GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	2 

SENATE BILL 1233*
Corrected Copy 5/25/98

Short Title:  Child Care Changes.	(Public)

─────────────────────────────────────── 
Sponsors: Senators Phillips; Foxx, Kinnaird, Ledbetter, and Lucas.

─────────────────────────────────────── 
Referred to:  Children & Human Resources.

─────────────────────────────────────── 

May 21, 1998

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ENSURE THAT STATE REGULATION OF CHILD CARE IS DEVELOPED AND ADMINISTERED FAIRLY AND EFFECTIVELY AS RECOMMENDED BY THE LEGISLATIVE STUDY COMMISSION ON CHILD CARE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 110-91(6) reads as rewritten:
"(6)	Space and Equipment Requirements. – There shall be no less than 25 square feet of indoor space for each child for which a child care center is licensed, exclusive of closets, passageways, kitchens, and bathrooms, and this floor space shall provide during rest periods 200 cubic feet of airspace per child for which the center is licensed.  There shall be adequate outdoor play area for each child under rules adopted by the Commission which shall be related to the size of center and the availability and location of outside land area.  In no event shall the minimum required exceed 75 square feet per child.  The outdoor area shall be protected to assure the safety of the children receiving child care by an adequate fence or other protection.  A center operated in a public school shall be deemed to have adequate fencing protection.  A center operating exclusively during the evening and early morning hours, between 6:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M., need not meet the outdoor play area requirements mandated by this subdivision.
		Each child care facility shall provide indoor area equipment and furnishings that are child size, sturdy, safe, and in good repair.  Each child care facility that provides outdoor area equipment and furnishings shall provide outdoor area equipment and furnishings that are child size, sturdy, free of hazards that pose a threat of serious injury, as determined by the prescription in this subdivision, to children while engaged in normal play activities, and in good repair.   
		The Commission shall determine whether a particular piece of outdoor area equipment poses a threat of serious injury (i) on the basis of current statewide and other states' data of equipment-related serious injuries or (ii) on the basis that the equipment is or has been subject to a manufacturer's recall.  The Commission shall not consider any injury as a serious injury if it resulted solely in splinters, bumps, bruises, or other minor injury or solely in a trip to the doctor.                                                            
		The Commission shall adopt standards to establish minimum requirements pursuant to the prescriptions in this subdivision for equipment appropriate for the size of child care facility.
		Space shall be available for proper storage of beds, cribs, mats, cots, sleeping garments, and linens as well as designated space for each child's personal belongings."
Section 2.  G.S. 110-91(8) reads as rewritten:
"(8)	Qualifications for Staff. – All child care center administrators shall be at least 21 years of age. All child care center administrators shall have the North Carolina Early Childhood Administration Credential or its equivalent as determined by the Department. All child care administrators performing administrative duties as of the date this act becomes law and child care administrators who assume administrative duties at any time after this act becomes law and until September 1, 1998, shall obtain the required credential by September 1, 2000. Child care administrators who assume administrative duties after September 1, 1998, shall begin working toward the completion of the North Carolina Early Childhood Administration Credential or its equivalent within six months after assuming administrative duties and shall complete the credential or its equivalent within two years after beginning work to complete the credential. Each child care center shall be under the direction or supervision of a person meeting these requirements.  All staff counted toward meeting the required staff-child ratio shall be at least 16 years of age, provided that persons younger than 18 years of age work under the direct supervision of a credentialed staff person who is at least 21 years of age.  All lead teachers in a child care center shall have at least a North Carolina Early Childhood Credential or its equivalent as determined by the Department.  Lead teachers shall be enrolled in the North Carolina Early Childhood Credential coursework or its equivalent as determined by the Department within six months after becoming employed as a lead teacher or within six months after this act becomes law, whichever is later, and shall complete the credential or its equivalent within 18 months after enrollment.  The North Carolina Early Childhood Credential or any educational equivalent shall be a basic, generic introduction to early childhood education that is grounded in sound child development practices.
		For child care centers licensed to care for 200 or more children, the Department, in collaboration with the North Carolina Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development, shall establish categories to recognize the levels of education achieved by child care center administrators and teachers who perform administrative functions. The Department shall use these categories to establish appropriate staffing based on the size of the center and the individual staff responsibilities.
		Effective January 1, 1998, an operator of a licensed family child care home shall be at least 21 years old and have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Operators of a family child care home licensed prior to January 1, 1998, shall be at least 18 years of age and literate.  Literate is defined as understanding licensing requirements and having the ability to communicate with the family and relevant emergency personnel.  Any operator of a licensed family child care home shall be the person on-site providing child care.
		No person shall be an operator of nor be employed in a child care facility who has been convicted of a crime involving child neglect, child abuse, or moral turpitude, or who is an habitually excessive user of alcohol or who illegally uses narcotic or other impairing drugs, or who is mentally or emotionally impaired to an extent that may be injurious to children.
		The Commission shall adopt standards to establish appropriate qualifications for all other staff in child care centers.  These standards shall reflect training, experience, education and credentialing and shall be appropriate for the size center and the level of individual staff responsibilities.  It is the intent of this provision to guarantee that all children in child care are cared for by qualified people.  No requirements may interfere with the teachings or doctrine of any established religious organization."
Section 3.  Section 28.2 of S.L. 1997-506 reads as rewritten: 
"Section 28.2. (a)	There is established the Legislative Study Commission on Child Care.  The Commission shall study the statutes, rules, and policies relating to child care and shall serve as a legislative oversight body to review these statutes, rules, and policies and the State agencies and the public-private agencies involved in administering and enforcing them.  There shall be 20 members of the Commission as follows:
(1)	Ten members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, seven of whom shall be members of the House of Representatives at the time of their appointment, and three of whom shall be members of the general public interested in child care;
(2)	Ten members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, seven of whom shall be members of the Senate at the time of their appointment, and three of whom shall be members of the general public interested in child care.
(b)	Commission members shall receive no salary for serving, but shall receive necessary subsistence and travel expenses in accordance with G.S. 120-3.1, 138-5, and 138-6 as applicable.  Staff to the Commission shall be provided as authorized by the Legislative Services Commission.  The Commission may meet in the Legislative Building or the Legislative Office Building upon approval of the Legislative Services Officer.
(c)	The Division of Child Development, Department of Health and Human Services, the Child Care Commission of the Department of Health and Human Services, and any other State or public-private agency charged with rulemaking for child care programs and services shall present to the Commission for its oversight review all documentation and data on which new child care rules and standards that are being considered to be developed are based, prior to their development.  The Commission shall regularly review child care programs and services as well as the functioning of the State and public-private agencies involved in administering these child care programs and services.  The Commission shall report its findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, to the General Assembly within a week of the convening of every regular session.  The Commission shall continue in existence until the General Assembly acts to terminate it."
Section 4. (a) The Division of Child Development, Department of Health and Human Services,  when it uses the internet to make facilities' compliance history available to the public, shall provide for the facilities' providers to submit a statement relevant to the compliance history.  This statement's limits shall be no less than 100 words.
(b) If the Division of Child Development, Department of Health and Human Services, makes complaints from persons who have signed a complaint to the Division against facilities available to the public on the internet, the Division shall provide for the facilities' providers to submit a statement relevant to the complaint.  This statement's limits shall be no less than 100 words.  The Division shall not make complaints from persons who have not signed the complaint available to the public on the internet.
Section 5.  This act becomes effective June 30, 1998.