2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 3 - Institutions for Care of Children (§§ 51 — 78b) › § 69 - Licensing and supervision of institutions for children—Issue of licenses; welfare of children

The Department shall be the only agency authorized to issue licenses to every child care facility established in Puerto Rico, and it shall do so, taking the welfare of the minors into consideration. This section shall not apply to the various camps for adolescents and any other established institutions for children, or to be established in the future by the Department of Education. Nor shall it apply to childcare facilities presently established or to be established in the future by the Department of the Family. A certificate shall be issued in these cases.
Notwithstanding the above, it shall be the obligation of the Department of the Family and the Department of Education to verify that the owners, administrators, operators, managers, and custodians, and the candidates, employees, or volunteers who are interested in rendering, or who render services in the child care facilities or camps for adolescents, are persons who have appropriate health conditions, are well behaved in the community, and who have not been convicted of a felony, including crimes against public decency, corruption of minors, mistreatment and neglect of minors, child abuse, abandonment of minors, domestic violence, any type of harassment, child support, moral depravation, illegal games, offense against public office and against the Treasury, or who has participated in rehabilitation programs, treatment for use of controlled substances, drunkenness, and has not complied with their conditions. Nor shall, persons who have been judicially declared incompetent by a court with jurisdiction, or who are undergoing treatment for medical conditions, including mental, emotional, and nervous conditions that render them unable to perform their duties adequately, provide child care services. For purposes of this provision, violations to the Vehicle and Traffic Law shall not be considered as crimes, except gross and wanton negligence when driving a motor vehicle.
In order to comply with this obligation, the Secretaries of these Departments shall request every owner, administrator, operator, manager, and custodian, and every candidate, employee or volunteer who is interested in rendering or who renders services in said establishments, to present a certificate of his or her physical and mental health, each year, indicating their physical and mental capacity to render services or to continue to render services, and a certificate of criminal record, at least every six (6) months, and that authorizes that their physical and mental health and conduct be investigated with the proper guarantees of confidentiality and due process of law. The Secretaries of these Departments may likewise request the Department of Health, the Puerto Rico Police, and the Department of Justice to collaborate in the investigation and evaluation of these certificates and applications for the purpose of ensuring that strict consideration be given to all available information, including the filing of charges, summons, arrests, verdicts, rulings, judgments, dismissals, discontinuances. or other final disposition of the cases, or the granting of immunity, amnesty, or pardon related to the commission of criminal acts by said owners, administrators, operators, managers, and custodians, and the candidates, employees, or volunteers, before granting them authorization to begin providing or to continue to provide services in child care facilities or camps for adolescents. When the Department of the Family or the Department of Education, in coordination with the Puerto Rico Police and the Department of Justice deem it necessary in order to complete these investigations, they shall have access to the records and reports of verified complaints of abuse or negligence, or those in the process of investigation, concerning every candidate, employee or volunteer personnel interested in rendering or who render services in childcare facilities. The information obtained regarding the certificates and applications through investigation and evaluation shall be confidential in nature and shall not be divulged to third parties.
The Department of the Family and the Department of Education shall adopt, through regulations, with all due guarantees of confidentiality and due process of law, the appropriate and necessary criteria to investigate and evaluate the certificates of physical and mental health conditions and the conduct of the owners, administrators, operators, managers, and custodians, and of the candidates, employees, or volunteers who are interested in rendering or who render services in the childcare facilities. These regulations shall also apply to investigations and evaluations that are made concerning the physical and mental health conditions and the conduct of the owners, administrators, operators, managers, and guardians, and of the candidates, employees, or volunteers interested in rendering or who render services in private child care facilities.
In the event that, as a result of the investigation and evaluation carried out by the Department of Health, the Puerto Rico Police, or the Department of Justice, information arises about the matters specified in the preceding paragraph, which lead to the refusal of the owner’s application or dismissal of the employee, administrator, operator, manager, or custodian, the Department of Education or the Department of the Family, as the case may be, shall notify the compiled information to the person involved, and the action it proposes to take. This notice shall be given in writing and within a term of not more than thirty (30) days from the date that the Department of Health, the Puerto Rico Police, or the Department of Justice concludes the corresponding investigation and evaluation.
The owner, administrator, operator, manager, custodian, candidate, employee, or volunteer may object the correction, deficiency or legality of the compiled information. The Department of Education or the Department of the Family shall comply with the provisions of §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, both in the promulgation of the regulations as in the adjudication of the controversies that could arise upon the application of the provisions of law established herein.
Nothing that is provided in this chapter shall be understood as limiting the power conferred to public agencies by virtue of Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, known as the Public Service Personnel Act, with regard to the dismissal or disqualification from public service of those employees or candidates who do not meet the requirements of said act and its regulations. Except for the special requirement of good repute in the community and of not having committed any crime that is imposed on owners, administrators, operators, managers, guardians, candidates, and employees of childcare facilities or adolescent camps operated by the Departments of Family and Education, the application of the remaining provisions shall not impair the vested rights of public employees by virtue of said Act No. 5 and its regulations.
Any entity established as a childcare facility, which requests the license issued by the Department of the Family to operate this type of facility, shall implement a formal curriculum for the integral development of infants and toddlers (0—3 years) and preschoolers (3—4 years,) which shall be approved by the Department of Education. In order to obtain the license, the curriculum approved by the Department of Education shall be presented before the Department of the Family Licensing Office.
History —Feb. 15, 1955, No. 3, p. 10, § 2; May 1, 1964, No. 17, p. 53, § 1; June 24, 1968, No. 121, p. 276, § 2; July 6, 1978, No. 18, p. 410, § 1; July 5, 1988, No. 64, p. 285, § 1; Dec. 30, 1999, No. 365, § 1; Apr. 11, 2000, No. 62, § 1; Sept. 2, 2000, No. 341, § 1, eff. 6 months after Sept. 2, 2000.