AN ACT relating to child-care centers.

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AN ACT relating to child-care centers. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 199.896 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) No person, association, or organization shall conduct, operate, maintain, or 4
advertise any child -care center without obtaining a license as provided in KRS 5
199.892 to 199.896. 6
(2) The cabinet shall[may] promulgate administrative regulations in accordance 7
with[pursuant to] KRS Chapter 13A relating to license fees [ and may, in the 8
administrative regulations, establish standards of care and service for a child -care 9
center], criteria for the denial of a license if criminal records indicate convictions 10
that may impact the safety and security of children in care, and procedures for 11
enforcement of penalties which are not in contravention of this section. 12
(3) Each initial application for a license shall be made to t he cabinet and shall be 13
accompanied by a fee that shall not exceed administrative costs of the program to 14
the cabinet and shall be renewable annually upon expiration and reapplication when 15
accompanied by a renewal fee that shall not exceed administrative c osts of the 16
program to the cabinet. Regular licenses and renewals thereof shall expire one (1) 17
year from their effective date. 18
(4) No child-care center shall be refused a license or have its license revoked for failure 19
to meet standards set by the cabinet[secretary] until after the expiration of a period 20
of[not to exceed] six (6) months from the date of the first official notice that the 21
standards have not been met. If, however, the cabinet has probable cause to believe 22
that an immediate threat to the publi c health, safety, or welfare exists, the cabinet 23
may take emergency action pursuant to KRS 13B.125. All administrative hearings 24
conducted under authority of KRS 199.892 to 199.896 shall be conducted in 25
accordance with KRS Chapter 13B. 26
(5) If, upon inspection or investigation, the inspector general finds that a child -care 27
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center licensed under this section has violated the administrative regulations [, 1
standards, or requirements] of the cabinet, the inspector general shall issue a 2
statement of deficiency to the center containing: 3
(a) A statement of fact; 4
(b) A statement of which[how an] administrative regulation [, standard, or 5
requirement of the cabinet] was violated and how it was violated; and 6
(c) The timeframe, negotiated with the child-care center, within which a violation 7
is to be corrected . If a violation can be corrected during the time in which 8
an inspector is present, the inspector shall allow it to be corrected at that 9
time. The violation shall then be marked as corrected and shall no t be 10
included in any statement of deficiency. [, except that] A violation that poses 11
an immediate threat to the health, safety, or welfare of children in the center 12
shall be corrected in no event later than five (5) working days from the date of 13
the statement of deficiency. 14
(6) The cabinet[ for Health and Family Services] , in consultation with the Office of the 15
Inspector General, shall establish by administrative regulations promulgated in 16
accordance with KRS Chapter 13A an informal dispute resolution proces s through 17
which a child-care provider may dispute licensure deficiencies that have an adverse 18
effect on the child -care provider's license or report unauthorized actions of 19
inspectors. If a child -care center prevails in its appeal and no licensure 20
deficiencies are upheld, the cabinet shall expunge the licensure records of the 21
child-care center related to the deficiency that was appealed within five (5) days 22
of the determination. 23
(7) A child -care center shall have the right to appeal to the cabinet [for Healt h and 24
Family Services ] under KRS Chapter 13B any action adverse to its license or the 25
assessment of a civil penalty issued by the inspector general as the result of a 26
violation contained in a statement of deficiency within twenty (20) days of the 27
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issuance of the action or assessment of the civil penalty. An appeal shall not act to 1
stay the correction of a violation but shall stay the revocation of a license. If a 2
child-care center prevails in its appeal and no substantiated finding was upheld, 3
the cabinet s hall expunge the inspection records of the child -care center related 4
to the allegation that was appealed within five (5) days of the determination. The 5
cabinet shall establish by administrative regulations promulgated in accordance 6
with KRS Chapter 13A the appeals process for child -care centers required 7
pursuant to this section. 8
(8) In assessing the civil penalty to be levied against a child -care center for a violation 9
contained in a statement of deficiency issued under this section, the inspector 10
general o r the inspector general's designee shall take into consideration the 11
following factors: 12
(a) The gravity of the threat to the health, safety, or welfare of children posed by 13
the violation; 14
(b) The number and type of previous violations of the child-care center; 15
(c) The reasonable diligence exercised by the child -care center and efforts to 16
correct the violation; and 17
(d) The amount of assessment necessary to assure immediate and continued 18
compliance. 19
(9) Upon a child -care center's failure to take action to cor rect a violation of the 20
administrative regulations[, standards, or requirements] of the cabinet contained in a 21
statement of deficiency, or at any time when the operation of a child -care center 22
poses an immediate threat to the health, safety, or welfare of children in the center, 23
and the child-care center continues to operate after the cabinet has taken emergency 24
action to deny, suspend, or revoke its license, the cabinet or the cabinet's designee 25
may[shall] take any[at least one (1)] of the following actions against the center: 26
(a) Institute proceedings to obtain an order compelling compliance with the 27
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administrative regulations[, standards, and requirements] of the cabinet; 1
(b) Institute injunctive proceedings in Circuit Court to terminate the operation of 2
the center; 3
(c) Institute action to discontinue payment of child-care subsidies; or 4
(d) Institute action to suspend or revoke the license or impose other penalties 5
provided by law. 6
(10) Upon request of any person, the cabinet shall provide information rega rding the 7
denial, revocation, suspension, or violation of any type of child -care center license 8
of the operator. Identifying information regarding children and their families shall 9
remain confidential. 10
(11) The cabinet shall provide, upon request, public i nformation regarding the 11
inspections of and the plans of correction for the child -care center within the past 12
year. All information distributed by the cabinet under this subsection shall include a 13
statement indicating that the reports as provided under thi s subsection from the past 14
five (5) years are available from the child -care center upon the parent's, custodian's, 15
guardian's, or other interested person's request. 16
(12) All fees collected under the provisions of KRS 199.892 to 199.896 for license and 17
certification applications shall be paid into the State Treasury and credited to a 18
special fund for the purpose of administering KRS 199.892 to 199.896 including the 19
payment of expenses of and to the participants in child -care workshops. The funds 20
collected ar e hereby appropriated for the use of the cabinet. The balance of the 21
special fund shall lapse to the general fund at the end of each biennium. 22
(13) Any advertisement for child -care services shall include the address of where the 23
service is being provided. 24
(14) All inspections of licensed and unlicensed child -care centers by the cabinet [ for 25
Health and Family Services] shall be unannounced. Upon arrival to a licensed 26
child-care center, the inspector shall minimize disruption to the operations of the 27
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child-care center but may be monitored by any director or employee of the child -1
care center. If the presence of the inspector creates a disruption to the operations 2
of the child-care center, the disruption is exempt from citation. 3
(15) All employees and owners of a child-care center who provide care to children shall 4
demonstrate within the first three (3) months of employment completion of at least 5
a total of six (6) hours of orientation in the following areas: 6
(a) Basic health, safety, and sanitation; 7
(b) Recognizing and reporting child abuse; and 8
(c) Developmentally appropriate child-care practice. 9
(16) All employees and owners of a child -care center who provide care to children shall 10
annually demonstrate to the department completion of at least six (6) hours of 11
training in child development. These hours shall include but are not limited to one 12
and one-half (1.5) hours one (1) time every five (5) years of continuing education in 13
the recognition and prevention of pediatric abusive head trauma, as defined in KRS 14
620.020. Training in recognizing pediatric abusive head trauma may be designed in 15
collaboration with organizations and agencies that specialize in the prevention and 16
recognition of pediatric head trauma approved by the secretary of the cabinet [ for 17
Health and Family Services]. The one and one -half (1.5) hours required under this 18
section shall be included in the current number of required continuing education 19
hours. 20
(17) The cabinet [ for Health and Family Services] shall make available either through 21
the development or approval of a model training curriculum and training materials, 22
including video instructional materials, to cover the areas specified in subsection 23
(15) of this section. The cabinet shall develop or approve the model training 24
curriculum and trainin g materials to cover the areas specified in subsection (15) of 25
this section. 26
(18) Child-care centers licensed pursuant to this section and family child -care homes 27
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certified pursuant to KRS 199.8982 shall not use corporal physical discipline, 1
including the use of spanking, shaking, or paddling, as a means of punishment, 2
discipline, behavior modification, or for any other reason. For the purposes of this 3
section, "corporal physical discipline" means the deliberate infliction of physical 4
pain and does not incl ude spontaneous physical contact that is intended to protect a 5
child from immediate danger. 6
(19) Child-care centers that provide instructional and educational programs [ for 7
preschool-aged children that operate for a maximum of twenty (20) hours per week 8
and] that a child attends for no more than fifteen (15) hours per week shall: 9
(a) Notify the cabinet in writing that the center is operating; 10
(b) Meet all child -care center licensure requirements and administrative 11
regulations related to employee background checks; 12
(c) Meet all child -care center licensure requirements and administrative 13
regulations related to tuberculosis screenings; and 14
(d) Be exempt from all other child -care center licensure requirements and 15
administrative regulations. 16
(20) Child-care centers that provide instructional and educational programs [ for 17
preschool-aged children that operate for a maximum of twenty (20) hours per week 18
and] that a child attends for no more t han ten (10) hours per week shall be exempt 19
from all child-care licensure requirements and administrative regulations. 20
(21) Instructional programs for school -age children that offer, whether free or for a fee, 21
recreational, educational, sports training, or vacation programs that include but are 22
not limited to martial arts and dance programs to children under eighteen (18) years 23
of age, that a child attends outside the presence of his or her parent or legal 24
guardian, shall be exempt from all child -care licensure administrative regulations if 25
the following criteria are met: 26
(a) The program provides primary instruction in a skill, talent, ability, expertise, 27
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or proficiency; 1
(b) The program operates outside the time period when school is in session, 2
including be fore or after school hours, holidays, school breaks, teaching 3
planning days, or summer vacation; 4
(c) The program does not advertise or otherwise represent that the program is a 5
licensed child-care center or that the program offers child-care services; 6
(d) The program informs the parent or guardian: 7
1. That the program is not licensed by the cabinet; and 8
2. About the physical risks a child may face while participating in the 9
program; and 10
(e) The program conducts the following background checks for all progra m 11
employees and volunteers who work with children: 12
1. Check of the child abuse and neglect records maintained by the cabinet; 13
and 14
2. In-state criminal background information check from the Justice and 15
Public Safety Cabinet or Administrative Office of the Courts. 16
(22) Directors and employees of child -care centers in a position that involves 17
supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor, or direct contact with a minor, shall 18
submit to a criminal record check in accordance with KRS 199.8965. 19
(23) A director o r employee of a child -care center may be employed on a probationary 20
status pending receipt of the criminal background check. Application for the 21
criminal record of a probationary employee shall be made no later than the date 22
probationary employment begins. 23
(24) An employee of a child-care center that only serves children from birth to two (2) 24
years of age shall not be required to complete any educational requirements that 25
are not part of trainings provided by the child-care center. 26
(25) The cabinet shall[ promulgate administrative regulations to identify emergency care 27
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providers who provide essential child -care services during an identified state of 1
emergency. 2
(25) Notwithstanding any state law, administrative regulation, executive order, or 3
executive direct ive to the contrary, during the 2020 or 2021 state of emergency 4
declared by the Governor in response to COVID -19, including but not limited to 5
any mutated strain of the COVID -19 virus, the cabinet shall] not establish any 6
restrictions on capacity for class or group size or the ability to combine classes and 7
groups for capacity limits in the morning or afternoon that is below the number that 8
was in effect on February 1, 2020. 9
(26) All results for the most recent three (3) years of inspections of child -care centers 10
required by this section shall be made available on the cabinet's website. 11
Section 2. KRS 199.8962 is amended to read as follows: 12
(1) Child-care centers licensed pursuant to KRS 199.896 shall have the following 13
standards: 14
(a) Nutrition and meal planning standards, if the child-care center provides food, 15
that are consistent with the meal and snack patterns of the most recent version 16
of the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service 17
standards for the Child and Adult Care Food Program. These nutrition 18
standards do not apply to food that is brought from a child's home; 19
(b) Physical activity standards; 20
(c) Screen time standards;[ and] 21
(d) Sugary drink standards; 22
(e) Premises standards; 23
(f) Sleeping and napping requirements; 24
(g) First aid and medicine standards; 25
(h) Kitchen standards; 26
(i) Food and drink standards; 27
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(j) Toilet, diapering, and toiletry standards; 1
(k) Transportation standards; 2
(l) Animal standards; 3
(m) Staff-to-child ratio standards that include allowances for incidental or 4
emergency variances to prevent disruptions to child -care center operations 5
and family expectations; and 6
(n) Staff-to-child ratios related to sleep and nap requirements that shall include 7
but not be limited to provisions for ratios to be doubled for no more than 8
two (2) hours during sleep or nap time. 9
(2) The cabinet may inspect a child -care center annually to determine if the ch ild-10
care center is in compliance with the standards established under subsection (1) 11
of this section. 12
(3) The cabinet shall: 13
(a) Record the inspection results generated pursuant to subsection (2) of this 14
section on a standardized form; 15
(b) Give a copy of t he completed inspection form to the child -care center at the 16
time of inspection; 17
(c) Require the child -care center to post the copy of the inspection form in a 18
prominent place easily seen by patrons; and 19
(d) Promulgate an administrative regulation in accor dance with KRS Chapter 20
13A to create the standardized form for inspection results required by this 21
subsection and make the form available on its website. 22
(4) All results for the most recent three (3) years of inspections of child -care centers 23
required by this section shall be made available on the cabinet's website. 24
(5) The cabinet shall [, within ninety (90) days of July 15, 2020,] promulgate 25
administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A , in consultation 26
with the Kentucky Early Childhood Adv isory Council established pursuant to KRS 27
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200.700, the Kentucky Child Care Advisory Council established pursuant to KRS 1
199.8983, and state and national organizations [that have expertise in nutrition, 2
physical activity, screen time, and sugary drink stand ards, ] to establish the 3
requirements and procedures for the implementation of the standards 4
required[established] in this section. 5