Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) The Office of Licensing may deny an
application or suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license or a Certificate of
Life/Safety Approval for good cause, including the following, as applicable:
1. Failure or refusal to comply with all
applicable provisions of the laws specified in this chapter;
i. Failure to comply with the provisions of this
chapter shall also prevent a sponsor from obtaining a license for an additional
child care center;
2.
Violation of the terms and conditions of a license or a Certificate of Life/Safety
Approval;
3. Use of fraud or
misrepresentation in obtaining a license or a Certificate of Life/Safety Approval or
in the subsequent operation of the center;
4. Refusal to furnish the Department with files,
reports, or records, as required by this chapter;
5. Refusal to permit an authorized representative
of the Department to gain admission to the center or to conduct an inspection or
investigation during the center's operating hours;
6. Any activity, policy, or staff conduct that
adversely affects or presents a serious hazard to the education, health, safety,
well-being, or development of a child attending a center, or that otherwise
demonstrates unfitness by a sponsor, sponsor representative, or staff member(s) to
operate a center;
7. Failure to provide
developmental activities that meet the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive
needs of the children served;
8. Failure
by the sponsor or sponsor representative to secure and maintain on file conviction
disclosures, as specified in N.J.A.C. 3A:52-4.1(b)3, Child Abuse Record Information
(CARI) background checks, as specified in N.J.A.C. 3A:52-4.10, or Criminal History
Record Information (CHRI) fingerprint background checks, as specified in N.J.A.C.
3A:52-4.11;
9. A determination by the
Department's Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit that children in the center are
at risk of harm;
10. Refusal by the
sponsor or sponsor representative to consent to a Child Abuse Record Information
background check for himself or herself, or to terminate the employment of a staff
member who refuses to consent to a Child Abuse Record Information background
check;
11. Refusal by the sponsor or
sponsor representative to terminate the employment of a staff member when a Child
Abuse Record Information background check reveals that an incident of child abuse or
neglect has been substantiated against the staff member;
12. A Child Abuse Record Information background
check that reveals that an incident of child abuse or neglect has been substantiated
against the sponsor or sponsor representative; or
13. Failure to comply with the provisions of
P.L.
1998, c. 35, which prohibit
smoking in child care centers, as specified in N.J.A.C. 3A:52-7.7(d).
(b) The Office of Licensing shall
provide written notice to the sponsor or sponsor representative if it intends to
deny an application or suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license or a
Certificate of Life/Safety Approval. The notice shall specify the Office of
Licensing's reasons for such action.
(c)
If the Office of Licensing suspends a center's license or Certificate of Life/Safety
Approval to prevent the imminent risk of harm to children served by the center, the
Office of Licensing may reinstate the suspended license or Certificate of
Life/Safety Approval upon the center's compliance with all applicable provisions of
this chapter.
(d) If the Office of
Licensing denies an application or revokes or refuses to renew a center's license or
Certificate of Life/Safety Approval, as specified in (a) above, the sponsor or
sponsor representative of the center shall be prohibited from reapplying for a
license or a Certificate of Life/Safety Approval for one year from the date of the
denial, revocation, or refusal to renew. After the one-year period has elapsed, the
sponsor or sponsor representative may submit to the Office of Licensing a new
application for a license or a Certificate of Life/Safety Approval.
(e) Each license and each Certificate of
Life/Safety Approval issued by the Office of Licensing to a center is the property
of the State of New Jersey. If the Office of Licensing suspends or revokes a license
or a Certificate of Life/Safety Approval, the center shall return the license or
Certificate of Life/Safety Approval to the Office of Licensing
immediately.
(f) If the Office of
Licensing determines to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the center's license or
Certificate of Life/Safety Approval, the Office of Licensing shall notify the parent
of each enrolled child of the action.
1. Upon
notification by the Office of Licensing of an action against the center's license or
Certificate, the center shall provide to the Office of Licensing the name and
mailing address of each child's parent.
2. Within 20 days after notifying the center of
the action, the Office of Licensing shall:
i.
Notify parents of the action against the center's license or Certificate;
ii. Advise parents of the center's right to
contest the action through an administrative hearing before the Office of
Administrative Law;
iii. Inform parents
of the name, address, and telephone number of the resource and referral services
offered by the appropriate State-contracted Child Care Resource and Referral agency
for assistance in finding alternative child care arrangements, if necessary;
and
iv. Notify the appropriate
State-contracted Child Care Resource and Referral agency of the action.
(g) The Office may require
the center to submit in writing a corrective action plan indicating the time frame
and the actions the center shall take to comply with all applicable provisions of
this chapter.
