South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 114 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Article 5 - LICENSING › Subarticle 1 - DAY CARE FACILITIES › Section 114-502 - Procedures

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A.
				Licensing/approvals
(1) Any person,
				corporation, partnership, voluntary association, or other organization, whether
				private or public, may secure information about the licensing/approval process
				by contacting staff of the State or Regional Child Care Licensing
				Office.
(2) An application for a
				license/approval shall be completed on appropriate Department forms and shall
				be signed by the director. The Department representative shall provide the
				applicant with the required number of forms, a copy of current child care
				center regulations, a copy of Section
				63-13-10 et
				seq., Code of Laws of South Carolina, (Child Care Statute) 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 facility.
(3) After giving the applicant at least two
				working days' notice, Department staff shall arrange a licensing/approval study
				during an on-site visit to the proposed facility for determining compliance
				with applicable regulations.
(4)
				Health and fire officials shall inspect the facility 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/approval 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/approval and shall take
				one of the following actions:
(a) Issue a
				regular license/regular approval if all the provisions of the regulations and
				statute for the operation of a child care center have been met;
(b) Issue a provisional license/provisional
				approval 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/approval 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/provisional
				approval.
(7) If a license/approval
				is issued, the Department staff shall mail the license/approval directly to the
				director.
(8) The license/approval
				shall state clearly the name of the director, the address and type of child
				care facility, the date on which the license/approval was issued and will
				expire, and the maximum number of children to be present in the center at any
				one time.
(9) Department staff
				shall notify the director as follows if a provisional license/provisional
				approval is issued or an application for a license/approval is denied:
(a) If a provisional license/provisional
				approval is issued, the Department shall notify the director 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 director to complete
				a written plan to correct each violation as approved by the
				Department;
(b) If a
				license/approval is denied, the Department shall give the applicant written
				notice by certified mail indicating the reason(s) for the denial.
(10) If a facility is found to be
				in operation after the Department has denied the application for the
				license/approval and the administrative appeal/review procedure has been
				completed, the Department shall notify the Department's Office of General
				Counsel.