and indoor equipment. 37 (a) Because of the nature and duration of drop-in child 38 care, outdoor play space and outdoor equipment shall not be 39 required for licensure; however, if such play space and 40 equipment are provided, then the minimum standards shall apply 41 to drop-in child care. With respect to minimum standards for 42 physical facilities of a child care program for school-age 43 children which is operated in a public school facility, the 44 department shall adopt the State Uniform Building Code for 45 Public Educational Facilities Construction as the minimum 46 standards, regardless of the operator of the program. The 47 Legislature intends that if a child care program for school-age 48 children is operated in a public school, the program need not 49 conform to standards for physical facilities other than the 50 standards adopted by the Commissioner of Education. 51 (b) Minimum requirements for licensure of a child care 52 facility shall prohibit the use or installation of window blinds 53 or other window coverings that have long dangling cords, pull 54 cords, or inner cords capable of forming a loop and which 55 thereby pose a risk of strangulation to young children. Window 56 blinds and other window coverings that have been manufactured or 57 properly retrofitted in a manner that eliminates long dangling 58 cords, pull cords, inner cords, or the formation of loops that 59 pose a risk of strangulation are not prohibited under this 60 subsection. Cordless window blinds are recommended and are in 61 compliance with this subsection. 62 1. When developing and periodically reviewing minimum 63 licensing requirements related to the safety and installation of 64 window blinds and other window coverings in child care 65 facilities, the department shall review and take into 66 consideration the recommendations of the United States Consumer 67 Product Safety Commission. 68 2. Child care facilities must properly retrofit existing 69 window blinds, window coverings, pull cords, or inner cords in 70 accordance with this paragraph by January 1, 2011. For purposes 71 of this subparagraph, “properly retrofit” means to modify in a 72 manner that eliminates long dangling cords or the formation of 73 inner or outer cord loops that pose a risk of child 74 strangulation. 75 3. The department may provide information regarding 76 reduced-cost or no-cost options for retrofitting or replacing 77 unsafe window blinds and window coverings. 78 4. The department shall adopt rules to administer these 79 requirements. 80 Section 3. Section 402.302, Florida Statutes, is amended to 81 read: 82 402.302 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term: 83 (1) “Child care” means the care, protection, and 84 supervision of a child, for a period of less than 24 hours a day 85 on a regular basis, which supplements parental care, enrichment, 86 and health supervision for the child, in accordance with his or 87 her individual needs, and for which a payment, fee, or grant is 88 made for care. 89 (2) “Child care facility” includes any child care center or 90 child care arrangement which provides child care for more than 91 five children unrelated to the operator and which receives a 92 payment, fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care, 93 wherever operated, and whether or not operated for profit. The 94 following are not included: 95 (a) Public schools and nonpublic schools and their integral 96 programs, except as provided in s. 402.3025; 97 (b) Summer camps having children in full-time residence; 98 (c) Summer day camps; 99 (d) Bible schools normally conducted during vacation 100 periods; and 101 (e) Operators of transient establishments, as defined in 102 chapter 509, which provide child care services solely for the 103 guests of their establishment or resort, provided that all child 104 care personnel of the establishment are screened according to 105 the level 2 screening requirements of chapter 435. 106 (3) “Child care personnel” means all owners, operators, 107 employees, and volunteers working in a child care facility. The 108 term does not include persons who work in a child care facility 109 after hours when children are not present or parents of children 110 in Head Start. For purposes of screening, the term includes any 111 member, over the age of 12 years, of a child care facility 112 operator’s family, or person, over the age of 12 years, residing 113 with a child care facility operator if the child care facility 114 is located in or adjacent to the home of the operator or if the 115 family member of, or person residing with, the child care 116 facility operator has any direct contact with the children in 117 the facility during its hours of operation. Members of the 118 operator’s family or persons residing with the operator who are 119 between the ages of 12 years and 18 years shall not be required 120 to be fingerprinted but shall be screened for delinquency 121 records. For purposes of screening, the term shall also include 122 persons who work in child care programs which provide care for 123 children 15 hours or more each week in public or nonpublic 124 schools, summer day camps, family day care homes, or those 125 programs otherwise exempted under s. 402.316. The term does not 126 include public or nonpublic school personnel who are providing 127 care during regular school hours, or after hours for activities 128 related to a school’s program for grades kindergarten through 129 12. A volunteer who assists on an intermittent basis for less 130 than 40 hours per month is not included in the term “personnel” 131 for the purposes of screening and training, provided that the 132 volunteer is under direct and constant supervision by persons 133 who meet the personnel requirements of s. 402.305(2). Students 134 who observe and participate in a child care facility as a part 135 of their required coursework shall not be considered child care 136 personnel, provided such observation and participation are on an 137 intermittent basis and the students are under direct and 138 constant supervision of child care personnel. 139 (4) “Department” means the Department of Children and 140 Family Services. 141 (5) “Drop-in child care” means child care provided 142 occasionally in a child care facility in a shopping mall or 143 business establishment where a child is in care for no more than 144 a 4-hour period and the parent remains on the premises of the 145 shopping mall or business establishment at all times. Drop-in 146 child care arrangements shall meet all requirements for a child 147 care facility unless specifically exempted. 148 (6) “Evening child care” means child care provided during 149 the evening hours and may encompass the hours of 6:00 p.m. to 150 7:00 a.m. to accommodate parents who work evenings and late 151 night shifts. 152 (7) “Family day care home” means an occupied residence in 153 which child care is regularly provided for children from at 154 least two unrelated families and which receives a payment, fee, 155 or grant for any of the children receiving care, whether or not 156 operated for profit. Household children under 13 years of age, 157 when on the premises of the family day care home or on a field 158 trip with children enrolled in child care, shall be included in 159 the overall capacity of the licensed home. A family day care 160 home shall be allowed to provide care for one of the following 161 groups of children, which shall include householdthosechildren 162 under 13 years of agewho are related to the caregiver: 163 (a) A maximum of four children from birth to 12 months of 164 age. 165 (b) A maximum of three children from birth to 12 months of 166 age, and other children, for a maximum total of six children. 167 (c) A maximum of six preschool children if all are older 168 than 12 months of age. 169 (d) A maximum of 10 children if no more than 5 are 170 preschool age and, of those 5, no more than 2 are under 12 171 months of age. 172 (8) “Household children” means children who are related by 173 blood, marriage, or legal adoption to, or who are the legal 174 wards of, the family day care home operator, the large family 175 child care home operator, or an adult household member who 176 permanently or temporarily resides in the home. Supervision of 177 the operator’s household children shall be left to the 178 discretion of the operator unless those children receive 179 subsidized child care to be in the home. 180 (9)(8)“Large family child care home” means an occupied 181 residence in which child care is regularly provided for children 182 from at least two unrelated families, which receives a payment, 183 fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care, whether or 184 not operated for profit, and which has at least two full-time 185 child care personnel on the premises during the hours of 186 operation. One of the two full-time child care personnel must be 187 the owner or occupant of the residence. A large family child 188 care home must first have operated as a licensed family day care 189 home for 2 years, with an operator who has had a child 190 development associate credential or its equivalent for 1 year, 191 before seeking licensure as a large family child care home. 192 Household children under 13 years of age, when on the premises 193 of the large family child care home or on a field trip with 194 children enrolled in child care, shall be included in the 195 overall capacity of the licensed home. A large family child care 196 home shall be allowed to provide care for one of the following 197 groups of children, which shall include householdthosechildren 198 under 13 years of agewho are related to the caregiver: 199 (a) A maximum of 8 children from birth to 24 months of age. 200 (b) A maximum of 12 children, with no more than 4 children 201 under 24 months of age. 202 (10)(9)“Indoor recreational facility” means an indoor 203 commercial facility which is established for the primary purpose 204 of entertaining children in a planned fitness environment 205 through equipment, games, and activities in conjunction with 206 food service and which provides child care for a particular 207 child no more than 4 hours on any one day. An indoor 208 recreational facility must be licensed as a child care facility 209 under s. 402.305, but is exempt from the minimum outdoor-square 210 footage-per-child requirement specified in that section, if the 211 indoor recreational facility has, at a minimum, 3,000 square 212 feet of usable indoor floor space. 213 (11)(10)“Local licensing agency” means any agency or 214 individual designated by the county to license child care 215 facilities. 216 (12)(11)“Operator” means any onsite person ultimately 217 responsible for the overall operation of a child care facility, 218 whether or not he or she is the owner or administrator of such 219 facility. 220 (13)(12)“Owner” means the person who is licensed to 221 operate the child care facility. 222 (14)(13)“Screening” means the act of assessing the 223 background of child care personnel and volunteers and includes, 224 but is not limited to, employment history checks, local criminal 225 records checks through local law enforcement agencies, 226 fingerprinting for all purposes and checks in this subsection, 227 statewide criminal records checks through the Department of Law 228 Enforcement, and federal criminal records checks through the 229 Federal Bureau of Investigation. 230 (15)(14)“Secretary” means the Secretary of Children and 231 Family Services. 232 (16)(15)“Substantial compliance” means that level of 233 adherence which is sufficient to safeguard the health, safety, 234 and well-being of all children under care. Substantial 235 compliance is greater than minimal adherence but not to the 236 level of absolute adherence. Where a violation or variation is 237 identified as the type which impacts, or can be reasonably 238 expected within 90 days to impact, the health, safety, or well 239 being of a child, there is no substantial compliance. 240 (17)(16)“Weekend child care” means child care provided 241 between the hours of 6 p.m. on Friday and 6 a.m. on Monday. 242 Section 4. Section 402.318, Florida Statutes, is amended to 243 read: 244 402.318 Advertisement.—No person, as defined in s. 1.01(3), 245 shall advertise or publish an advertisement for a child care 246 facility, family day care home, or large family child care home 247 without including within such advertisement the state or local 248 agency license number or registration number of such facility or 249 home. Violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the first 250 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 251 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.
