Sec. 19a-87e. (Formerly Sec. 17-588). Family child care homes: Discretion in the issuance of a license or approval of an assistant or substitute staff member. Suspension. Revocation. Denial of initial license or approval application. Notice of criminal conviction. False statements. Reporting of violations.

(a) The Commissioner of Early Childhood may (1) refuse to license under section 19a-87b, a person to own, conduct, operate or maintain a family child care home, as defined in section 19a-77, (2) refuse to approve under section 19a-87b, a person to act as an assistant or substitute staff member in a family child care home, as defined in section 19a-77, or (3) suspend or revoke the license or approval or take any other action that may be set forth in regulation that may be adopted pursuant to section 19a-79 if the person who owns, conducts, maintains or operates the family child care home, the person who acts as an assistant or substitute staff member in a family child care home, a person employed in such family child care home in a position connected with the provision of care to a child receiving child care services or a household member, as defined in subsection (c) of section 19a-87b, who is sixteen years of age or older and resides therein, has been convicted, in this state or any other state of a felony, as defined in section 53a-25, involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person, or has a criminal record in this state or any other state that the commissioner reasonably believes renders the person unsuitable to own, conduct, operate or maintain or be employed by a family child care home, or act as an assistant or substitute staff member in a family child care home, or if such persons or a household member has been convicted in this state or any other state of cruelty to persons under section 53-20, injury or risk of injury to or impairing morals of children under section 53-21, abandonment of children under the age of six years under section 53-23, or any felony where the victim of the felony is a child under eighteen years of age, a violation of section 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-70b, 53a-71, 53a-72a, 53a-72b or 53a-73a, illegal manufacture, distribution, sale, prescription, dispensing or administration under section 21a-277 or 21a-278, or illegal possession under section 21a-279, or if such person, a person who acts as assistant or substitute staff member in a family child care home or a person employed in such family child care home in a position connected with the provision of care to a child receiving child care services, either fails to substantially comply with the regulations adopted pursuant to section 19a-87b, or conducts, operates or maintains the home in a manner which endangers the health, safety and welfare of the children receiving child care services. Any refusal of a license or approval pursuant to this section shall be rendered in accordance with the provisions of sections 46a-79 to 46a-81, inclusive. Any person whose license or approval has been revoked pursuant to this section shall be ineligible to apply for a license or approval for a period of one year from the effective date of revocation.

(b) When the commissioner intends to suspend or revoke a license or approval or take any other action against a license or approval set forth in regulation adopted pursuant to section 19a-79, the commissioner shall notify the licensee or approved staff member in writing of the commissioner's intended action. The licensee or approved staff member may, if aggrieved by such intended action, make application for a hearing in writing over the licensee's or approved staff member's signature to the commissioner. The licensee or approved staff member shall state in the application in plain language the reasons why the licensee or approved staff member claims to be aggrieved. The application shall be delivered to the commissioner within thirty days of the licensee's or approved staff member's receipt of notification of the intended action. The commissioner shall thereupon hold a hearing within sixty days from receipt of such application and shall, at least ten days prior to the date of such hearing, mail a notice, giving the time and place of the hearing, to the licensee or approved staff member. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the denial of an initial application for a license or approval under section 19a-87b, provided the commissioner shall notify the applicant of any such denial and the reasons for such denial by mailing written notice to the applicant at the applicant's address shown on the license or approval application.

(c) Any person who is licensed to conduct, operate or maintain a family child care home or approved to act as an assistant or substitute staff member in a family child care home shall notify the commissioner of any conviction of the owner, conductor, operator or maintainer of the family child care home or of any household member, as defined in subsection (c) of section 19a-87b, who is sixteen years of age or older, or any person employed in such family child care home in a position connected with the provision of care to a child receiving child care services, of a crime which affects the commissioner's discretion under subsection (a) of this section, immediately upon obtaining knowledge of such conviction. Failure to comply with the notification requirement of this subsection may result in the suspension or revocation of the license or approval or the taking of any other action against a license or approval set forth in regulation adopted pursuant to section 19a-79 and shall subject the licensee or approved staff member to a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars per day for each day after the person obtained knowledge of the conviction.

(d) It shall be a class A misdemeanor for any person seeking employment in a position connected with the provision of care to a child receiving family child care home services to make a false written statement regarding prior criminal convictions pursuant to a form bearing notice to the effect that such false statements are punishable, which statement such person does not believe to be true and is intended to mislead the prospective employer.

(e) Any person having reasonable cause to believe that a family child care home, as defined in section 19a-77, is operating without a current and valid license or in violation of the regulations adopted under section 19a-87b or in a manner which may pose a potential danger to the health, welfare and safety of a child receiving child care services, may report such information to the Office of Early Childhood. The office shall investigate any report or complaint received pursuant to this subsection. The name of the person making the report or complaint shall not be disclosed unless (1) such person consents to such disclosure, (2) a judicial or administrative proceeding results from such report or complaint, or (3) a license action pursuant to subsection (a) of this section results from such report or complaint. All records obtained by the office in connection with any such investigation shall not be subject to the provisions of section 1-210 for a period of thirty days from the date of the petition or other event initiating such investigation, or until such time as the investigation is terminated pursuant to a withdrawal or other informal disposition or until a hearing is convened pursuant to chapter 54, whichever is earlier. A formal statement of charges issued by the office shall be subject to the provisions of section 1-210 from the time that it is served or mailed to the respondent. Records which are otherwise public records shall not be deemed confidential merely because they have been obtained in connection with an investigation under this section.

(P.A. 82-261, S. 5, 6; P.A. 84-290; P.A. 86-417, S. 9, 15; P.A. 87-127; P.A. 89-8, S. 1, 2; 89-206, S. 1; P.A. 93-262, S. 47, 87; P.A. 94-181, S. 4, 7; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; 95-360, S. 15, 32; P.A. 97-259, S. 37, 41; P.A. 00-27, S. 13, 24; 00-135, S. 4, 21; P.A. 11-242, S. 46; P.A. 14-39, S. 59; P.A. 15-227, S. 17; P.A. 16-131, S. 2, 3.)

History: P.A. 84-290 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by adding the reference to a person residing in the household and also amended Subsec. (a) by adding sexual assault, illegal manufacture, distribution, sale, prescription, dispensing or administration and illegal possession to the list of crimes and amended Subsec. (b) by deleting the word “criminal” and adding “a crime which affects the commissioner's discretion under Subsec. (a)”; P.A. 86-417 substituted references to registration for references to licensure; P.A. 87-127 amended Subsec. (a) by adding language allowing the commissioner to suspend or revoke registration for noncompliance with regulations or for operation in a manner which endangers the health, safety and welfare of the children and language on ineligibility for one year from the effective date of revocation; P.A. 89-8 deleted provision in Subsec. (a) which had authorized commissioner to suspend or revoke registration of family day care home owner or operator and substituted reference to Sec. 17-31q for reference to Sec. 17-31a; P.A. 89-206 added a new Subsec. (d) re the reporting of family day care homes operating without a current and valid registration, in violation of regulations or in a manner which may pose a potential danger to the health, welfare and safety of a child; Sec. 17-31t transferred to Sec. 17-588 in 1991; P.A. 93-262 replaced commissioner and department of human resources with commissioner and department of social services and substituted references to licensure for references to registration, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-181 transferred licensure program of family day care homes from the department of social services to the department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1994; Sec. 17-588 transferred to Sec. 19a-87e in 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-360 amended Subsec. (a) and (c) to allow any action set forth in regulation, inserted new Subsec. (b) re sending notice and a hearing, relettering the remaining Subsecs., and added provisions in Subsec. (d) re disclosure of investigation records, effective July 13, 1995; P.A. 97-259 amended Subsec. (a) to cover convictions in other states, to add felonies involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person, to add any felony where the victim of the felony is a child under 18 years of age and to make technical changes, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 00-27 made technical changes in Subsec. (c), effective May 1, 2000; P.A. 00-135 made technical changes and amended Subsec. (b) by deleting language re license applicant and refusing a license and adding provisions re denial of initial license application, effective May 26, 2000; P.A. 11-242 amended Subsec. (a) by adding Subdiv. (1) to (3) designators, by providing commissioner with authority to refuse to approve a person to act as assistant or substitute staff member in a family day care home in Subdiv. (2) and by authorizing commissioner to revoke approval of assistant or substitute staff member due to criminal history in Subdiv. (3), amended Subsec. (b) by adding provisions re suspension or revocation of approval to act as an assistant or substitute staff member, amended Subsec. (c) by requiring persons approved to act as assistant or substitute staff member to notify commissioner of a criminal conviction, and made conforming changes; P.A. 14-39 replaced references to Commissioner and Department of Public Health with references to Commissioner and Office of Early Childhood, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 15-227 replaced “family day care home” with “family child care home” and “child day care services” with “child care services”, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 16-131 amended Subsecs. (a) and (c) by adding provisions re household member who is age 16 or older and making conforming changes, effective June 7, 2016.

Notation

Cited. 237 C. 272.

Cited. 42 CA 92.

Cited. 44 CS 223.