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 3290 - FAMILY CHILD CARE HOMES › GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 3290.4 - 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.
Appeal
-A written, signed and dated
						  statement requesting reconsideration or modification of a Departmental decision
						  that negatively affects the certificate of compliance of the facility. An
						  appeal is made by the facility operator or by the facility's legal
						  entity.
Applicant
-A legal entity that applies
						  to operate a certified family child care home.
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
						  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 with special needs
-A child who
						  has one or more of the following:
(i)
						A disability or developmental delay identified 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).
Denial
-The written refusal of the
						  Department to issue a certificate of compliance to a new applicant.
Department
-The Department of Human
						  Services of the Commonwealth.
Facility
-A family child care
						  home.
Facility person
-A staff person, a
						  substitute staff person or a volunteer.
Family child care home
-A home other
						  than the child's own home, operated for profit or not-for-profit, in which
						  child care is provided at any one time to four, five or six children unrelated
						  to the operator.
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
-A review of facility
						  operation to determine compliance with applicable laws or regulations,
						  conducted by an agent of the Department.
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, corporation or
						  partnership that is legally responsible for the administration of the
						  facility.
Night care
-Care for a child between
						  the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Nonrenewal
-The written refusal of the
						  Department to issue a certificate of compliance to a legal entity previously
						  granted a certificate of compliance at the same location.
Operator
-The legal entity or a person
						  designated by the legal entity to serve as the staff person.
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.
Regional office of child
						  care
-Departmental offices responsible for certified child care
						  facilities located in counties assigned to the regional office. A certificate
						  of compliance is issued by a regional office to the legal entity responsible
						  for the operation of a family child care home.
Relative
-A parent, child, stepparent,
						  stepchild, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister,
						  aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.
Revocation
-The Department's written
						  retraction of a certificate of compliance which occurs prior to expiration of
						  the facility's certificate of compliance.
Service agreement
-A service agreement
						  as defined in 22 Pa. Code §§
												15.2 and
						  15.7 (relating to definitions; and
						  service agreement).
Space
-An indoor or outdoor area used
						  for child care.
Staff person
-A person included in the
						  staff:child ratio who is responsible for child care activities.
Supervise
-To be present in the child
						  care facility with the children or with the facility person under supervision.
						  Supervision is 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.
The provisions of this §
														3290.4 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 §
														3290.122 (relating to admission
							 interview).