We Defend Florida Child Care Provider Licenses
With its large population and vital economy, Florida needs qualified day care providers. Florida is a great place to offer a family child care home, large family child care home, or child care facility, which are the three main child care providers the Florida Department of Children and Families licenses. Florida licenses nearly ten thousand child care providers. Nearly 90% of those providers are child care facilities, while the rest are family child care homes.
But to operate a child care home or facility, you must maintain your Florida Department of Children and Families provider license. And to maintain your child care provider license, you must comply with the state's child care licensing standards. If you face Department of Children and Families disciplinary charges against your child care license, you will have questions about professional license disciplinary proceedings. Retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team for your child care license defense in Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Port St. Lucie, Hialeah, Cape Coral, or any other Florida city or town in which you offer your child care services. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now.
Types of Florida Child Care Providers
The Florida Department of Children and Families licenses (1) family child care homes, (2) large family child care homes, and (3) child care facilities under different definitions and rules. Florida Statute Section 402.302(2) defines a child care facility as “any child care center or child care arrangement which provides child care for more than five children unrelated to the operator” for compensation. Florida Statute Section 402.302(8) defines a family child care home as “an occupied residence in which child care is regularly provided for children from at least two unrelated families.” Florida Statute Section 402.302(11) defines a large family child care home as “an occupied residence in which child care is regularly provided for children from at least two unrelated families” for compensation “and which has at least two full-time child care personnel on the premises during the hours of operation.” You need a Department license, whether you care for unrelated children for compensation in your home or outside your home.
Florida Child Care Provider Licensure
Florida's Department of Children and Families maintains its Office of Child Care Regulation to carry out the statutory licensing child care providers must obtain. Five of Florida's sixty-seven counties have their own local licensing agencies, as Florida Statute Section 402.306 allows. You may have obtained your license from the Office of Child Care Regulation or, if you are in Broward, Hillsborough, Palm Beach, Pinellas, or Sarasota Counties, from your county's local licensing agency. In either case, Florida Statute Section 402.308 requires that “[e]very child care facility in the state shall have a license which shall be renewed annually.”
Florida Statute Section 402.312 likewise provides, “The operation of a child care facility without a license, a family day care home without a license or registration, or a large family child care home without a license is prohibited.” The same statute authorizes the Office of Child Care Regulation to obtain a court injunction against operating a child care facility without a license. You must obtain a Department license and maintain that license in good standing if you expect to continue your child care practice. Don't ignore or minimize disciplinary charges. Instead, retain our attorneys for the skilled and experienced defense services you need for your best outcome.
Early Childhood National Centers
When you obtain a child care provider license from the Florida Department of Children and Families' Office of Child Care Regulation, you have Florida's authority to operate your child care practice within the state. That authority does not extend beyond Florida's borders. Florida conducts interstate checks of criminal history, abuse and neglect registries, and sex offender registries to ensure that you and your employees have not engaged in disqualifying misconduct in another state. Florida even participates in a National Fingerprint File system to prevent wrongdoers from avoiding detection by using aliases.
Just as Florida examines the records of other states when licensing child care providers, other states have an interest in discovering if you have suffered Florida child care license discipline or other disqualifying circumstances in Florida in the event that you apply for another state's license. Licensing officials in other states may discover your Florida disciplinary records. Indeed, the Early Childhood National Centers promote interstate child care background checks. Your Florida discipline can follow you into other states. Don't put off your defense, thinking you can flee to another state for child care operations. Instead, let us help you defend your Florida disciplinary charges for your best outcome now.
Florida Child Care Provider Licensing Authority
Florida Statute Section 402.308 authorizes the Office of Child Care Regulation to issue a license to an applicant, or renew a provider's license annually, only when the applicant meets the state standards in the licensing statutes and the administrative regulations the Department of Children and Families has adopted. Florida Statute Section 402.305 sets forth many of the state standards covering personnel, facilities, staff-to-children ratios, square footage per child, and many other items. Other statutes set forth additional requirements. Florida Administrative Code Chapter 65C-20 states the regulations for family child care homes and large family child care homes, while Chapter 65C-22 adds the regulations for child care facilities. Don't doubt the authority of Office of Child Care Regulation officials to apply these standards when investigating and pursuing disciplinary charges against your license. Instead, get our help.
Florida Child Care Provider Regulatory Authority
Florida's Department of Children and Families, through its Office of Child Care Regulation, has the authority and obligation to monitor and inspect child care homes and facilities for compliance with all state standards. Florida Statute Section 402.308(3)(c) expressly states, “The department shall coordinate all inspections of child care facilities.” Section 402.311 details the Department's right to inspect child care facilities, including granting immediate access and authorizing a search warrant from the local court if necessary. Several other statutory and regulatory provisions authorize or require specific inspection activities over transportation, facilities, training records, and the like. You may well have experienced inspections already. Florida Statute Section 402.310 then authorizes the Department to suspend or revoke a child care provider's license for violations of the state standards. Do not doubt the authority, commitment, and resources of Office of Child Care Regulation officials to inspect, investigate, charge, and discipline. Get our help when facing disciplinary charges.
Florida Child Care Provider Disciplinary Actions
Child care providers who suffer disciplinary actions at the hands of Florida Department of Children and Families officials cannot keep the discipline secret. If you suffer discipline, your employees, parents, friends, family members, and the public will likely know it. Florida Statute Section 402.3125 requires that licensees publicly display in a prominent place on their premises not only the license they hold but also any license disciplinary action. Thus, even if you suffer only a reprimand or other sanction less than license suspension or revocation, your parents and provider community are likely to know it. Your child care practice will very likely suffer. Let us help you defend the charges rather than expecting that discipline may remain confidential. It likely won't.
Florida Child Care Provider Disciplinary Sanctions
Florida Statute Section 402.310 lists the disciplinary sanctions the Office of Child Care Regulation may impose when finding violations of the state's standards. Those disciplinary sanctions include any one or more of the following:
- impose a fine up to $100 per violation and up to $500 per day;
- convert your license to a probationary license requiring you to satisfy the conditions of probation;
- deny a license or deny the renewal of an expiring license;
- suspend a license for a definite or indefinite period, with or without conditions for reinstatement; or
- revoke the license.
A Department of Children and Families enforcement fact sheet broadens the above sanctions to include technical assistance and corrective action. Obviously, sanctions that interrupt your child care practice, meaning either license suspension or revocation, could have dire effects, causing parents to find other child care and potentially resulting in the permanent closure of your practice. You may worry that other, lesser sanctions like probation with conditions add to your regulatory risk. But the opposite may be true. We may be able to use the authority of disciplinary officials to impose conditions to convince those officials not to suspend or revoke your license. Our attorneys may be able to negotiate conditions that you can readily satisfy under consent terms that do not treat the conditions as discipline. With our help, and depending on the circumstances of your matter, you may be able to avoid a disciplinary record.
Grounds for Florida Child Care Provider Discipline
Florida Statute Section 402.310 refers to Department of Children and Families regulations for the grounds on which the Office of Child Care Regulation may discipline a licensed child care provider. Florida Administrative Code Section 65C-20.012 titled “Enforcement” refers enforcement officials to Standards Classification Summaries available from the Department through its website. The Standards Classification Summaries, slightly different for family day care homes, large family day care homes, and child care facilities, list dozens of grounds in checklist form on which investigators may recommend discipline. Consider the following common and major grounds drawn from the family day care home summary, along with how our attorneys may be able to help you defend those charges.
Improper Capacity Ratios as Grounds for Florida Child Care License Discipline
The Department's Standards Classification Summary for family day care homes first lists improper ratios of children by ages, or over-license capacities of children, as a grounds for discipline. Improper ratios could endanger children, resulting in abuse among older and younger children, neglect of children, or injury to children in fire or other emergencies. We may be able to help you defend improper ratio charges with evidence you were not out of compliance, that you were only briefly out of compliance due to emergency or other mitigating circumstances, or that you promptly resolved staffing and capacity issues.
Improper Child Discipline as Grounds for Florida Child Care License Discipline
The Department's Standards Classification Summary for family day care homes next lists improper child discipline as a ground for license discipline. Spanking, undue restraint or isolation, or harsh deprivation of food, water, or privileges are examples. We may be able to help you defend improper discipline charges by showing that you did not commit or authorize the offense, you were reasonably unaware of any such offense, children suffered no harm from any such offense, and you have appropriately terminated or trained the responsible employees.
Screening Failures as Grounds for Florida Child Care License Discipline
The Department's Standards Classification Summary for family day care homes also lists personnel background screening failures as grounds for discipline. Failing to perform required criminal history, sex offender registry, and similar background checks may expose children to unqualified and dangerous care providers. We may be able to help you defend screening failure charges by showing that you did screen as required, that any failure to screen was innocent due to unforeseen circumstances, that screening would not have revealed disqualifying information, that no child suffered harm or was exposed to substantial risk, and that you have remedied any screening omissions.
Staff Training Failures as Grounds for Florida Child Care License Discipline
The Department's Standards Classification Summary for family day care homes also lists staff training failures as grounds for discipline. Training failures, especially in CPR and emergency care, may endanger children or expose children to abuse and neglect risks. We may be able to defend training failure charges by showing that you were innocently unaware of training shortfalls, that the shortfalls did not cause any child harm or expose children to substantial risk, and that you promptly remedied the training failures.
Supervision Failures as Grounds for Florida Child Care License Discipline
The Department's Standards Classification Summary for family day care homes also lists child supervision failures as grounds for discipline. Failing to supervise children may leave them exposed to injury, abuse, and neglect. We may be able to help you defend child supervision allegations by showing that you did supervise children, that no child suffered harm from any lack of supervision, and that you have improved supervision and staff monitoring to ensure continued compliance.
Toxic Substances as Grounds for Florida Child Care License Discipline
The Department's Standards Classification Summary for family day care homes also lists toxic substances or smoking on the premises as grounds for discipline. Children may ingest or inhale toxic substances, suffering serious injury, or may inhale secondhand smoke, or attempt to use tobacco products. We may be able to help you defend toxic substances and smoking charges by showing that no such substances were on the premises, that children had no access to toxic substances, that you were reasonably unaware of the substances, that you promptly removed or secured any toxic substances, and that no child suffered harm or substantial risk of harm.
Firearms and Weapons as Grounds for Florida Child Care License Discipline
The Department's Standards Classification Summary for family day care homes also lists unsecured firearms or weapons on the premises as a ground for discipline. Children may suffer injury when examining or playing with unsecured weapons and ammunition. We may be able to help you defend firearms and weapons charges by showing that no such items were on your premises, that any weapons were secured out of child reach, that no child suffered injury or substantial risk of injury from any weapons on the premises, or that you were reasonably unaware of weapons and immediately removed or secured them on discovery.
Unsanitary Bedding as Grounds for Florida Child Care License Discipline
The Department's Standards Classification Summary for family day care homes also lists unsafe or unsanitary bedding as grounds for discipline. Bedding with bed bugs, lice, mold, or soiling may cause child disease and infections and may discourage child rest. Non-fire-retardant bedding may expose children to fire injury risk. We may be able to help you defend bedding charges by showing that you had safe and sanitary bedding, that you were reasonably unaware of any bedding issues, that you promptly corrected bedding issues when discovered, that you have trained staff to do so as well, and that no child suffered harm or substantial risk of harm.
Fire Issues as Grounds for Florida Child Care License Discipline
The Department's Standards Classification Summary for family day care homes also lists the absence of working smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, fire escapes, emergency telephone contacts, and ventilation as grounds for discipline. Fire risks could result in child injury or death. We may be able to help you defend fire risk charges by showing that you had working smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, that you were reasonably unaware of any non-working fire-detection or fire-suppression equipment, and that you promptly corrected any deficiencies, while no child suffered any harm or substantial risk.
Nutrition Deficiencies as Grounds for Florida Child Care License Discipline
The Department's Standards Classification Summary for family day care homes also lists nutrition deficiencies as grounds for discipline. Inadequate food, non-nutritious food, unclean food, unsanitary water, food and milk improperly stored, spoiled food and liquid, and other food storage and preparation issues may cause child illness. We may be able to help you defend nutrition charges with proof that you supplied the requisite nutrition and liquid, that you were reasonably unaware of deficiencies, that you promptly corrected deficiencies, and that no child suffered harm.
Other Grounds for Florida Child Care License Discipline
The Department's Standards Classification Summary for family day care homes lists these other grounds for discipline: poor hygiene and sanitation; inadequate diapering; inadequate first aid; inadequate emergency training and notification; inadequate fire drills; inadequate communicable disease controls; improper medication handling; and inadequate immunization, health, and other recordkeeping. We may be able to help you defend any of these disciplinary charges with evidence that the allegations are inaccurate, that the conditions caused no children any harm and exposed no children to substantial risk, that you were reasonably unaware of the conditions, and that you promptly corrected any conditions upon discovery.
Florida Child Care Provider Disciplinary Procedures
It is important that you keep in mind that disciplinary charges are only allegations, not findings or even evidence for findings. Just because you receive a Florida Department of Children and Families notice of investigation or even notice of formal charges does not necessarily mean that the state officials have supporting evidence or expect discipline on the charges. Officials may instead just need your reasonable explanation and prompt address of any significant issues.
Even if officials do have substantial evidence of your violation of the state's child care standards, Florida Statutes Section 402.310 guarantees you the due process protections of the Florida Administrative Procedures Act in any formal child care disciplinary proceedings. Those protective procedures include detailed notice of the disciplinary charges so that you know what you are facing. They also include your right to review the state's evidence against you and your right to a formal hearing to challenge that evidence in an administrative proceeding. You also have the right to retain our attorneys to assist you with your defense, including cross-examining any witnesses and challenging any other evidence against you, while presenting your own witnesses and documentary evidence. These procedures are not self-executing, though. You must generally invoke them on your own behalf. Retain us to do so. Level your playing field with our skilled and experienced defense services for your best disciplinary outcome.
Premier Child Care License Defense in Florida
The Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team is available for your defense in Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Port St. Lucie, Hialeah, Cape Coral, or any other Florida city or town. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now.
