Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL › Chapter 33 - Family Child Care Provider Licensing Rule › Section 144-33-1 - PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Purpose.
The Family Child Care Provider Licensing Rule describes
				the minimum requirements established to protect the health and safety of
				Maine's children cared for by licensed family child care providers. This rule,
				promulgated in accordance with 22 M.R.S., Chapters 1661, 1663 and 1673, governs
				application and inspection procedures; routine health, sanitation and fire
				safety standards; provider qualifications, staff supervision and staffing
				ratios; and record keeping and reporting.
B.
Definitions.
Definitions in
				this rule supplement the definitions in applicable statutes. The definitions in
				applicable Maine statutes are not repeated in this rule.
1.
Abuse or neglect
means a
				threat to a child's health or welfare by physical, mental or emotional injury
				or impairment, sexual abuse or exploitation, deprivation of essential needs or
				lack of protection from these, by a person responsible for the child.
2.
Adult
means an individual at
				least 18 years old.
3.
Applicant
means a person seeking a license to operate a family
				child care.
4.
Child
,
				for the purpose of this rule, means an individual over the age of six weeks and
				not yet 13 years old.
5.
Conditional license
means a license issued for a term not to
				exceed 12 months, which specifies when and what corrections the licensee must
				complete to achieve compliance with this rule. A conditional license may be
				issued by the Department, in accordance with
				22 M.R.S.
				§7802.
6.
Corporal punishment
means
				physical actions harmful to a child's body, including, but not limited to, the
				following:
a. Slapping, striking, shaking,
				shoving, spanking, pinching, twisting, kicking, biting, ear pulling or ear
				twisting;
b. Forcing a child to
				taste or eat spicy, bitter or otherwise distasteful products for the purpose of
				discipline;
c. Spraying with water
				as a means of controlling behavior;
d. Placing tape over a child's
				mouth;
e. Mechanical restraints,
				such as tying a child to a chair;
f. Requiring or forcing a child to take an
				uncomfortable position such as: squatting, kneeling, standing and holding arms
				outstretched at sides or overhead, bending, or requiring or forcing a child to
				repeat physical movements; or
g.
				Other forms of aggressive contact harmful to a child's body.
7.
Critical violation
means that a requirement within this rule was not met by a provider and this
				violation may possibly result in serious injury to a child. A critical
				violation, if not corrected by the measures described in Section 20 of this
				rule, may result in an administrative fine of $250 per critical violation.
				Critical violations include failing to comply with Sections 2(A)(7), 2(D)(10),
				5(B), 5(C)(7), 5(C)(9), 5(C)(14), 5(C)(18), 5(C)(19), 5(C)(20), 5(D)(4),
				5(E)(3), 6(E), 7(A)(5), 7(B), 7(C), 7(D), 8(A)(1), 8(A)(3), 8(B), 10(B), 11(B),
				12(B), 12(C), 12(E), 13(C), 13(D), 13(E)(1), 14(A)(4), 14(A)(7), 14(A)(9),
				14(A)(10), 14(D)(1)(b), 14(E)(3)(b), 14(E)(6)(a), 14(F), 15(C)(2), 15(D),
				15(E)(4), 16(A)(4), 16(B)(5), 17(B), 18(A)(1), 18(B)(6), 18(C)(3), 18(E)(1),
				18(E)(3), 19(C), 19(D)(3), 19(E)(2) and 19(G)(5).
8.
Department
means the Maine
				Department of Health and Human Services.
9.
Directed plan of action
means
				an order issued by the Department when the licensee fails to complete or comply
				with the plan of action included in an inspection report. The directed plan of
				action is intended to ensure the licensee's compliance with this rule's
				licensing standards.
10.
Infant
means a child at least six weeks old, but younger than one
				year old.
11.
Inspection
means a site visit to the licensee's child care during
				which the Department determines compliance with this rule.
12.
Inspection report
means the
				written summary of all areas of compliance and non-compliance with this rule
				identified during an inspection, and the plan of action developed with the
				provider to correct any violations of this rule.
13.
License
means written
				permission by the Department, whether initial, renewal, temporary or
				conditional, that authorizes a person to be a family child care provider. For
				purposes of this rule license has the same meaning as the certification
				referred to in
				22
				MRS §8301-A.
14.
Licensee
means the person
				who has been issued a license by the Department to operate a family child care.
				A licensee means a "family child care provider" as defined at
				22
				M.R.S.
				§8301-A(1-A)(C).
15.
Licensed capacity
means the
				number of children in care for remuneration, and children of the provider under
				the age of three, allowed to be on the premises at any one time as specified on
				the license.
16.
Natural body
				of water
means an ocean, lake, pond, river, reservoir, quarry, spring,
				stream or wading area that may be used for recreational water
				activities.
17.
Parent
means a birth or adoptive father, mother, legal guardian or legal custodian who
				is legally authorized to act on behalf of a child.
18.
Plan of action
means a plan
				completed by the licensee and the Department which is written on an inspection
				report. This plan describes the licensee's procedures, methods and timelines to
				correct the violations of this rule that were identified by the Department
				during an inspection.
19.
Premises
means all parts of contiguous real estate, including, but
				not limited to, lands, private ways, and any buildings or structures, over
				which the provider occupies, or has direct or indirect control or interest,
				even though children may not be served in all parts of the contiguous real
				estate.
20.
Preschool
				child
means a child age three to five years old.
21.
Provider or family child care
				provider
means an individual providing care for children in a licensed
				family child care.
22.
School-age child
means a child who is at least five years old and
				under 13 years old.
23.
Serious injury
means:
a. An
				injury or illness which requires medical attention from a physician or other
				medical personnel, including, but not limited to, an emergency room visit
				and/or hospitalization, including those that are the result of an accident
				involving transportation to or from a facility sponsored event; or
b. Any illness which is a notifiable
				condition, as identified by the Department at
				https://www1.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/disease-reporting/documents/notifiable-list.pdf.
24.
Substitute
means
				an individual who takes the place of any regular provider who is
				absent.
25.
Swimming
				pool
means any water-filled container, basin, chamber, or tank located
				indoors or outdoors for swimming or recreational activity, and having a depth
				of more than 24 inches and a diameter wider than 48 inches at any
				point.
26.
Toddler
means a child one to three years old.
27.
Toxic substance
means any
				chemical or mixture that may be harmful to the environment and to human health
				if inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin.
28.
Wading pool
means a pool
				with a water level maintained at 24 inches or less that is no more than 48
				inches in diameter.
29.
Waiver
means written permission from the Department to modify a
				provision of this rule. A waiver may not be issued by the Department if the
				rule requirement is mandated by statute.