NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES ON THE CHILD CARE FACILITIES LICENSING PROGRAM IN THE REGULATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

The Department of Health & Social Services proposes to adopt regulation changes in Title 7 of the Alaska Administrative Code, dealing with the child care facilities licensing program, including the following:

• Article 1. Licensing Process (7 AAC 57.010 - 7 AAC 57.060), is proposed to be changed as follows: clarify the child care facility definition; clarify physical location of a facility, including any child care entity; clarify and amend licensure requirements exemptions; clarify licensure application requirements; amend training requirements for a designated administrator; clarify and amend renewal of a child care license application requirements; and clarify violations noted in a report.

   

• Article 2. Administration (7 AAC 57.200 – 7 AAC 57.240), is proposed to be changed as follows: Clarify day-to-day facility management; clarify and amend administrator requirements; clarify operations of another business on the child care facility premises; add sufficient language skills requirement; add facility reporting requirements; and clarify and amend facility form and record requirements.

   

• Article 3. Personnel (7 AAC 57.300 - 7 AAC 57.350), is proposed to be changed as follows: clarify and amend administrator qualifications; clarify and amend employee qualifications and responsibilities; add System for Early Education Development (SEED) Registry employee registration requirement; adding caregiver pediatric first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification requirements; clarify and amend employee supervision; clarify and amend orientation and annual training requirements; and add specific SEED level administrator requirement

   

• Article 4. Admissions (7 AAC 57.400 – 7 AAC 57.410), is proposed to be changed as follows: clarify and amend admission and care planning requirements, and the information a child care facility must give a parent at or before a child’s admission.

   

• Article 5. Care and Services (7 AAC 57.500 – 7 AAC 57.565), is proposed to be changed as follows: clarify and amend supervision of children requirements; amend school age supervision requirements; amend age requirement for designation in the event of an emergency; clarify and amend child-to-caregiver ratio requirements; clarify program requirements; amend screen viewing time requirements; clarify plan of care requirements for a child with special needs; clarify and amend behavior guidance requirements; clarify and amend nutrition requirements; and clarify and amend transportation requirements.

   

• Article 6. Environment (7 AAC 57.610 – 7 AAC 57.630), is proposed to be changed as follows: clarify and amend space requirements; and clarify and amend equipment and supplies requirements.

   

• Article 7. Specializations (7 AAC 57.800 – 7 AAC 57.810), is proposed to be changed as follows: clarify and amend night-time care specialization and specialized program activity requirements.

   

• Article 8. Miscellaneous Provisions (7 AAC 57.900 – 7 AAC 57.990), is proposed to be changed as follows: clarifying and amend definitions.

   

• Proposed to be repealed:
  • 7 AAC 57.030(a), is proposed to be repealed. The intended effect of this repeal is to clarify application requirements for a child care license.
  • 7 AAC 57.330, is proposed to be repealed. The intended effect of this repeal is to remove the requirement for a child care associate.
  • 7 AAC 57.500(j), is proposed to be repealed. The intended effect of this repeal is to clarify the language for school age supervision requirements.

You may comment on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments to the Department of Health & Social Services, Child Care Program Office, 3601 C Street, Suite 140, Anchorage, AK 99503. Additionally, the Department of Health & Social Services will accept comments by facsimile at (907) 269-4536 and by electronic mail at samantha.ray@alaska.gov . The comments must be received not later than 5 p.m. on May 31, 2018.

Oral or written comments also may be submitted at a hearing to be held on May 14, 2018, at the Frontier Building, in conference room 890, 3601 C St., Anchorage, AK 99503. The hearing will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 3 p.m. and might be extended to accommodate those present before 2 p.m. who did not have an opportunity to comment. If you are unable to attend in person, but would like to comment during the oral public hearing, you can call the teleconference number 1-(800) 754-1346 (toll free).

You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to Samantha Ray by email at samantha.ray@alaska.gov  or at 3601 C Street, Suite 140, Anchorage, AK 99503. The questions must be received at least 10 days before the end of the public comment period. The Department of Health & Social Services will aggregate its response to substantially similar questions and make the questions and responses available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System at https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/default.aspx and its website at

http://dhss.alaska.gov/dpa/Pages/ccare/default.aspx  .

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Samantha Ray at samantha.ray@alaska.gov  or by telephone at (907) 269-4681 not later than May 4, 2018, to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.

A copy of the proposed regulation changes is available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System and by contacting Samantha Ray at samantha.ray@alaska.gov  or by telephone at (907) 269-4681.

A copy of the proposed regulation changes is available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System and by contacting Samantha Ray at samantha.ray@alaska.gov  or by telephone at (907) 269-4681.

After the public comment period ends, the Department of Health & Social Services will either adopt the proposed regulation changes or other provisions dealing with the same subject, without further notice, or decide to take no action. The language of the final regulation may be different from that of the proposed regulation. You should comment during the time allowed if your interests could be affected.

Statutory authority: AS 44.29.020; AS 47.05.010; AS 47.05.300; AS 47.05.310; AS 47.05.320; AS 47.05.330; AS 47.05.340; AS 47.32.010; AS 47.32.020; AS 47.32.030; AS 47.32.040; AS 47.32.050; AS 47.32.060; AS 47.32.080; AS 47.32.120; AS 47.32.130; AS 47.32.140; AS 47.32.180; AS 47.32.200.

Statutes being implemented, interpreted, or made specific: AS 44.29.020; AS 47.05.010; AS 47.05.300; AS 47.05.310; AS 47.05.320; AS 47.05.330; AS 47.05.340; AS 47.32.010; AS 47.32.020; AS 47.32.030; AS 47.32.040; AS 47.32.050; AS 47.32.060; AS 47.32.080; AS 47.32.120; AS 47.32.130; AS 47.32.140; AS 47.32.180; AS 47.32.200.

Fiscal information: The proposed regulation changes are not expected to require an increased appropriation.