(a) In exercising
its authority to license a before or after school program or renew, suspend, or
revoke the license, the department shall analyze the qualifications of staff,
review the facility's written policies and program provisions, and inspect the
facility.
(b) Authorized
representatives of the department and parents or guardians of the children in
care may visit the facility at any time during the hours of operation for
purposes of observing, monitoring or inspecting the facilities, activities,
staffing, and other aspects of the program and facility.
(c) The department may call on political
subdivisions and governmental agencies for appropriate assistance within the
agencies' uthorized fields.
(d) The
applicant or licensee shall cooperate with the department by providing access
to its facilities, records, and staff. Failure to comply with reasonable
requests may constitute grounds for denial, suspension, or revocation of
license.
(e) After the initial
licensure, the licensee shall ensure that new employees comply with section
17-896-2(a)(5).
(1) New employees and rehires
shall be fingerprinted no later than five working days of employment.
(2) Any applicant, employee, or rehired
employee who has left the state for six consecutive months or more is required
to be fingerprinted again within five working days of beginning
employment.
(f) Annual
state name checks and child abuse/ neglect history checks shall be conducted.
The applicants and employees shall provide consent to the department to conduct
such checks no later than five working days of the employment anniversary, date
or the anniversary date of the last consent to a state name check.
(g) The department shall request the
applicant or licensee to terminate the employment of an employee who has a
criminal history, employment history, or child abuse/neglect history, which
poses a risk to children in care. Any such request shall be in writing and
shall state those criminal convictions, employment history, or child
abuse/neglect history which indicate a risk to children. The standard to be
applied in disqualification of art applicant or an employee based on these
checks shall be:
(1) Except as stated in
section (B) below, felony convictions of any offenses against the person as
provided in Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 707 shall result in immediate
disqualification.
(A) The offenses, include,
but are not limited to:
(i) murder in the
first and second degree;
(ii)
manslaughter;
(iii) negligent
homicide in the first and second degree;
(iv) negligent injury in the first
degree;
(v) assault in the first
degree;
(vi) reckless endangering
in the first, degree;
(vii)
terroristic threatening in the first degree;
(viii) kidnapping;
(ix) unlawful imprisonment in the first
degree;
(x) custodial interference
in the first degree;
(xi) sexual
assault in the first, second, and third degree;
(xii) incest;
(xiii) promoting child abuse in the first and
second degree;
(xiv) extortion in
the first and second degree;
(xv)
extortion when a firearm, explosive, or any dangerous weapon is immediately
available and is physically used as part of the threat.
(B) In the case of second degree assault
convictions, immediate disqualification shall occur for only those convictions
within the last five years from the date of the most recent criminal history,
record check.
(2) Felony
conviction of an offense against property rights as provided in Hawaii Revised
Statutes chapter 708 shall result in immediate disqualification when the crime
leading to the conviction involved use of a weapon, threatened harm, or
violence to achieve the crime, and the conviction was within the last five
years from the date of the most recent criminal history record check. These
offenses include, but are not limited to:
(A)
burglary in the first degree;
(B)
criminal property damage in the first degeee; and
(C) robbery in the first and second
degree.
(3) Conviction
of ah offense against the family as provided in Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter
709 shall result in immediate disqualification when the conviction was within
the last five years from the date of the most recent criminal history record
check. These offenses include, but are not limited to:
(A) concealing the corpse of an
infant;
(B) abandonment of a
child;
(C) endangering the welfare
of a minor;
(D) compensation by an
adult of juveniles for crimes;
(E)
endangering the welfare of an incompetent person; and
(F) abuse of a family or household
member.
(4) Conviction
of an offense against public health and morals as provided in Hawaii Revised
Statutes chapter 712, shall result in immediate disqualification when the
conviction was within the last five years from the date of the most recent
criminal history record check. These offenses include, but are not limited to:
(A) promoting prostitution in the first,
second, and third degree;
(B)
loitering for the purpose of engaging in or advancing prostitution;
(C) displaying indecent matter;
(D) promoting pornography;
(E) promoting pornography for
minors;
(F) open
lewdness;
(G) promoting a dangerous
drug in the first, second, and third degree;
(H) promoting a harmful drug in the first,
second, third, and fourth degree;
(I) promoting a detrimental drug in the
first, second, and third degree;
(J) commercial promotion of marijuana in the
first and second degree;
(K)
promoting a controlled substance in, on, or near schools or school
vehicles;
(L) promoting
intoxicating compounds; and
(M)
promoting intoxicating liquor to a minor.
(5) Confirmation by the department that the
applicant or the employee was the perpetrator of abuse or neglect shall result
in immediate disqualification.
(6)
Confirmation by the department that the applicant or the employee was the
perpetrator of threatened harm shall result in immediate disqualification for a
five-year period starting from the date that the child abuse case record was
closed. An applicant may request, at the discretion of the licensing social
worker, that the case be presented to a panel constituted by the department
which shall make a final decision of whether the confirmed threatened harm
warrants immediate disqualification or an exception should be
granted.
(7) For any other
situations that have not been listed in this section, the department may
disqualify an applicant or employee after assessing whether the caregiver poses
a risk to the health, safety, or well-being of the children in care. When
making an assessment, the criteria to be used shall include, but not be limited
to, the following:
(A) The nature of the
incident;
(B) When, the incident
occurred;
(C) Patterns of behavior
which are considered reckless or negligent and resulted in or could haye
resulted in injury to the person and/or others; and
(D) Evidence of rehabilitation.
(h) When the applicant
or licensee does not terminate the employment of the employee when requested
under this section, the applicant or licensee shall notify the department no
later than seven working days of receipt of the request. Such notification
shall be in writing and shall state the reason(s) for the decision.
(i) Refusal to terminate the employment of an
employee, when requested under this section, shall be grounds for revocation or
suspension of a license.
(j) Rules
prescribed in this chapter are minimum standards. The department shall issue a
license under the following conditions:
(1) A
regular license shall be issued if the result of the department's evaluation
indicates compliance with the applicable rules as established by the
department; or
(2) A provisional
license shall be issued if the result of the department's evaluation, indicates
that all of the applicable rules cannot be met immediately but shall be met
within six months or less, and the deviations are minor deficiencies.
(k) The length of the licensing
period shall be as follows:
(1) Regular
licenses shall be valid for one year for new applicants and those providers
licensed for less than four years, and for two years for all other providers
unless subsequently suspended or revoked. When a regular license is issued
after a provisional license, the expiration date of the regular license shall
be one year or two years from the issuance date of the last
provisional-license;
(2)
Provisional licenses may be issued for up to six months; and
(3) Licenses shall be renewed only upon
application and upon the department's approval.
(l) Each license shall clearly state the kind
of program the licensee is permitted to operate, the address of the licensee,
and the number and types of children who can be cared for at the
facility.
(m) Implementation of two
year licenses shall be accomplished by dividing a unit's caseload so that
one-half of the cases fall on the even year and one-half of the cases fall on
the odd years. To accomplish this, licenses one-year in length may be issued,
if necessary, to achieve an even caseload between the two years. This decision
shall be within the discretion of the-department.
