Definitions

(a) “Agency” means the board of directors, executive director, and employees of an organization that is incorporated and recognized by the NH secretary of state.

(b) “Caretaker relative” means a relative, who is not the biological or adoptive parent of a child, but is providing care and supervision of the child in the assistance group.

(c) “Child care” means the act of providing safe and healthy care, including supervision, food, activity, and rest for a child for any portion of a 24-hour day, in order to promote healthy child development.

(d) “Child care provider” means a provider of non-residential child care services, including center-based, family-based, and in-home child care services, for compensation that is legally operating under state law, and complies with applicable state and local requirements for the provision of child care services.

(e) “Child care scholarship” means payment to a child care provider on behalf of a family who meets the eligibility criteria of He-C 6910 and He-C 6912.

(f) “ Commissioner ” means the commissioner of the New Hampshire department of health and human services or designee.

(h) “Department ” means the department of health and human services of the state of New Hampshire.

(i) “ Employee ” means any individual who is employed by a child care provider for compensation or anyone whose activities involve the care or supervision of children for a child care provider or have unsupervised access to children.

(j) “Enrolled child care provider” means a child care provider who has met the requirements found in He-C 6914 and is authorized to receive payment for services from the department. The term includes the definition of “registered provider” pursuant to RSA 170-E:6-a.

(k) “Family” means a child(ren) and an adult(s) who reside in the same household and who have a birth, foster, step, adoptive, legal guardianship, or caretaker relative relationship.

(l) “ Foster parent” means an individual who has a license or permit for foster family care pursuant to He-C 6446.

(m) “Fraud” means “fraud” as defined in RSA 167:58, IV.

(n) “Friend or neighbor provider” means a provider who cares for any number of the provider’s own children, whether related biologically or through adoption, and up to 3 additional children regularly for any part of the day, but less than 24 hours.

(o) “Good standing” means licensed child care providers are not in violation of He-C 4002.

(p) “Legal guardian” means an individual who is given legal authority by a court and charged with the duty to provide care, custody, and supervision of the child(ren).

(q) “Licensed” means a child care provider has been issued a license to operate by the commissioner of the department, in accordance with RSA 170-E, or has been issued a license to legally operate as a child care provider in accordance with the licensing requirements of a state neighboring New Hampshire.

(r) “License-exempt facility-based program” means ” a license-exempt child care provider pursuant to RSA 170-E:3, I(f) and (g).

(s) “ License -exempt in home provider” means a person who is:

(1) Providing child care in a private home;

(2) Exempt from licensure pursuant to RSA 170-E:3; and

(3) Either a relative provider, a friend, or a neighbor provider.

(t) “NH Bridges ” means the automated case management, information, tracking, and reimbursement system used by the department.

(u) “NH Connections Information System” means an online portal for child care staff to access professional development opportunities, complete background record checks, and allow child care program directors to manage staff requirements and respond to program monitoring results.

(v) “NH Connections” means the consumer-facing website that provides child care information and resources to families and child care providers.

(w) “Notification” means a written or printed document that advises:

(1) Families of:

a. The results of eligibility determinations; and

b. Other changes in child care scholarship; or

(2) Providers of:

a. Changes to a family’s child care scholarship, as applicable;

b. The maintenance of the child care provider’s enrollment status; and

c. Other information related to the child care provider’s compliance with these rules.

(x) “Parent” means an individual who has a birth, adoptive, or step-parent relationship to the child(ren), a foster parent as defined in (l) above, a legal guardian as defined in (p) above, or a caretaker relative as defined in (b) above.

(y) “Relative” means grandparents, great grandparents, siblings who live in a separate residence, or aunts and uncles, pursuant to 45 CFR 98.41(a)(1)(i)(B)(1).

(z) “Serious injury” means any injury that occurs to a child while receiving child care services from a licensed or license-exempt child care provider that requires medical treatment by a physician or other health care professional, hospitalization, or pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation ( CPR) performed on the child while the child is in care.

Source. #12223, eff 7-10-17; ss by #13065, eff 7-1-20; ss by #14095, EMERGENCY RULE, eff 10-9-24; ss by #14222, eff 3-27-25, EXPIRES: 3-27-35