Delaware Administrative Code
Title 14 - Education
900 - Special Populations
938 - Regulations for Youth Camps
Part I - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 938-I-3.0 - Definition of Terms
The following words and terms when used in these regulations have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Administration of medication certificate" means a document issued by OCCL that gives permission for a staff member to administer medication to children in care.
"Adult" means a staff person or volunteer who is at least 18 years old.
"Agreement of Understanding" means a document that is part of a corrective action plan or used when necessary to ensure regulation compliance. This document contains requirements the licensee must follow to maintain licensure.
"Applicant" means the individual or entity, such as a company, corporation, business, school district, or agency, seeking a license to operate a youth camp.
"Business day" means a weekday Monday through Friday not including State of Delaware legal holidays.
"Camp counselor" means a staff member who performs direct child care duties. This person works under the supervision of the camp director. This person implements the daily activities for a group of children.
"Camp director" means a staff member with direct responsibility for the youth camp's total program including health matters, food, staff supervision, the administration of program operations, recreation, and transportation. This person supervises all staff members and volunteers, may perform direct child care duties, and meets the qualifications listed in these regulations.
"Child" means a person who has not reached the age of 18 years.
"Child abuse" means to cause or inflict sexual abuse on a child; or an act by a person that has care, custody, or control of a child that causes or inflicts physical injury through unjustified force, emotional abuse, torture, exploitation, maltreatment, or mistreatment as defined in 10 Del.C. § 901.
"Child neglect" means the failure to provide, by those responsible for the care, custody, and control of the child, the proper or necessary education as required by law; nutrition; or medical, surgical or any other care necessary for the child's well-being as defined in 10 Del.C. § 901.
"Child with disabilities" means a child diagnosed by a qualified professional as having a physical, intellectual, emotional, or developmental disability, or chronic medical condition.
"Complaint investigation" means the process followed by OCCL to investigate accusations that a licensee is not complying with these regulations or applicable laws.
"Comprehensive background check" means a State of Delaware and federal (national) fingerprinted report of a person's entire criminal history including a search of the National Crime Information Center's National Sex Offender Registry; and a search of state criminal, sex offender, and child abuse and neglect registries, repositories, or databases in the state where the person resides, and in each state in which the person resided during the past five years.
"Conference" means a meeting between OCCL and a licensee to discuss serious non-compliance as defined in these regulations or to discuss the denial of a variance request.
"Corrective action plan" means a document listing non-compliance that a licensee must correct, how to correct it, and the date OCCL requires the corrections to be completed. This document serves as written notice of non-compliance with these regulations.
"Denial" means the process of refusing to grant a license after OCCL receives an application. This constitutes refusal of permission to operate.
"Department" means the Delaware Department of Education.
"Designated representative" means the person assigned by the applicant, licensee, organization, corporation, entity, LLC, school district, or State agency to act on the applicant, licensee, organization, corporation, entity, LLC, school district, or State agency's behalf. The applicant or licensee granted this person authority over program operations and to represent the licensee, organization, corporation, entity, LLC, school district, or State agency in dealings with OCCL. This person may sign the application with written authorization from the applicant or licensee.
"DPH" means the Delaware Division of Public Health.
"Enforcement action" means an action taken by OCCL to promote compliance such as suspension, revocation, or denial.
"Field trip" means a trip or program activity off the licensed site.
"Group size" or "maximum group size" means the number of children permitted by these regulations to be assigned to a specific staff member or group of staff members, occupying an individual room or well-defined physical space within a large room or other area.
"Hazardous material" means any item or agent (biological, chemical, radiological, or physical), that has the potential to cause harm to humans, animals, or the environment, by itself or through interaction with other factors.
"Health care provider" means a professional who practices medicine with or without supervision and is sanctioned by an established licensing body. The most common types of health care providers include physicians, advanced practice nurses or nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
"Hearing" means the hearing provided to a licensee or applicant when requesting an appeal of OCCL's decision to place the facility on an enforcement action such as suspension, revocation, or denial. A licensee or applicant may provide evidence to contest the action.
"Individualized educational program" or "IEP" means a document written at least yearly which describes the services and supports needed for a child identified for special education usually for a child age three years and older.
"License" means the document issued by OCCL granting authority to a licensee to operate a youth camp at a specific address under applicable State laws.
"Licensee" means the individual or entity, such as a company, corporation, organization, business, school district, or agency, legally responsible for a licensed youth camp.
"Licensing specialist" means an OCCL employee who is responsible for performing regulatory activities including monitoring child care facilities, investigating complaints, monitoring the need for enforcement actions, and making recommendations for licensure as set forth in Delaware Code and these regulations.
"Office of Child Care Licensing" or "OCCL" means the agency within the department authorized under 14 Del.C. §§ 3001A- 3005 A to promulgate and enforce regulations for child care, to license child care facilities, and to develop and implement policies and procedures.
"Parent or Guardian" means a birth or adoptive parent, legal guardian, or other person having responsibility for, or legal custody of, a child.
"Regulation" means the minimum standard established by OCCL that is required for a particular aspect of child care.
"Revocation" means the process of rescinding a license during the license's effective dates withdrawing permission to operate.
"School-age child" means a child who attends or has attended kindergarten or a higher grade.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of Education.
"Serious non-compliance" means an action or actions that violate the terms of a license and presents a significant risk to children. Serious non-compliance includes, but is not limited to the following: child abuse or neglect, excessive non-compliance, failing to admit authorized people into the camp; failing to cooperate with an investigation, failing to report abuse or neglect, improper discipline, improper release of children, improper staff-to-child ratios, inappropriate adult behavior, lack of supervision, medication errors, having no camp director, being over-capacity, participating in fraud or making false statements, being sanctioned by another agency, providing transportation in an unsafe manner, being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, leaving unqualified staff alone with children, failing to complete comprehensive background checks as required, having an unsafe building/environment, violating an agreement of understanding, or refusing to sign an agreement of understanding.
"Service Letters" as required by the Delaware Department of Labor, 19 Del.C. § 708, are used to determine whether a person seeking employment was counseled, warned, reprimanded, suspended, or discharged as a result of a reasonably substantiated incident involving a person's violent behavior or threat of violence in the workplace, or for abuse or negligence/neglect of patients/clients/residents/children.
"Staff member" means a full- or part-time employee of a youth camp.
"Supervision" means the correct number of staff members are physically present in the area or room, including outside, with children and staff members and volunteers who must be supervised. Supervision includes providing watchful oversight and timely attention to children, staff members, and volunteers' actions and needs.
"Suspension order" means a notice issued by OCCL directing a licensee to immediately cease operation of the youth camp and stop providing child care. While the license is suspended, a licensee may not provide child care.
"Variance" means OCCL's approval for a licensee to meet the intent of a specific licensing regulation in a different manner than the regulation specifies.
"Volunteer" means a person who is at least 16 years old who provides an unpaid service or support to a youth camp. Unless qualified to be alone with children as stated in these regulations, a camp counselor or the camp director must always visually supervise a volunteer.
