Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Periodic
monitoring visits. Licensing staff conducts a minimum of three,
unannounced monitoring visits to programs operating a full-year, and two,
unannounced monitoring visits annually to programs operating less than a
full-year. Licensing staff varies the monitoring visit times, including a lunch
observation and an evening visit to child care centers with extended
hours.
(b)
Ongoing
monitoring. During monitoring visits, Licensing staff observes the
entire facility, including the outdoor play space and transportation vehicles,
when available. At, or subsequent to each monitoring visit, Licensing staff
verifies:
(1) compliance with Licensing
requirements;
(2) compliance with
stars criteria, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC)
340:110-1-8.3;
(3) new personnel records including personnel
sheets and compliance with background investigations, per OAC
340:110-1-8.1;
(4) personnel professional development
records;
(5) the Oklahoma
Department of Human Services (DHS) database on applicable individuals, per OAC
340:110-1-8.1;
(6) fire and health inspections within the
last 24 months, when applicable;
(7) Form 07LC092E, Insurance Verification,
within the last 12 months, or posting of Form 07LC093E, Insurance Exception
Notification; and
(8) other
documentation requiring renewal.
(c)
Technical assistance and
consultation. Licensing staff provides:
(1) technical assistance to licensees
assisting them in meeting minimum requirements; and
(2) consultation on various aspects of
quality child care.
(d)
Agreements with tribal licensing programs and other monitoring
agencies. DHS may enter into a cooperative licensing agreement with a
tribal licensing program or other monitoring agency.
(e)
Equipment inventory.
Licensing staff completes Form 07LC006E, Equipment Inventory for Child Care
Programs, prior to license issuance. Licensing staff or the program may
complete the appropriate equipment inventory prior to a change in class and
prior to a capacity increase in a child care center, day camp, drop-in,
out-of-school time, part-day program, or program for sick children. Inventories
document the available equipment and the items needed to comply with the
equipment requirements. Licensing staff may conduct a complete inventory when
concern exists about the availability of required equipment.
(f)
Address change.
(1) When a program moves to a new address,
Licensing staff:
(A) obtains an updated Form
07LC004E, Request for License Child Care Program;
(B) conducts a monitoring visit verifying
that the new location meets Licensing requirements;
(C) obtains new fire and health inspections
for a child care center, day camp, drop-in, out-of-school time, part-day
program, or program for sick children, when applicable;
(D) obtains Oklahoma Department of
Environmental Quality approval, when applicable;
(E) completes Form 07LC057E, Physical Plant,
with required calculations; and
(F)
requests a permit or license issuance reflecting the address change.
(2) When an address change
involves care provided in a location other than the primary caregiver's
residence, refer to OAC
340:110-1-6(a)(3).
(g)
Program name
change. When there is a program name change, Licensing staff verifies
there is no ownership change, and documents the name change in the case file
and database. A new Form 07LC004E, Request for License Child Care Program,
reflecting the program name change is completed. Licensing staff requests a
permit or license issuance reflecting the new program name.
(h)
Director change. When there
is a director change, Licensing staff:
(1)
verifies the new director meets qualifications;
(2) obtains the applicable page of Form
07LC004E, Request for License Child Care Program, completed by the new
director;
(3) obtains
references;
(4) obtains an
appropriate, completed Form 07LC117E, Compliance Review for Child Care
Programs, from the director, when the director has no previous director
experience;
(5) notifies the new
director of current personnel, who are granted waivers; and
(6) documents the information on Form
07LC080E, Licensing Services Supplemental Information.
(i)
Master teacher change. When
an individual replaces a master teacher:
(1)
Form 07LC031E, Probationary Master Teacher Agreement, is completed;
(2) the probationary master teacher is
granted a one-year probationary period to fulfill the master teacher
educational qualifications per applicable Licensing requirements and Quality
Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) criteria, when applicable; and
(3) Licensing may extend the probationary
period for a second year, providing the probationary master teacher is actively
pursuing educational qualifications as identified on Form 07LC031E.
(j)
Primary caregiver
change. When there is a primary caregiver change, Licensing staff:
(1) verifies the primary caregiver meets
qualifications;
(2) obtains the
applicable page of Form 07LC004E, Request for License Child Care Program,
completed by the new primary caregiver;
(3) obtains references;
(4) notifies the new primary caregiver of
current personnel, who are granted waivers; and
(5) documents the information on Form
07LC080E, Licensing Services Supplemental Information.
(k)
Facility household change.
Facility household changes are documented on the monitoring summary. Form
07LC096E, Criminal History Review Request for Programs, must be submitted prior
to a new adult residing in the facility. When there is a new adult residing in
a facility, the required documentation includes:
(1) the applicable page of Form 07LC004E,
Request for License Child Care Program, completed by the new adult;
(2) background investigations, per OAC
340:110-1-8.1; and
(3) a DHS database search.
(l)
Change in
ownership. When there is a change in ownership or a change in the form
of business organization of a child care program, the case is closed and a new
Form 07LC004E, Request for License Child Care Program, is obtained. Prior to
permit or license issuance, the program must be in compliance with background
investigations, per OAC
340:110-1-8.1. A permit may be
issued when a monitoring visit without numerous, repeated, or serious
non-compliances was conducted within the past 60-calendar days. A
full-monitoring visit is conducted within 14-calendar days of change of
ownership verifying the new owner meets minimum Licensing requirements.
(m)
Transitional change of
ownership. When a program requests a transitional change of ownership
(1) through (6) of this subsection are followed.
(1) Licensing staff conducts a monitoring
visit within five DHS-business days, verifying compliance with Licensing
requirements and, obtains:
(A) Form 07LC015E,
Transitional Change of Ownership, completed by the current and prospective
owners;
(B) Form 07LC004E, Request
for License Child Care Program, completed by the prospective owner;
and
(C) updated program personnel
information on Form 07LC002E, Personnel Summary, verifying that the prospective
owner employs the same personnel as the current owner, at the time of
transitional change of ownership.
(2) Transitional change of ownership
procedures for star certification are met, per OAC
340:110-1-8.3; when
applicable.
(3) Periodic and
ongoing monitoring is maintained, per (a) and (b) of this Section.
(4) All Licensing monitoring and
correspondence are provided to both the current and prospective
owners.
(5) Change of ownership
procedures are followed, per (l) of this Section by the end of 90-calendar
days, when applicable.
(6) When
programs notify Licensing that transitional change of ownership is no longer
proceeding, Licensing staff verifies program operation status and consults with
the supervisor for appropriate action.
(n)
Change in class. When a
program requests a change in class, procedures in (1) through (2) of this
subsection are followed.
(1) The case is
closed and a new Form 07LC004E, Request for License Child Care Program, is
required, when a:
(A) family child care home
converts to a child care center, day camp, drop-in, out-of-school time,
part-day program, or program for sick children; or
(B) child care center, day camp, drop-in,
out-of-school time, part-day program, or program for sick children converts to
a family child care home.
(2) Other requests for change in class do not
require case closure and, documentation includes:
(A) a request in writing from the
owner;
(B) a new Form 07LC004E,
Request for License Child Care Program, with updated information;
(C) documentation that the program meets the
requirements for the requested class type;
(D) the appropriate equipment inventory, when
applicable;
(E) a current, approved
fire inspection, when applicable;
(F) a current, approved health inspection,
when applicable; and
(G)
appropriate class and monitoring frequency plan database updates.
(o)
Capacity
increase or decrease. When a program requests a capacity increase or
decrease, it is documented on Form 07LC080E, Licensing Services Supplemental
Information, and must be approved by the supervisor. The program must not have
a history of numerous, repeated, or serious non-compliance, and provide:
(1) the reason for the increase;
(2) an updated floor plan on Form 07LC057E,
Physical Plant, reflecting adequate indoor and outdoor space, toilets, and
sinks for the increase and other changes;
(3) fire department approval of space not
previously inspected;
(4) health
approval of additional food preparation space not previously
inspected;
(5) an updated equipment
inventory reflecting adequate equipment for the increase; and
(6) verification of the required number of
master teachers.
(p)
Inactive programs. A program is in inactive status when care was
not provided for more than 90-calendar days.
(1) A program remaining open after
90-calendar days submits a request in writing, including a statement that the
owner will notify Licensing prior to resuming care. Licensing staff verifies
compliance with requirements prior to resuming care.
(2) The program is contacted by Licensing
staff, a minimum of every four months by phone, letter, or email to update
program status including new household members or other program changes, per
(k) of this Section.
(3) Voluntary
closure is discussed with the owner and an agreement to close is reached, when
possible.
(4) Licensing staff
visits the inactive program, at least once during the 12-month timeframe
verifying compliance with Licensing requirements until closure is final or the
program resumes care.
(5) When an
address change occurs when a program is in inactive status, a monitoring visit
is required and address change procedures are followed per (f) of this
Section.
(q)
Inactive program closure. Procedures (1) - (4) of this subsection
are followed when closing an inactive program.
(1) To verify program status, Licensing staff
contacts the owner during the 12th month of inactive status.
(2) Licensing documents program status on
Form 07LC080E, Licensing Services Supplemental Information, and notifies the
owner the case will be closed when care does not resume, prior to the end of
the 12th month.
(3) When care was
not provided for 12-consecutive months or more, Licensing staff provides a
letter notifying the owner of case closure within 10-calendar days of letter
receipt, unless Licensing is notified care resumed.
(4) The case is closed and the owner must
reapply and be approved for a new license prior to resuming care, per OAC
340:110-1-6.
(r)
Response to a child death.
When notified of a child death while in child care, Licensing staff:
(1) completes Form 07LC079E, Child Death
Report, and forwards it to the statewide licensing coordinator or designee:
and
(2) visits the program as soon
as possible, unless advised otherwise by law enforcement officials.
(s)
Serious incident
reports. The supervisor submits serious incident reports to the regional
programs manager, county director, and statewide licensing
coordinator.
(t)
Self-reported incidents. When a provider self-reports a
non-compliance incident, Form 07LC080E, Licensing Services Supplemental
Information, is completed and the Licensing database is updated.
Amended at 10 Ok Reg
2369, eff 6-11-93; Amended at 11 Ok Reg 385, eff 10-15-93 (emergency); Amended
at 11 Ok Reg 2773, eff 6-13-94; Amended at 12 Ok Reg 433, eff 11-17-94
(emergency); Amended at 12 Ok Reg 1447, eff 5-26-95; Amended at 13 Ok Reg 499,
eff 11-14-95 (emergency); Amended at 13 Ok Reg 2663, eff 6-28-96; Amended at 14
Ok Reg 2174, eff 5-14-97 (emergency); Amended at 15 Ok Reg 1727, eff 5-11-98;
Amended at 16 Ok Reg 285, eff 11-3-98 (emergency); Amended at 16 Ok Reg 1080,
eff 4-26-99; Amended at 16 Ok Reg 2527, eff 7-1-99; Amended at 16 Ok Reg 3511,
eff 7-13-99 through 7-14-00 (emergency)1; Amended at
18 Ok Reg 2144, eff 6-11-01; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 221, eff 11-1-01 (emergency);
Amended at 19 Ok Reg 2274, eff 6-27-02; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 1259, eff 6-1-03;
Amended at 21 Ok Reg 910, eff 6-1-04; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 1304, eff 6-1-05;
Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1092, eff 6-1-06; Amended at 24 Ok Reg 1351, eff 7-1-07;
Amended at 25 Ok Reg 1962, eff 7-1-08; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 415, eff 11-20-08
(emergency); Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2239, eff 7-1-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 48,
eff 10-1-09 (emergency); Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1869, eff 7-1-10; Amended at 28
Ok Reg 1669, eff 7-1-11; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 1229, eff
7-1-12
1This emergency action expired
without being superseded by a permanent action. Upon expiration of an emergency
amendatory action, the last effective permanent text of the Section is
reinstated. Therefore, on 7-15-00 (after the 7-14-00 expiration of this
emergency action), the text of 340:110-1-9 reverted back to the permanent text
that became effective 7-1-99, as was last published in the 1999 OAC Supplement,
and remained as such until amended again by permanent action on
6-11-01.
