HB 411

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to child care facilities; amending s.
3	402.302, F.S.; revising and providing definitions;
4	providing for certain household children to be included in
5	calculations regarding the capacity of licensed family day
6	care homes and large family child care homes; providing
7	conditions for supervision of household children of
8	operators of family day care homes and large family child
9	care homes; amending s. 402.318, F.S.; requiring the
10	Department of Children and Family Services or the local
11	licensing agency to report violations of certain
12	advertising requirements applicable to child care
13	facilities to the state attorney's office; revising such
14	advertising requirements; providing penalties; providing
15	an effective date.
16
17	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19	Section 1.  Section 402.302, Florida Statutes, is amended
20	to read:
21	402.302  Definitions.-As used in this chapter, the term:
22	(1)  "Child care" means the care, protection, and
23	supervision of a child, for a period of less than 24 hours a day
24	on a regular basis, which supplements parental care, enrichment,
25	and health supervision for the child, in accordance with his or
26	her individual needs, and for which a payment, fee, or grant is
27	made for care.
28	(2)  "Child care facility" includes any child care center
29	or child care arrangement which provides child care for more
30	than five children unrelated to the operator and which receives
31	a payment, fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care,
32	wherever operated, and whether or not operated for profit. The
33	following are not included:
34	(a)  Public schools and nonpublic schools and their
35	integral programs, except as provided in s. 402.3025;
36	(b)  Summer camps having children in full-time residence;
37	(c)  Summer day camps;
38	(d)  Bible schools normally conducted during vacation
39	periods; and
40	(e)  Operators of transient establishments, as defined in
41	chapter 509, which provide child care services solely for the
42	guests of their establishment or resort, provided that all child
43	care personnel of the establishment are screened according to
44	the level 2 screening requirements of chapter 435.
45	(3)  "Child care personnel" means all owners, operators,
46	employees, and volunteers working in a child care facility. The
47	term does not include persons who work in a child care facility
48	after hours when children are not present or parents of children
49	in Head Start. For purposes of screening, the term includes any
50	member, over the age of 12 years, of a child care facility
51	operator's family, or person, over the age of 12 years, residing
52	with a child care facility operator if the child care facility
53	is located in or adjacent to the home of the operator or if the
54	family member of, or person residing with, the child care
55	facility operator has any direct contact with the children in
56	the facility during its hours of operation. Members of the
57	operator's family or persons residing with the operator who are
58	between the ages of 12 years and 18 years shall not be required
59	to be fingerprinted but shall be screened for delinquency
60	records. For purposes of screening, the term shall also include
61	persons who work in child care programs which provide care for
62	children 15 hours or more each week in public or nonpublic
63	schools, summer day camps, family day care homes, or those
64	programs otherwise exempted under s. 402.316. The term does not
65	include public or nonpublic school personnel who are providing
66	care during regular school hours, or after hours for activities
67	related to a school's program for grades kindergarten through
68	12. A volunteer who assists on an intermittent basis for less
69	than 40 hours per month is not included in the term "personnel"
70	for the purposes of screening and training, provided that the
71	volunteer is under direct and constant supervision by persons
72	who meet the personnel requirements of s. 402.305(2). Students
73	who observe and participate in a child care facility as a part
74	of their required coursework shall not be considered child care
75	personnel, provided such observation and participation are on an
76	intermittent basis and the students are under direct and
77	constant supervision of child care personnel.
78	(4)  "Department" means the Department of Children and
79	Family Services.
80	(5)  "Drop-in child care" means child care provided
81	occasionally in a child care facility in a shopping mall or
82	business establishment where a child is in care for no more than
83	a 4-hour period and the parent remains on the premises of the
84	shopping mall or business establishment at all times. Drop-in
85	child care arrangements shall meet all requirements for a child
86	care facility unless specifically exempted.
87	(6)  "Evening child care" means child care provided during
88	the evening hours and may encompass the hours of 6:00 p.m. to
89	7:00 a.m. to accommodate parents who work evenings and late-
90	night shifts.
91	(7)  "Family day care home" means an occupied residence in
92	which child care is regularly provided for children from at
93	least two unrelated families and which receives a payment, fee,
94	or grant for any of the children receiving care, whether or not
95	operated for profit. A family day care home shall be allowed to
96	provide care for one of the following groups of children, which
97	shall include household those children under 13 years of age who
98	are related to the caregiver:
99	(a)  A maximum of four children from birth to 12 months of
100	age.
101	(b)  A maximum of three children from birth to 12 months of
102	age, and other children, for a maximum total of six children.
103	(c)  A maximum of six preschool children if all are older
104	than 12 months of age.
105	(d)  A maximum of 10 children if no more than 5 are
106	preschool age and, of those 5, no more than 2 are under 12
107	months of age.
108
109	Household children under 13 years of age, whether on the
110	premises of the family day care home or on a field trip with
111	children enrolled in child care, shall be included in the
112	overall capacity of the licensed home.
113	(8)  "Household children" means children who are related by
114	blood, marriage, or legal adoption to, or who are the legal
115	wards of, an adult household member who meets the level 2
116	screening requirements as provided in s. 435.04. Supervision of
117	the operator's household children shall be left to the
118	discretion of the operator unless those children receive
119	subsidized child care to be in the home.
120	(9)(8)  "Large family child care home" means an occupied
121	residence in which child care is regularly provided for children
122	from at least two unrelated families, which receives a payment,
123	fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care, whether or
124	not operated for profit, and which has at least two full-time
125	child care personnel on the premises during the hours of
126	operation. One of the two full-time child care personnel must be
127	the owner or occupant of the residence. A large family child
128	care home must first have operated as a licensed family day care
129	home for 2 years, with an operator who has had a child
130	development associate credential or its equivalent for 1 year,
131	before seeking licensure as a large family child care home. A
132	large family child care home shall be allowed to provide care
133	for one of the following groups of children, which shall include
134	household those children under 13 years of age who are related
135	to the caregiver:
136	(a)  A maximum of 8 children from birth to 24 months of
137	age.
138	(b)  A maximum of 12 children, with no more than 4 children
139	under 24 months of age.
140
141	Household children under 13 years of age, whether on the
142	premises of the large family child care home or on a field trip
143	with children enrolled in child care, shall be included in the
144	overall capacity of the licensed home.
145	(10)(9)  "Indoor recreational facility" means an indoor
146	commercial facility which is established for the primary purpose
147	of entertaining children in a planned fitness environment
148	through equipment, games, and activities in conjunction with
149	food service and which provides child care for a particular
150	child no more than 4 hours on any one day. An indoor
151	recreational facility must be licensed as a child care facility
152	under s. 402.305, but is exempt from the minimum outdoor-square-
153	footage-per-child requirement specified in that section, if the
154	indoor recreational facility has, at a minimum, 3,000 square
155	feet of usable indoor floor space.
156	(11)(10)  "Local licensing agency" means any agency or
157	individual designated by the county to license child care
158	facilities.
159	(12)(11)  "Operator" means any onsite person ultimately
160	responsible for the overall operation of a child care facility,
161	whether or not he or she is the owner or administrator of such
162	facility.
163	(13)(12)  "Owner" means the person who is licensed to
164	operate the child care facility.
165	(14)(13)  "Screening" means the act of assessing the
166	background of child care personnel and volunteers and includes,
167	but is not limited to, employment history checks, local criminal
168	records checks through local law enforcement agencies,
169	fingerprinting for all purposes and checks in this subsection,
170	statewide criminal records checks through the Department of Law
171	Enforcement, and federal criminal records checks through the
172	Federal Bureau of Investigation.
173	(15)(14)  "Secretary" means the Secretary of Children and
174	Family Services.
175	(16)(15)  "Substantial compliance" means that level of
176	adherence which is sufficient to safeguard the health, safety,
177	and well-being of all children under care. Substantial
178	compliance is greater than minimal adherence but not to the
179	level of absolute adherence. Where a violation or variation is
180	identified as the type which impacts, or can be reasonably
181	expected within 90 days to impact, the health, safety, or well-
182	being of a child, there is no substantial compliance.
183	(17)(16)  "Weekend child care" means child care provided
184	between the hours of 6 p.m. on Friday and 6 a.m. on Monday.
185	Section 2.  Section 402.318, Florida Statutes, is amended
186	to read:
187	402.318  Advertisement.-No person, as defined in s.
188	1.01(3), shall advertise or publish an advertisement for a child
189	care facility, family day care home, or large family child care
190	home without including within such advertisement the state or
191	local agency license number of such facility or home. The
192	department or local licensing agency shall report any person
193	that violates this section to the state attorney's office in the
194	appropriate judicial circuit. Violation of this section is a
195	misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
196	775.082 or s. 775.083.
197	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

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