Kentucky Administrative Regulations › Title 922 - CABINET FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES - DEPARTMENT FOR COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES - PROTECTION AND PERMANENCY › Chapter 2 - Day Care › Section 922 KAR 2:270 - Kentucky All STARS quality-based graduated early childhood rating system for licensed child-care centers and certified family child-care homes

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 1, July 1, 2024
RELATES TO: KRS Chapter 13B, 158.030, 199.894, 199.8941,
				199.8943, 199.896(4), 199.8982, 199.990, 45 C.F.R. 98,
				42
				U.S.C. 601-619,
				9857-9858q,
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
				KRS
				194A.050(1) requires the
				cabinet, in consultation with the Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and
				Family Services to promulgate administrative regulations necessary under
				applicable state laws to protect, develop, and maintain the health, personal
				dignity, integrity, and sufficiency of the individual citizens of the
				Commonwealth.
				KRS
				199.8943(3) requires the
				Cabinet for Health and Family Services, in consultation with the Early
				Childhood Advisory Council, to promulgate administrative regulations that
				implement a quality-based graduated child care rating system for public-funded
				child care and certified family child-care homes; agency time frames of reviews
				for quality ratings; an appellate process under KRS Chapter 13B; and the
				ability of providers to request reevalua-tion for ratings.
				KRS
				199.8941(1) requires the
				Early Childhood Advisory Council, to develop a program of monetary incentives
				tied to participation in a quality rating system. This administrative
				regulation establishes the Kentucky All STARS Program, a quality-based
				graduated early childhood rating system, and monetary incentive awards for
				licensed child-care centers and certified family child-care homes, to the
				extent funding is available.
Section
			 1. Definitions.
(1) "Cabinet" is
			 defined by
			 KRS
			 199.894(1).
(2) "Child Care Assistance Program" or "CCAP"
			 means Kentucky's child care subsidy program providing families, who meet the
			 eligibility requirements of 922 KAR 2:160, with the financial resources to find
			 and afford quality child care.
(3)
			 "Child-care center" is defined by
			 KRS
			 199.894(3).
(4) "Environment assessment" means one (1) of
			 four (4) rating scales designed to assess quality in an early childhood or
			 school-age care group, and consists of the following items to evaluate:
(a) Physical environment;
(b) Basic care;
(c) Curriculum;
(d) Interaction;
(e) Schedule and program structure;
			 and
(f) Parent and staff
			 education.
(5) "Family
			 child-care home" is defined by
			 KRS
			 199.894(5).
(6) "Infant" means an age group of children
			 who are less than twelve (12) months of age.
(7) "Issue date" means the date the
			 quality-rating certificate is issued by the cabinet or its designee.
(8) "Kentucky All STARS Program" or "STARS"
			 means the quality-based graduated early childhood rating system in accordance
			 with
			 KRS
			 199.8943.
(9) "Preschool" means an age group of
			 children who are older than a toddler and younger than school-age.
(10) "Provider" means the entity providing
			 child care services, including:
(a) A Type I
			 child-care center;
(b) A Type II
			 child-care center; or
(c) A
			 certified family child-care home.
(11) "Public funds" means local, state, or
			 federal funding.
(12) "Rating
			 visit" means a visit conducted by the cabinet or its designee using the
			 environment assessment tool to inform a child care provider's quality-rating
			 level.
(13) "Renewal month" means
			 the month that a child care provider's license or certification is to be
			 renewed with the Office of Inspector General, Division of Regulated Child
			 Care.
(14) "School-age" means an
			 age group of children who meet the age requirements of
			 KRS
			 158.030 or who attend kindergarten,
			 elementary, or secondary education.
(15) "Toddler" means an age group of children
			 who are between the age of twelve (12) months and thirty-six (36)
			 months.
(16) "Type I child-care
			 center" means a child-care center licensed to regularly provide child care
			 services for:
(a) Four (4) or more children in
			 a nonresidential setting; or
(b)
			 Thirteen (13) or more children in a residential setting with designated space
			 separate from the primary residence of a licensee.
(17) "Type II child-care center" means the
			 primary residence of the licensee in which child care is regularly provided for
			 at least seven (7), but not more than twelve (12), children including children
			 related to the licensee.