SB 99

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law, the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, generally requires the State Department of Social Services to license and regulate various types of child daycare facilities, including, among others, daycare centers and family daycare homes. Under existing law, a willful or repeated violation of those provisions is a crime. Existing law exempts from those provisions various entities, including, among others, community care facilities, certain program facilities administered by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and extended daycare programs operated by public or private schools. This bill would also exempt, from the above-described licensing provisions, a family childcare home administered by a person certified as a family childcare provider by a branch of the United States Armed Forces and that exclusively provides care for children of eligible federal personnel, as defined, and surviving spouses. The bill would impose certain requirements on a military installation certifying a family childcare home in order for the home to qualify for an exemption. The bill would require the military installation to annually file with the department a list of exempt but certified facilities; report to the department all incidents involving physical injury to, or death of, children attending the program; require providers to post a certain notice about the status of the facility; and certify that the facility meets the health and safety requirements set forth in related state regulations, except for obtaining or maintaining a license. The bill would also require each provider to meet certain criteria relating to, among other things, an emergency preparedness plan, inspections, and attendance records. The bill would authorize the department to inspect those exempt family childcare homes to determine compliance with these provisions, and would require the department to develop and establish, by July 1, 2026, a policy for those family childcare homes. The bill would require that the policy address the above-described health and safety requirements and provider criteria, in addition to any procedures or requirements relating to enforcement, reporting, or corrective action, as specified. The bill would require the department to publish the policy on its internet website and to update the policy as necessary. The bill would require prioritization for annual inspections in the case of a facility that is subject to the requirements of the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, whether licensed or exempt from licensure, including, but not limited to, a family childcare home, if the facility is participating in a county quality improvement program through a certain quality rating improvement system, as part of participating in a fee assistance program administered by the United States Department of Defense.