Cal. Educ. Code § 8212
Program Administration
Redline — January 1, 2017 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2021
As of January 1, 2017
(a) For purposes of this article, child care resource and referral programs, established to serve a defined geographic area, shall provide the following services:
(1) (A) Identification of the full range of existing child care services through information provided by all relevant public and private agencies in the areas of service, and the development of a resource file of those services which shall be maintained and updated at least quarterly. These services shall include, but not be limited to, family day care homes, public and private day care programs, full-time and part-time programs, and infant, preschool, and extended care programs.
(B) The resource file shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(i) Type of program.
(ii) Hours of service.
(iii) Ages of children served.
(iv) Fees and eligibility for services.
(v) Significant program information.
(2) (A) (i) Establishment of a referral process which responds to parental need for information and which is provided with full recognition of the confidentiality rights of parents. Resource and referral programs shall make referrals to licensed child day care facilities. Referrals shall be made to unlicensed care facilities only if there is no requirement that the facility be licensed. The referral process shall afford parents maximum access to all referral information. This access shall include, but is not limited to, telephone referrals to be made available for at least 30 hours per week as part of a full week of operation. Every effort shall be made to reach all parents within the defined geographic area, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(I) Toll-free telephone lines.
(II) Office space convenient to parents and providers.
(III) Referrals in languages which are spoken in the community.
(ii) Each child care resource and referral program shall publicize its services through all available media sources, agencies, and other appropriate methods.
(B) (i) Provision of information to any person who requests a child care referral of his or her right to view the licensing information of a licensed child day care facility required to be maintained at the facility pursuant to Section 1596.859 of the Health and Safety Code and to access any public files pertaining to the facility that are maintained by the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division.
(ii) A written or oral advisement in substantially the following form will comply with the requirements of clause (i):
“State law requires licensed child day care facilities to make accessible to the public a copy of any licensing report pertaining to the facility that documents a facility visit or a substantiated complaint investigation. In addition, a more complete file regarding a child care licensee may be available at an office of the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. You have the right to access any public information in these files.”
(3) (A) Maintenance of ongoing documentation of requests for service tabulated through the internal referral process. The following documentation of requests for service shall be maintained by all child care resource and referral programs:
(i) Number of calls and contacts to the child care information and referral program or component.
(ii) Ages of children served.
(iii) Time category of child care request for each child.
(iv) Special time category, such as nights, weekends, and swing shift.
(v) Reason that the child care is needed.
(B) This information shall be maintained in a manner that is easily accessible for dissemination purposes and shall be accessible to local child care and development planning councils authorized pursuant to Section 8499.5 and any county implementing an individualized county child care subsidy plan.
(4) Provision of technical assistance to existing and potential providers of all types of child care services. This assistance shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) Information on all aspects of initiating new child care services including, but not limited to, licensing, zoning, program and budget development, and assistance in finding this information from other sources.
(B) Information and resources that help existing child care services providers to maximize their ability to serve the children and parents of their community.
(C) Dissemination of information on current public issues affecting the local and state delivery of child care services.
(D) Facilitation of communication between existing child care and child-related services providers in the community served.
(5) (A) (i) Provision of a child care navigator to support children in foster care, children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin, and children of parents involved in the child welfare system, including the children of nonminor dependents. The navigator shall work with the child’s family, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and the child’s social worker and child and family team to assess child care opportunities appropriate to the child’s age and needs, assist the family in identifying potential opportunities for an ongoing child care subsidy, assist the caregiver in completing appropriate child care program applications, and develop an overall, long-term child care plan for the child.
(ii) As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this subparagraph, each resource and referral program shall develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency in order to facilitate interagency communication and, to the maximum extent possible, to leverage federal funding, including administrative funding, available pursuant to Title IV–E of the federal Social Security Act, to enhance the navigation support authorized under this subparagraph, or the resource and referral program shall explain, in writing, annually, why entering into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency is not practical or feasible. Navigator services provided pursuant to this subparagraph shall be made available to any child in foster care, any child previously in foster care who has returned to his or her home of origin, and any child of parents involved in the child welfare system, including any child who meets the eligibility criteria for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children established pursuant to Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Eligibility for navigator services shall not be contingent on a child’s receipt of a child care payment or voucher.
(B) (i) Provision of trauma-informed training and coaching to child care providers working with children, and children of parenting youth, in the foster care system. Training shall include, but not be limited to, infant and toddler development and research-based, trauma-informed best care practices. Child care providers shall be provided with coaching to assist them in applying training techniques and strategies for working with children, and children of parenting youth, in foster care.
(ii) As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this subparagraph, each resource and referral program, in coordination with the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, shall develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency in order to, to the maximum extent possible, leverage federal funding, including training funds, available pursuant to Title IV–E of the federal Social Security Act, to enhance the training support authorized under this subparagraph, or the resource and referral agency shall explain, in writing, annually, why entering into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency is not practical or feasible.
(b) Services prescribed by this section shall be provided in order to maximize parental choice in the selection of child care to facilitate the maintenance and development of child care services and resources.
(c) (1) A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, remove a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation from the program’s referral list.
(2) A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, notify all entities, operating a program under Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220) and Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) in the program’s jurisdiction, of a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation.
(a) (1) A local educational agency exempt from licensing pursuant to subdivision (o) of Section 1596.792 of the Health and Safety Code shall use the uniform complaint process it has adopted as required by Chapter 5.1 (commencing with Section 4600) of Division 1 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, with modifications, as necessary, to resolve any deficiencies related to preschool health and safety issues for a California state preschool program pursuant to Section 1596.7925 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) A complaint may be filed anonymously. A complainant who identifies themselves is entitled to a response if the complainant indicates that a response is requested. A complaint form shall include a space to mark to indicate whether a response is requested. If Section 48985 is otherwise applicable, the response, if requested, and report shall be written in English and the primary language in which the complaint was filed. All complaints and responses are public records.
(3) The complaint form shall specify the location for filing a complaint. A complainant may add as much text to explain the complaint as the complainant wishes.
(4) A complaint shall be filed with the preschool program administrator or their designee. A complaint about problems beyond the authority of the preschool program administrator shall be forwarded in a timely manner, but not to exceed 10 working days to the appropriate local educational agency official for resolution.
(b) The preschool program administrator or the designee of the district superintendent, as applicable, shall make all reasonable efforts to investigate any problem within their authority. Investigations shall begin within 10 days of the receipt of the complaint. The preschool program administrator or designee of the district superintendent shall remedy a valid complaint within a reasonable time period, but not to exceed 30 working days from the date the complaint was received. The preschool program administrator or designee of the district superintendent shall report to the complainant the resolution of the complaint within 45 working days of the initial filing. If the preschool program administrator makes this report, the preschool program administrator shall also report the same information in the same timeframe to the designee of the district superintendent.
(c) A complainant not satisfied with the resolution of the preschool program administrator or the designee of the district superintendent has the right to describe the complaint to the governing board or body, as applicable, of the local educational agency at a regularly scheduled hearing of the governing board or body, as applicable, of the local educational agency. A complainant who is not satisfied with the resolution proffered by the preschool program administrator or the designee of the district superintendent has the right to file an appeal to the Superintendent.
(d) A local educational agency shall report summarized data on the nature and resolution of all complaints on a quarterly basis to the county superintendent of schools and the governing board or body, as applicable, of the local educational agency. The summaries shall be publicly reported on a quarterly basis at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board or body, as applicable, of the local educational agency. The report shall include the number of complaints by general subject area with the number of resolved and unresolved complaints. The complaints and written responses shall be available as public records.
(e) In order to identify appropriate subjects of complaint, a notice shall be posted in each California state preschool program classroom in each school in the local educational agency notifying parents, guardians, pupils, and teachers of both of the following:
(1) The health and safety requirements under Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations that apply to California state preschool programs pursuant to Section 1596.7925 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) The location at which to obtain a form to file a complaint. Posting a notice downloadable from the internet website of the department shall satisfy this requirement.
(f) A local educational agency shall establish local policies and procedures, post notices, and implement this section.
(g) For purposes of this section, “local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.