South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 114 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Article 5 - LICENSING › Subarticle 1 - DAY CARE FACILITIES › REGULATIONS FOR THE LICENSING OF GROUP CHILD CARE HOMES › Section 114-512 - Procedures

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A. Licensing
(1) Any person, corporation, partnership,
				  voluntary association or other organization, whether private or public, may
				  secure information about the licensing process by contacting staff of the State
				  or Regional Child Care Licensing Office.
(2) An application for a license shall be
				  completed on appropriate Department forms and shall be signed by the operator.
				  The Department representative shall provide the applicant with the required
				  number of forms, a copy of current group child care home regulations, a copy of
				  Section 20-7-2700 et seq., Code of Laws of South Carolina (1976), and a copy of
				  Sections of the Children's Code related to child abuse and neglect with an
				  explanation of procedures and information required by the Department. The
				  Department representative shall request in writing that health and fire
				  officials make inspections of the home.
(3) After giving the applicant at least two
				  working days notice, Department staff shall arrange a licensing study during an
				  on-site visit to the proposed group child care home to determine compliance
				  with applicable regulations.
(4)
				  Health and fire officials shall inspect the group child care home to determine
				  compliance with appropriate regulations and shall put in writing on appropriate
				  forms the results of their inspections.
(5) The Department shall review the completed
				  application form, completed licensing inspection report, completed health and
				  fire inspection reports, current child abuse and criminal history background
				  records checks, written policies and other information specified by the
				  Department to make a determination of issuance or non-issuance of a license and
				  shall take one of the following actions:
(a)
				  Issue a regular license if all the provisions of the regulations and statute
				  for the operation of a group child care home have been met;
(b) Issue a provisional license with an
				  accompanying correction notice if one or more violations have been cited which
				  do not seriously threaten the health, safety or well-being of children;
				  or
(c) Deny the issuance of a
				  license if one or more violations seriously threaten the health, safety, or
				  well being of the children.
(6) Failure of Department staff, except as
				  provided by statute, to approve or deny any complete application within ninety
				  days shall result in the granting of a provisional license.
(7) If a license is issued, the Department
				  staff shall mail the license directly to the operator.
(8) The license shall state clearly the name
				  of the operator, the address and type of child care facility, the date on which
				  the license was issued and will expire, and the maximum number of children to
				  be present in the group child care home at any one time.
(9) Department staff shall notify the
				  operator as follows if a provisional license is issued or an application for a
				  license is denied:
(a) If a provisional
				  license is issued, the Department shall notify the operator in writing of
				  violations to be corrected. The violations shall be cited by regulation number
				  and shall include a form issued by the Department for the operator to complete
				  a written plan to correct each violation as approved by the Department;
				  or
(b) If a license is denied, the
				  Department shall give the applicant written notice by certified mail indicating
				  the reason(s) for the denial or suspension and inform the operator of the right
				  to appeal the decision through administrative channels to the Department and
				  according to established appeals procedure for the Department. Upon appeal, the
				  decision of the Department is final unless appealed by a party pursuant to an
				  Administrative Law Judge.
(10) If a group child care home is found to
				  be in operation after the Department has denied the application for the license
				  and the administrative appeal/review procedure has been completed, the
				  Department shall notify the Department's Office of General Counsel.