Senate Bill No. 614
(By Senators Foster, McCabe, Sprouse and Wells)
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[Introduced February 16, 2007; referred to the Committee on
Education.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §49-2B-3 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to exemption for preschool programs
of six hours or less from day care center licensure.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §49-2B-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2B. DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES FOR
CHILD WELFARE.
§49-2B-3. Licensure, certification, approval and registration
requirements.
(a) Any person, corporation or child welfare agency, other
than a state agency, which operates a residential child care
facility, a child-placing agency or a day care center shall obtain
a license from the department.
(b) Any residential child care facility, day care center or
any child-placing agency operated by the state shall obtain approval of its operations from the secretary:
Provided, That this
requirement does not apply to any juvenile detention facility or
juvenile correctional facility operated by or under contract with
the Division of Juvenile Services, created pursuant to section two,
article five-e of this chapter, for the secure housing or holding
of juveniles committed to its custody. The facilities and placing
agencies shall maintain the same standards of care applicable to
licensed facilities, centers or placing agencies of the same
category.
(c) Any family day care facility which operates in this state,
including family day care facilities approved by the department for
receipt of funding, shall obtain a statement of certification from
the department.
(d) Every family day care home which operates in this state,
including family day care homes approved by the department for
receipt of funding, shall obtain a certificate of registration from
the department.
(e) This section does not apply to:
(1) A kindergarten, preschool or school education program
which is operated by a public school or which is accredited by the
state Department of Education, or any other kindergarten, preschool
or school programs which operate with sessions not exceeding
four
six hours per day for any child;
(2) An individual or facility which offers occasional care of children for brief periods while parents are shopping, engaging in
recreational activities, attending religious services or engaging
in other business or personal affairs;
(3) Summer recreation camps operated for children attending
sessions for periods not exceeding thirty days;
(4) Hospitals or other medical facilities which are primarily
used for temporary residential care of children for treatment,
convalescence or testing;
(5) Persons providing family day care solely for children
related to them; or
(6) Any juvenile detention facility or juvenile correctional
facility operated by or under contract with the Division of
Juvenile Services, created pursuant to section two, article five-e
of this chapter, for the secure housing or holding of juveniles
committed to its custody.
(f) The secretary is hereby authorized to issue an emergency
rule relating to conducting a survey of existing facilities in this
state in which children reside on a temporary basis in order to
ascertain whether they should be subject to licensing under this
article or applicable licensing provisions relating to behavioral
health treatment providers.
(g) Any informal family child care home or relative family
child care home may voluntarily register and obtain a certificate
of registration from the department.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt preschools with
sessions no longer than six hours a day to be exempted from day
care center licensure.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
)