House Bill hb0179c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 2001              CS/HB 179

        By the Committee on Child & Family Security and
    Representatives Lynn, Rich and Bucher





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to child care facilities;

  3         amending s. 402.3055, F.S.; requiring

  4         validation of information provided by an

  5         applicant for a child care facility license;

  6         creating s. 402.3105, F.S.; requiring the

  7         Department of Children and Family Services to

  8         establish a database of information relating to

  9         violations, citations, and penalties imposed

10         against child care facilities regulated by the

11         state; specifying database capabilities and

12         uses of information contained therein;

13         requiring the department to establish and

14         impose uniform penalties; providing an

15         effective date.

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17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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19         Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section

20  402.3055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

21         402.3055  Child care personnel requirements.--

22         (1)  REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILD CARE PERSONNEL.--

23         (a)  The department or local licensing agency shall

24  require that the application for a child care license contain

25  a question that specifically asks the applicant, owner, or

26  operator if he or she has ever had a license denied, revoked,

27  or suspended in any state or jurisdiction or has been the

28  subject of a disciplinary action or been fined while employed

29  in a child care facility. The applicant, owner, or operator

30  shall sign an affidavit attesting attest to the accuracy of

31  the information requested under penalty of perjury.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001              CS/HB 179

    602-160-01






  1         1.  If the applicant, owner, or operator admits that he

  2  or she has been a party in such action, the department or

  3  local licensing agency shall review the nature of the

  4  suspension, revocation, disciplinary action, or fine before

  5  granting the applicant a license to operate a child care

  6  facility.

  7         2.  If the applicant, owner, or operator denies that he

  8  or she has been a party in such action in Florida, the

  9  department or local licensing agency shall validate the

10  information provided by reviewing statewide child care

11  licensing records to determine if the applicant has had a

12  license denied, revoked, or suspended or has been the subject

13  of a disciplinary action or been fined while employed in a

14  child care facility prior to issuing a license.

15         3.  If the department or local licensing agency

16  determines as the result of such review that it is not in the

17  best interest of the state or local jurisdiction for the

18  applicant to be licensed, a license shall not be granted.

19         Section 2.  Section 402.3105, Florida Statutes, is

20  created to read:

21         402.3105  Central database on violations, citations,

22  and penalties imposed against child care facilities.--The

23  Department of Children and Family Services shall establish and

24  maintain a central database to record and compile all district

25  information relating to violations, citations, and penalties

26  imposed against child care facilities regulated by the

27  department. The database shall be operated in a manner that

28  enables the department to identify and locate such information

29  for purposes of monitoring and evaluating the uniformity and

30  effectiveness of district investigations and enforcement, in

31  order to ensure compliance of child care facilities with state

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001              CS/HB 179

    602-160-01






  1  regulatory requirements. The database shall further maintain

  2  and produce aggregate statistical reports monitoring patterns

  3  of violations, citations, and penalties, including the classes

  4  and types of violations, and any actions taken to suspend or

  5  revoke the license of a child care facility. The information

  6  in the database shall serve as a resource for the evaluation

  7  of child care facilities for license renewal but may not be

  8  used for employment screening. The information in the database

  9  shall be made available to the public upon request.

10         Section 3.  The Department of Children and Family

11  Services shall establish and impose uniform penalties for

12  violations of ss. 402.301-402.319, Florida Statutes, or rules

13  adopted thereunder.

14         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

15  law.

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