9.1 Parental Complaint Process

Lead Agencies must maintain a record of substantiated parental complaints against child care providers and make information regarding such complaints available to the public on request. Lead Agencies must also provide a detailed description of the hotline or similar reporting process for parents to submit complaints about child care providers; the process for substantiating complaints; the manner in which the Lead Agency maintains a record of substantiated parental complaints; and ways that the Lead Agency makes information on such parental complaints available to the public on request. Lead Agencies are not required to limit the complaint process to parents. 9.1.1 Parental complaint process a. Describe the Lead Agency’s hotline or similar reporting process through which parents can submit complaints about child care providers, including a link if it is a Web-based process: For licensed child care providers, any person can submit a complaint to the Central Complaint and Information Bureau (CCIB), an office of California Department of Social Services’ (CDSS’) Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD), by calling the CCLD Complaint Hotline at 1-844-LET-US-NO (538- 8766) or by emailing LetUsNo@dss.ca.gov. The CCIB intakes complaints for licensed facilities and disseminates them to the appropriate licensing regional office for investigation and response. More information regarding the CCLD Complaint Hotline can be found at: (https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/ccld- complaint-hotline). Parents/guardians of children in licensed child care have the right to be informed that they may file a complaint. Licensed providers are required to provide parents/guardians with a form as part of enrollment to notify them of the CCLD contact information for complaint purposes. Licensed providers are required to post this information in a public location of the facility. California received a preliminary notice of non-compliance from the Office of Child Care on December 13, 2021, for this provision in relation to license- exempt providers and needs additional time to meet the requirement. The CDSS is exploring how to meet these requirements for the license-exempt family, friend and neighbor providers taking into consideration the recommendations of the 2019 Assembly Blue Ribbon Commission, the 2020 Master Plan and the priorities of the Department to focus on the equitable treatment of these providers. b. Describe how the parental complaint process ensures broad access to services for families that speak languages other than English: The CCIB uses Focus Language International, Inc. a translation vendor that provides telephone-based interpretation services. We also have two Spanish bilingual analysts who handle complaints and provide general licensing information for Spanish-speaking complainants. Callers can hear a choice of either an English or Spanish telephone greeting and menu options when calling CCIB. c. Describe how the parental complaint process ensures broad access to services for persons with disabilities: The CCIB offers a variety of ways to file a complaint. Complaints can be submitted by email, letter, telephone, fax, or through the online complaint web page. Individuals can also file a complaint in person at the applicable Regional Office. We accept phone calls sent with teletypewriter’s telecommunication devices for the deaf. The CCLD web site follows accessibility guidelines so people can more easily navigate through the site. Additionally, CCIB staff have received training about the range of individuals served in child day care facilities and provide customer service to accommodate a broad variety of individuals, including individuals with disabilities. d. For complaints about providers, including CCDF providers and non-CCDF providers, does the Lead Agency have a process and timeline for screening, substantiating, and responding to complaints, including information about whether the process includes monitoring? ☐ X Yes. If yes, describe: For licensed child care providers (regardless of whether a Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) or non-CCDF provider), the CDSS’ CCLD has specified processes for screening, substantiating, and responding to complaints. Upon receipt of a complaint, the CCLD conducts a preliminary review. The CCLD will conduct an onsite inspection within 10 calendar days after receiving the complaint, except where the visit would adversely affect the licensing investigation or the investigation by other agencies including, but not limited to, law enforcement agencies. In either event, the complainant must be promptly informed of the CCLD’s proposed course of action. During an investigation, CCLD has the authority to inspect the facility; inspect, audit, and copy child or facility records; and interview children (including observing their physical condition, which could indicate child abuse, neglect or inappropriate placement) or interview staff. If CCLD determines that the complaint allegation occurred, the allegation will be substantiated and CCLD will take appropriate action. There are no differences in processes or timelines for CCDF and non-CCDF licensed providers regarding screening, substantiating, and responding to complaints. For child care facilities that are challenged with maintaining compliance issues, monitoring may occur more frequently after an informal meeting with the licensee. For license-exempt programs run by local educational agencies (LEAs), the LEAs have a Uniform Complaint Process (UCP). All UCP complaints received by CDSS are logged and tracked on a database. Complaints pertaining to CCDF- funded programs are investigated, which includes interviews with complainant and the license-exempt voucher provider. Evidentiary documents are collected, reviewed, and a final determination on whether the allegations have merit or not is made. The final letter will include whether CDSS determined the agency to be compliant or non- compliant. If the agency is determined to be non- compliant, CDSS will notify complainants and the contractors in writing. The CDSS direct service contractor may also be required to submit a corrective action plan that will be monitored by the assigned consultant. California received a preliminary notice of non- compliance from the Office of Child Care (OCC) on December 13, 2021, for this provision in relation to license-exempt providers and needs additional time to meet the requirement. The CDSS is conducting a full analysis of how to meet these requirements for license-exempt family, friend and neighbor caregivers, including processes and timelines for screening, substantiating, and responding to complaints. ☐ No. e. For substantiated parental complaints, who maintains the record for CCDF and non- CCDF providers? For licensed child care providers, CCLD maintains records of substantiated complaints in hard copy and electronic formats. There are no differences in CCLD’s procedures for maintaining records of substantiated complaints between CCDF and non-CCDF providers. In programs operated by programs run by LEAs, if a parent has a complaint regarding program operations that are exempt from licensing requirements, the parent must utilize the UCP established by the LEA. Records of substantiated complaints are kept by the LEA. The UCP complaint records, including those regarding providers exempt from licensure, are maintained in a database maintained by CDSS. California received a preliminary notice of non-compliance from the OCC on December 13, 2021, for this provision in relation to license-exempt providers and needs additional time to meet the requirement. The CDSS is conducting a full analysis of how to meet these requirements for license-exempt family, friend and neighbor providers including a full analysis of UCP to develop an appropriate process for maintaining a record of substantiated parental complaints. f. Describe how information about substantiated parental complaints is made available to the public; this information can include the consumer education website discussed in subsection 9.2: For licensed child care facilities (regardless of whether a CCDF or non- CCDF provider), CDSS’ CCLD makes information about substantiated complaints (which may be made to the CDSS by anyone concerned, including parents) available to the public for at least the previous five years on the Child Care Facility Search webpage, over-the-phone by calling to request a file review from the local licensing regional office, or in-person by visiting the local licensing regional office. Licensed facilities are responsible for posting substantiated complaint investigation reports in a public location in the facility and furnishing a copy of the reports to parents with acknowledgements signed by parents to confirm receipt. In license-exempt programs operated by LEAs, if a parent has a complaint regarding program operations not covered by licensing requirements, the parent must utilize UCP established by the LEA. Records of substantiated complaints are kept by the LEA. The UCP complaint records, including those regarding providers exempt from licensure, are maintained in a database maintained by CDSS. In addition, Oliver’s Law (AB 458, Statutes of 1999) requires every child care resource and referral program and every alternative payment program to advise every person who requests a child care referral of their right to the licensing information of a licensed child day care facility required to be maintained at the facility, and to access any public files pertaining to the facility that are maintained by the CDSS. MyChildCarePlan.org (MCCP) includes information regarding the complaint process and how to access the CDSS Child Care Facility Search. California received a preliminary notice of non-compliance from the OCC on December 13, 2021, for this provision in relation to license-exempt providers and needs additional time to meet the requirement. The CDSS, is conducting a full analysis of how to meet these requirements for license-exempt family, friend and neighbor providers including a full analysis of the how to make information about substantiated complaints available to the public.