5.5 Monitoring and Enforcement of Licensing and Health and Safety Requirements

5.5.1 Inspections for licensed CCDF providers Licensing inspectors must perform at least one annual, unannounced inspection of each licensed CCDF provider for compliance with all child care licensing standards, including an inspection for compliance with health and safety and fire standards. Lead Agencies must conduct at least one pre-licensure inspection for compliance with health, safety, and fire standards of each child care provider and facility in the State/Territory. a. Licensed CCDF center-based providers i. Does your pre-licensure inspection for licensed center-based providers assess compliance with health standards, safety standards, and fire standards? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: ii. Identify the frequency of annual unannounced inspections for licensed center- based providers addressing compliance with health, safety, and fire standards: [ ] Annually. [x] More than once a year. If more than once a year, describe: Monitoring visits will be made on all in-state licensed/ registered facilities according to the schedules and frequencies established by the Child Care Licensing Unit. Any variations in operational schedules or frequencies shall be discussed with and approved by the Supervisor. The frequency and schedule of monitoring must be conducted as follows: Twelve-month (12) programs will be monitored three times each calendar year. These visits must be conducted once per trimester. These programs will have a "Once per Trimester" Visit Frequency selected in ELS. Nine- month (9) programs will be monitored twice each calendar year. These programs will be monitored during the first and third trimesters. There must not be more than 8 months between monitoring visits. These programs are operating during the normal school year and closed during the summer. In ELS these programs will have a "Two Trimesters per Year" Visit Frequency. Three-month (3) programs normally operate during the summer. Any program operating six (6) months or less annually will be considered a "Three Month Program" and will have a "Once per Year" Visit Frequency. [ ] Other. If other, describe: iii. Does the Lead Agency implement a differential monitoring approach when monitoring licensed center-based providers? [x] Yes. If yes, describe how the differential monitoring approach is representative of the full complement of health and safety requirements. Monitoring visits will be made on all in-state licensed/ registered facilities according to the schedules and frequencies established by the Child Care Licensing Unit. Any variations in operational schedules or frequencies shall be discussed with and approved by the Supervisor. The frequency and schedule of monitoring must be conducted as follows: Twelve-month (12) programs will be monitored three times each calendar year. These visits must be conducted once per trimester. These programs will have a "Once per Trimester" Visit Frequency selected in ELS. Nine-month (9) programs will be monitored twice each calendar year. These programs will be monitored during the first and third trimesters. There must not be more than 8 months between monitoring visits. These programs are operating during the normal school year and closed during the summer. In ELS these programs will have a "Two Trimesters per Year" Visit Frequency. Three-month (3) programs normally operate during the summer. Any program operating six (6) months or less annually will be considered a "Three Month Program" and will have a "Once per Year" Visit Frequency. Nine (9) or ten-month programs up to full year (12 month) programs are eligible for a high compliance monitoring schedule if they meet certain criteria. Those programs that are eligible for high compliance monitoring may be visited one (1) time less than routinely required. Nine (9) or ten (10) month programs may be visited once per year and full year (12 month) programs may be visited two (2) times per year instead of three times. The criteria for facilities to be placed on high compliance monitoring is as follows: Levels 3-6 or above Better Beginnings participant: (1) Are on a regular license (2) Are not on a Corrective Action Agreement (3) Have had no founded complaints during the past twelve (12) months (4) Have had a high level of compliance during the past twelve (12) months. The specialist will submit a list of facilities that qualify for high compliance monitoring in January of each year to their supervisor for approval. [ ] No. If no, describe: iv. Identify which department or agency is responsible for completing the inspections for licensed center-based providers. Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Licensing Unit. b. Licensed CCDF family child care providers i. Does your pre-licensure inspection for licensed family child care homes assess compliance with health standards, safety standards, and fire standards? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: ii. Identify the frequency of annual unannounced inspections for licensed family child care homes addressing compliance with health, safety, and fire standards: [ ] Annually. [x] More than once a year. If more than once a year, describe: Monitoring visits will be made on all in-state licensed/ registered facilities according to the schedules and frequencies established by the Child Care Licensing Unit. Any variations in operational schedules or frequencies shall be discussed with and approved by the Supervisor. The frequency and schedule of monitoring must be conducted as follows: Twelve-month (12) programs will be monitored three times each calendar year. These visits must be conducted once per trimester. These programs will have a "Once per Trimester" Visit Frequency selected in ELS. Nine- month (9) programs will be monitored twice each calendar year. These programs will be monitored during the first and third trimesters. There must not be more than 8 months between monitoring visits. These programs are operating during the normal school year and closed during the summer. In ELS these programs will have a "Two Trimesters per Year" Visit Frequency. Three-month (3) programs normally operate during the summer. Any program operating six (6) months or less annually will be considered a "Three Month Program" and will have a "Once per Year" Visit Frequency. [ ] Other. If other, describe: iii. Does the Lead Agency implement a differential monitoring approach when monitoring licensed family child care providers? [x] Yes. If yes, describe how the differential monitoring approach is representative of the full complement of health and safety requirements. Monitoring visits will be made on all in-state licensed/ registered facilities according to the schedules and frequencies established by the Child Care Licensing Unit. Any variations in operational schedules or frequencies shall be discussed with and approved by the Supervisor. The frequency and schedule of monitoring must be conducted as follows: Twelve-month (12) programs will be monitored three times each calendar year. These visits must be conducted once per trimester. These programs will have a "Once per Trimester" Visit Frequency selected in ELS. Nine-month (9) programs will be monitored twice each calendar year. These programs will be monitored during the first and third trimesters. There must not be more than 8 months between monitoring visits. These programs are operating during the normal school year and closed during the summer. In ELS these programs will have a "Two Trimesters per Year" Visit Frequency. Three-month (3) programs normally operate during the summer. Any program operating six (6) months or less annually will be considered a "Three Month Program" and will have a "Once per Year" Visit Frequency. [ ] No. If no, describe: iv. Identify which department or agency is responsible for completing the inspections for licensed family child care providers. Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Licensing Unit. c. Licensed in-home CCDF child care providers i. Does your Lead Agency license CCDF in-home child care (care in the child’s own home) providers? [ ] No. [x] Yes. If yes, does your pre-licensure inspection for licensed in-home providers assess compliance with health, safety, and fire standards? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: ii. Identify the frequency of annual unannounced inspections for licensed in-home child care providers for compliance with health, safety, and fire standards completed: [ ] Annually. [x] More than once a year. If more than once a year, describe: Monitoring visits will be made on all in-state licensed/ registered facilities according to the schedules and frequencies established by the Child Care Licensing Unit. Any variations in operational schedules or frequencies shall be discussed with and approved by the Supervisor. The frequency and schedule of monitoring must be conducted as follows: Twelve-month (12) programs will be monitored three times each calendar year. These visits must be conducted once per trimester. These programs will have a "Once per Trimester" Visit Frequency selected in ELS. Nine- month (9) programs will be monitored twice each calendar year. These programs will be monitored during the first and third trimesters. There must not be more than 8 months between monitoring visits. These programs are operating during the normal school year and closed during the summer. In ELS these programs will have a "Two Trimesters per Year" Visit Frequency. Three-month (3) programs normally operate during the summer. Any program operating six (6) months or less annually will be considered a "Three Month Program" and will have a "Once per Year" Visit Frequency. [ ] Other. If other, describe: iii. Does the Lead Agency implement a differential monitoring approach when monitoring licensed in-home child care providers? [x] Yes. If yes, describe how the differential monitoring approach is representative of the full complement of health and safety requirements. Monitoring visits will be made on all in-state licensed/ registered facilities according to the schedules and frequencies established by the Child Care Licensing Unit. Any variations in operational schedules or frequencies shall be discussed with and approved by the Supervisor. The frequency and schedule of monitoring must be conducted as follows: Twelve-month (12) programs will be monitored three times each calendar year. These visits must be conducted once per trimester. These programs will have a "Once per Trimester" Visit Frequency selected in ELS. Nine-month (9) programs will be monitored twice each calendar year. These programs will be monitored during the first and third trimesters. There must not be more than 8 months between monitoring visits. These programs are operating during the normal school year and closed during the summer. In ELS these programs will have a "Two Trimesters per Year" Visit Frequency. Three-month (3) programs normally operate during the summer. Any program operating six (6) months or less annually will be considered a "Three Month Program" and will have a "Once per Year" Visit Frequency. [ ] No. iv. Identify which department or agency is responsible for completing the inspections for licensed in-home providers. Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Licensing Unit 5.5.2 Inspections for license-exempt providers Licensing inspectors must perform at least one annual monitoring visit of each license-exempt CCDF provider for compliance with health, safety, and fire standards. Inspections for relative providers will be addressed in subsection 5.8. Describe the policies and practices for the annual monitoring of: a. License-exempt CCDF center-based child care providers i. Identify the frequency of inspections for compliance with health, safety, and fire standards for license-exempt center-based providers: [ ] Annually. [ ] More than once a year. If more than once a year, describe: [x] Other. If other, describe: The State of Arkansas does not allow for license- exempt child care. ii. Does the Lead Agency implement a differential monitoring approach when monitoring license-exempt center-based providers? [ ] Yes. If yes, describe how the differential monitoring approach is representative of the full complement of health and safety requirements. [x] No. iii. Identify which department or agency is responsible for completing the inspections for license-exempt center-based CCDF providers. The State of Arkansas does not allow for license-exempt child care. b. License-exempt CCDF family child care providers i. Identify the frequency of the inspections of license-exempt family child care providers to determine compliance with health, safety, and fire standards: [ ] Annually. [ ] More than once a year. If more than once a year, describe: [x] Other. If other, describe: The State of Arkansas does not allow for license- exempt child care. ii. Does the Lead Agency implement a differential monitoring approach when monitoring license-exempt family child care providers? [ ] Yes. If yes, describe how the differential monitoring approach is representative of the full complement of health and safety requirements. [x] No. iii. Identify which department or agency is responsible for completing the inspections for license-exempt family child care providers. The State of Arkansas does not allow for license-exempt child care. 5.5.3 Inspections for CCDF license-exempt in-home child care providers Lead Agencies may develop alternate monitoring requirements for care provided in the child’s home that are appropriate to the setting. This flexibility cannot be used to bypass the monitoring requirement altogether. a. Describe the requirements for the annual monitoring of CCDF license-exempt in-home child care (care in the child’s own home) providers, including if monitoring is announced or unannounced, occurs more frequently than once per year, and if differential monitoring procedures are used. The State of Arkansas does not allow for license-exempt child care. b. List the entity(ies) in your State/Territory responsible for conducting inspections of license-exempt CCDF in-home child care (care in the child’s own home) providers: The State of Arkansas does not allow for license-exempt child care. 5.5.4 Posting monitoring and inspection reports Lead Agencies must post monitoring and inspection reports on their consumer education website for each licensed and CCDF child care provider, except in cases where the provider is related to all the children in their care. These reports must include the results of required annual monitoring visits and visits due to major substantiated complaints about a provider’s failure to comply with health and safety requirements and child care policies. A full report covers everything in the monitoring visit, including areas of compliance and non-compliance. If the Lead Agency does not produce any reports that include areas of compliance, the website must include information about all areas covered by a monitoring visit. The reports must be in plain language or provide a plain language summary Lead Agency and be timely to ensure that the results of the reports are available and easily understood by parents when they are deciding on a child care provider. Lead Agencies must post at least 3 years of monitoring and inspection reports. a. Does the Lead Agency post: i. [x] Pre-licensing inspection reports for licensed programs. ii. [ ] Full monitoring and inspection reports that include areas of compliance and non-compliance for all non-relative providers eligible to provide CCDF services. iii. [x] Monitoring and inspection reports that include areas of non-compliance only, with information about all areas covered by a monitoring visit posted separately on the website (e.g., a blank checklist used by monitors) for all non-relative providers eligible to provide CCDF services. If checked, provide a direct URL/website link to the website where a blank checklist is posted: https://ardhslicensing.my.site.com/elicensing/s/search-provider/find- providers?tab=CC&language=en_US iv. [x] Other. Describe: o OEC’s current data system must be updated to accommodate this requirement. o Approval of the requested waiver will allow OEC to complete a system build that will permit full implementation of the rule, allow time for training of OEC staff and child care providers, and ensure reasonable processing times for families. o Health, safety, and well-being of children served through CCDF will not be compromised as a result of this waiver, as child care providers will continue to receive reimbursement via OES’s current payment process. b. Check if the monitoring and inspection reports and any related plain language summaries include: i. [x] Date of inspection. ii. [x] Health and safety violations, including those violations that resulted in fatalities or serious injuries occurring at the provider. Describe how these health and safety violations are prominently displayed: The deficiencies cited clearly state the rule that was violated. Serious injuries and deaths are also investigated, and all associated deficiencies are cited. This information appears on the agency's website. iii. [x] Corrective action plans taken by the Lead Agency and/or child care provider. Describe: The Office of Early Childhood provides corrective action plans in plain language. iv. [x] A minimum of 3 years of results, where available. v. If any of the components above are not selected, please explain: c. Lead Agencies must post monitoring and inspection reports and/or any related summaries in a timely manner. i. Provide the direct URL/website link to where the reports are posted: https://ardhslicensing.my.site.com/elicensing/s/search-provider/find- providers?tab=CC&language=en_US ii. Identify the Lead Agency’s established timeline for posting monitoring reports and describe how it is timely: All reports are posted to the agency’s website 60 days after the date of the inspection. d. Does the Lead Agency certify that the monitoring and inspection reports or the summaries are in plain language that is understandable to parents and other consumers? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: e. Does the Lead Agency certify that there is a process for correcting inaccuracies in the monitoring and inspection reports? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: f. Does the Lead Agency maintain monitoring and inspection reports on the consumer education website? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: 5.5.5 Qualifications and training of licensing inspectors Lead Agencies must ensure that individuals who are hired as licensing inspectors (or qualified monitors designated by the Lead Agency) are qualified to inspect child care providers and facilities and have received health and safety training appropriate to the provider setting and age of the children served. Describe how the Lead Agency ensures that licensing inspectors (or qualified monitors designated by the Lead Agency) are qualified and have received training on health and safety requirements that are appropriate to the age of the children in care and the type of provider setting. Arkansas requires the formal education equivalent of a Bachelor's degree in Social Work, Psychology, Early Childhood Education, Child and Family Development or a related field; plus, one (1) year of experience in a social service program or a related field. On the job training for new Child Care Licensing Specialists is with a seasoned mentor. Regular feedback is solicited from the mentor for progress on the training or to identify help or support the new Child Care Licensing Specialist may need. On-the-job training shall include in depth training on essential standards and health and safety requirements for providers. This shall include routine monitoring of health and safety requirements for all ages and provider types, as well as, following up on deficiencies and implementing corrective action measures. The Office of Early Childhood provides ongoing training throughout the year to Child Care Licensing Specialist. 5.5.6 Ratio of licensing inspectors Lead Agencies must ensure the ratio of licensing inspectors to child care providers and facilities in the State/Territory are maintained at a level sufficient to enable the Lead Agency to conduct effective inspections of child care providers and facilities on a timely basis in accordance with federal, State, and local laws. Provide the ratio of licensing inspectors to child care providers (i.e., number of inspectors per number of child care providers) and facilities in the State/Territory and include how the ratio is sufficient to conduct effective inspections on a timely basis. The lead agency follows the state budgetary guidelines which govern personnel and financial approvals by the Executive and Legislative branches in government. Currently, there are thirty-nine (39) Child Care Licensing Specialists that inspect approximately 2000 licensed programs. This is an average of fifty-two (52) programs per specialist, or roughly sixteen (16) visits per month per specialist. This ratio ensures each specialist has an adequate amount of time to complete visits.