§ 21-120.1 Family child care and group family child care.
AC § 21-120.1
a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: 1. "Family child care provider" shall mean an individual who is registered pursuant to section three hundred ninety of the social services law.
2."Group family child care provider" shall mean an individual who is licensed pursuant to section three hundred ninety of the social services law.
3."Administration" shall mean the administration for children's services.
4."Child care provider" or "provider" shall mean a family child care provider or a group family child care provider.
5."Authorized family child care service" shall mean an individual, association, corporation, partnership, institution, organization, or other entity that has been designated by the administration, or other appropriate agencies of the city and in consultation with the administration, as qualified to inspect the home of a family child care provider or group family child care provider seeking eligibility to provide subsidized child care, assist in bringing such provider into full compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and rules in order for such family child care provider or group family child care provider to be designated as eligible to provide subsidized child care and/or monitor the performance of a child care provider that is providing subsidized child care.
6."Subsidized child care" shall mean all child care services provided by a child care provider paid for wholly or partially with public funds, where payment is made by or pursuant to grants or contracts with a child care provider or authorized family child care service or by issuance of a child care certificate to a parent.
7."Child care certificate" shall mean a certificate or voucher that is issued directly to a parent who may use such certificate or voucher only as payment for child care services or as a deposit for child care services if such a deposit is required of other children being cared for by the provider.
8."Parent" shall mean a custodial parent, legal guardian or other person having legal custody of a child. b. The administration shall perform the tasks and provide the services described in this subdivision with respect to providers of subsidized child care provided, however, that such tasks and services may be delegated to an authorized family child care service to the extent permitted by law: 1. monitoring the care provided to each child and ensuring that each child's individual needs are being met, identifying children in need of further evaluation and making appropriate referrals for individual or family-related services; 2. inspecting a child care provider's home within thirty days of the placement of the first child receiving subsidized child care with that child care provider for the purpose of determining that such child care provider meets the requirements of section three hundred ninety of the social services law, the regulations promulgated thereunder, and any plan approved pursuant to section three hundred ninety of the social services law, and that the child care provider is capable of providing safe and suitable care to children which is supportive of their physical, intellectual, emotional and social well-being. When the inspection is to be conducted by an authorized family child care service, the child care provider shall furnish to such authorized family child care service a true copy of the provider's completed application form and all other supporting documents and related materials in the provider's possession. However, this paragraph shall not apply to those providers of subsidized child care who were providing such care prior to the effective date of this section and received payment for such care exclusively through child care certificates; 3. arranging for a visit to a child care provider's home by a parent prior to the placement of such parent's child receiving subsidized child care with that child care provider for the purpose of determining that such child care provider is capable of providing safe and suitable care which is supportive of that child's physical, intellectual, emotional and social well-being; 4. inspecting the operation of every home where subsidized child care is provided no less than five times each year, which shall be in addition to and separate and distinct from any visits performed pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subdivision or mandated by the United States department of agriculture pursuant to the child and adult care food program, for the purpose of ensuring that child care is provided in accordance with the requirements of all applicable laws, regulations and rules, provided, however, that twenty percent of those providers of subsidized child care who are providing such child care on the effective date of this section and receive payment for such child care exclusively through child care certificates shall be inspected each month following approval of the provisions of this paragraph by the New York state office of children and family services, so that each such provider shall be inspected within five months subsequent to such approval, and all such providers shall be inspected four additional times during the first year following such approval; 5. inspecting the operation of every home where subsidized child care is provided no less than two times during the first six months in which a child care provider is providing subsidized child care and at least one additional time during the next six months, which shall be in addition to and separate and distinct from any visits and inspections required by paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of this subdivision, except that this paragraph shall not apply to a provider who is participating in the child and adult care food program of the United States department of agriculture and those providers of subsidized child care who were providing such child care prior to the effective date of this section and received payment for such child care exclusively through child care certificates; 6. in addition to and separate and distinct from those visits and inspections required by paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subdivision, inspecting the operation of every home where subsidized child care is provided no less than two times during the first six months after the provider has had eligibility to provide subsidized child care restored subsequent to the effective date of this paragraph or has been adjudicated to have violated any provision of any applicable law, regulation or rule unless it is determined at the time the violation is adjudicated that the violation (a) did not adversely affect public health, (b) did not relate to on-site sanitation, fire hazards or safety hazards, (c) did not relate to staff qualifications or program requirements and (d) did not relate to the discipline, supervision or nutrition of any child in the provider's care. The administration shall also perform such additional inspections as it determines are necessary for it to establish that a provider whose eligibility to provide subsidized child care has been restored is capable of providing safe and suitable care to children which is supportive of their physical, intellectual, emotional and social well-being and to establish that any violations of the type described in this paragraph have been corrected.
1.Not later than sixty days following the effective date of this section, the administration shall submit in accordance with section three hundred ninety of the social services law a plan or all amendments to any existing plan necessary to make such plan consistent with the provisions of this section, together with an explanation justifying the need to impose additional requirements upon providers of subsidized child care and a plan to monitor compliance with such additional requirements and all applicable laws, regulations and rules.
