Pennsylvania Code › Title 55 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part V - Children, Youth and Families Manual › Subpart D - Nonresidential Agencies, Facilities and Services › Article I - Licensing/Approval › Chapter 3270 - CHILD CARE CENTERS › GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 3270.4 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this
						  chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
						  otherwise:
ACIP
-The Advisory Committee on
						  Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
						  United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Act
-The Human Services Code
						  (62
						  P.S. §§
													101-1503).
Age level
-The grouping category
						  appropriate for the child's age.
(i)
Infant-
A child from birth to 1 year of age.
(ii)
Young toddler-
A child
						from 1 to 2 years of age.
(iii)
Older toddler-
A child from 2 to 3 years of age.
(iv)
Preschool child-
A
						child from 3 years of age to the date the child enters kindergarten in a public
						or private school system.
(v)
Young school-age child-
A child who attends kindergarten to
						the date the child enters the 4th grade of a public or private school
						system.
(vi)
Older
						school-age child-
A child who attends the 4th grade of a public or
						private school system through 15 years of age.
CPS
-Child Protective Services.
CPSL
-
Child Protective Services
						  Law
-Title 23 of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated
						  Statutes
Chapter 63 (relating to the Child Protective Services
						  Law).
CRNP
-Certified Registered Nurse
						  Practitioner.
Casual contact
-The ordinary, routine
						  and age-appropriate association of children, parents and facility persons in
						  the course of daily assembly in a facility.
Certificate of compliance
-A document
						  issued by the Department to a legal entity permitting the entity to operate a
						  specific type of facility at a specific location for a specific period of time
						  according to applicable Department regulations. A certificate of compliance
						  approves the operation of a facility subject to Article IX of the act
						  (62
						  P.S. §§
													901-922) or licenses the
						  operation of a facility subject to Article X of the act (62 P.S.
						  §§
													1001- 1088).
Child
-A person 15 years of age or
						  younger.
Child abuse
-Serious physical or mental
						  injury which is not explained by the available medical history as being
						  accidental; sexual abuse or sexual exploitation; or serious physical neglect of
						  a child if the injury, abuse or neglect of a child has been caused by the acts
						  or omissions of the child's parent, by a person responsible for the child's
						  welfare, by an individual residing in the same home as the child or by a
						  paramour of a child's parent. A child will not be deemed to be physically or
						  mentally abused for the sole reason that the child is in good faith being
						  furnished treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone in accordance with
						  the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by an
						  accredited practitioner thereof or is not provided specified medical treatment
						  in the practice of religious beliefs or solely on the grounds of environmental
						  factors which are beyond the control of the person responsible for the child's
						  welfare, such as inadequate housing, furnishings, income, clothing and medical
						  care.
Child care experience
-Care for a child
						  in lieu of care by the parent or guardian for part of a 24-hour day. The term
						  includes care of foster children in a court-supervised arrangement. The term
						  does not include care of related children who reside with an individual. The
						  term does not include supervised onsite training in the case of a student who
						  is fulfilling the requirements of a secondary or postsecondary child care
						  training or educational curriculum.
Child care center
-The premises in
						  which care is provided at any one time for seven or more children unrelated to
						  the operator.
Child with special needs
-A child who
						  has one or more of the following:
(i)
						A disability or developmental delay identifies on an IEP, an IFSP or a service
						agreement.
(ii) A written
						behavioral plan that has been determined by a licensed physician, licensed
						psychologist or certified behavior analyst.
(iii) A chronic health condition diagnosed by
						a licensed physician, physician's assistant or CRNP that requires health and
						related services of a type or amount beyond that required by children
						generally.
Communicable disease
-An illness due to
						  an infectious agent or its toxic products which is transmitted directly or
						  indirectly by the infected agent to a susceptible host. Communicable diseases
						  are specified in 28 Pa. Code Chapter 27 (relating to communicable and
						  noncommunicable diseases).
Department
-The Department of Public
						  Welfare of the Commonwealth.
Facility
-A child care center.
Facility person
-A staff person, a
						  substitute staff person, a volunteer, a food service person, a janitorial
						  person or another adult who serves in or is employed by a facility.
Fire protection professional
-An
						  individual knowledgeable and competent in fire inspections, fire detection,
						  fire suppression systems and practices, fire service training, emergency
						  preparedness planning and emergency evacuation whose competence is demonstrated
						  by membership in a professional organization which promotes firesafety
						  education.
Group
-Children assigned to the care of
						  one or two staff persons. A group occupies a space or a defined part of a
						  space.
IEP
-Individualized education program
						  as defined in 22 Pa. Code §§
												14.101 and
						  14.131-14.133 (relating to definitions;
						  and IEP).
IFSP
-Individualized family service
						  plan as defined in 4226.5 and 4226.71-4226.77 (relating to definitions; and
						  IFSPs).
Inspection summary
-A document prepared
						  by an agent of the Department describing each regulatory noncompliance item
						  confirmed as a result of a facility inspection.
Legal entity
-A person, society,
						  corporation, governing authority or partnership that is legally responsible for
						  the administration of one facility or several facilities, or one type of
						  facility or several types of facilities.
Night care
-Care for a child between
						  the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Operator
-The legal entity or a person
						  designated by the legal entity to serve as the facility director.
Parent
-The biological or adoptive
						  mother or father, legal guardian or foster mother or father of the
						  child.
Potentially hazardous food
-A food that
						  consists in whole or in part of milk or milk products, eggs, meat, poultry,
						  fish, shellfish or other ingredients capable of supporting rapid and
						  progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms.
Public water system
-A system for the
						  provision to the public of water for human consumption that has at least 15
						  service connections or regularly serves an average of at least 25 individuals
						  daily at least 60 days out of the year. The term includes:
(i) Collection, treatment, storage and
						distribution facilities under the control of the operator of the system and
						used in connection with the system.
(ii) Collection or pretreatment storage
						facilities not under control of the operator which are used in connection with
						the system.
(iii) A system which
						provides water for bottling or bulk hauling for human consumption.
Relative
-A parent, child, stepparent,
						  stepchild, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, half brother, half sister,
						  aunt, uncle, niece or nephew. As applied to facilities subject to approval
						  under Article IX of the act, the term also includes a stepbrother, stepsister
						  or first cousin.
School-age care
-Supervised child care
						  in a Departmen-tally certified facility during the hours when a child is not
						  required to attend school.
Service agreement
-A service agreement
						  as defined in 22 Pa. Code §§
												15.2 and
						  15.7 (relating to definitions; and
						  service agreement).
Space
-Indoor or outdoor area designed
						  for child care that is large enough to accommodate the maximum number of
						  children allowed under this chapter. A space may be used by more than one group
						  of children.
Staff person
-A person included in the
						  staff:child ratio who is responsible for child care activities.
Supervise
-To be physically present
						  with a group of children or with the facility person under supervision.
						  Critical oversight in which the supervisor can see, hear, direct and assess the
						  activity of the supervisee.
Volunteer
-A person 16 years of age or
						  older who is not included in the staff:child ratio and who assists in
						  implementing daily program activities under the supervision of a staff
						  person.
Waiver
-The Department's written
						  exemption from the requirement of meeting a standard in this chapter.
Year
-For purposes of calculating, 1
						  year of child care experience is a minimum of 1,250 clock
						  hours.
The provisions of this §
														3270.4 amended under Articles IX
							 and X of the Human Services Code (62 P.S. §§
															901-922 and
							 1001-1088).
This section cited in 55 Pa. Code §
														3270.17 (relating to service to a
							 child with a disability); 55 Pa. Code §
														3270.122 (relating to admission
							 interview); and 55 Pa. Code §
														3270.241 (relating to requirements
							 specific to school-age programs).