14 Del. Admin. Code § 934-I-3.0
The following words and terms, when used in these regulations, have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Administration of medication certificate" means a document issued by OCCL that gives permission for a staff member to administer medication to children in care as described in the Administration of Medication Self-Study Guide.
"Adult volunteer" means a person at least 18 years old who provides an unpaid service or support to a family or large family home.
"Agreement of understanding" means a document that is part of a corrective action plan or used when necessary to ensure regulation compliance. This document contains requirements the licensee must follow to maintain licensure.
"Applicant" means the individual or entity, such as a company, corporation, business, or agency, seeking a license to operate a family or large family home.
"Associate caregiver" means a staff member who works under the supervision of a caregiver and provides child care at a large family child care home licensed before January 1, 2009. The associate caregiver is renamed large family assistant in these regulations.
"Blood lead screening" means a capillary blood lead test, including where a drop of blood is taken from a finger or heel of the foot.
"Business day" means a weekday Monday through Friday not including State of Delaware legal holidays that fall on a weekday.
"Capacity" means the total number of children, excluding school-age household members who are attending public or private school, that may be present at one time.
"Caregiver" means the staff member responsible for the total program including providing child care at a large family child care home that was licensed before January 1, 2009. The caregiver is renamed large family provider in these regulations.
"Child abuse" means to cause or inflict sexual abuse on a child; or an act by a person that has care, custody, or control of a child that causes or inflicts physical injury through unjustified force, emotional abuse, torture, exploitation, maltreatment or mistreatment as defined in 10 Del.C. § 901.
"Child care" means providing care, education, protection, supervision, or guidance of children in a family or large family child care home.
"Child neglect" means the failure to provide, by those responsible for the care, custody, and control of the child, the proper or necessary education as required by law; nutrition; or medical, surgical, or any other care necessary for the child's well-being as defined in 10 Del.C. § 901.
"Child with disabilities" means a child diagnosed by a qualified professional as having a physical, intellectual, emotional, or developmental disability, or chronic medical condition.
"CHU" means the Criminal History Unit in the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.
"Clock hours" means the actual number of hours a person spends attending the instructional portion of a training designed to develop or enhance child care skills.
"Complaint investigation" means the process followed by OCCL to investigate accusations that a licensee is not complying with these regulations or applicable laws.
"Compliance review" means an inspection of the home, grounds, and files to determine compliance with these regulations.
"Comprehensive background check" means a State of Delaware and federal (national) fingerprinted report of a person's entire criminal history including a search of the National Crime Information Center's National Sex Offender Registry; and a search of state criminal, sex offender, and child abuse and neglect registries, repositories, or databases in the state where the person resides, and in each state in which the person resided during the past five years.
"Conference" means a meeting between OCCL and a licensee to discuss serious non-compliance as defined in these regulations or to discuss the denial of a variance request.
"Corrective action plan" means a document listing non-compliance a licensee must correct, how to correct it, and the date OCCL requires the corrections to be completed. This document serves as written notice of non-compliance with these regulations.
"CPSC" means the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
"Denial" means the process of refusing to grant a license after OCCL receives an application. This constitutes refusal of permission to operate.
"Department" or "DOE" means the Delaware Department of Education.
"Division" means the Division of Family Services within the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.
"DPH" means the Delaware Division of Public Health.
"Enforcement action" means an action taken by OCCL to promote compliance such as warning of probation, probation, suspension, revocation, or denial.
"Family child care home" or "family home" means a private home in which a licensee lives and provides licensed child care.
"Family child care license" means a document issued by OCCL allowing a person or entity to operate a family home after demonstrating compliance with these regulations and other applicable codes, regulations, and laws.
"Family provider" means the person responsible for the total program including providing child care and managing the administrative aspects of a family child care home.
"Hazardous material" means any item or agent (biological, chemical, radiological, or physical), that has the potential to cause harm to humans, animals, or the environment, by itself or through interaction with other factors.
"Health care provider" means a professional who practices medicine with or without supervision and is sanctioned by an established licensing body. The most common types of health care providers include physicians, advance practice nurses or nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
"Hearing" means the hearing provided to a licensee or applicant when requesting an appeal of OCCL's decision to place the facility on an enforcement action such as warning of probation, probation, suspension, revocation, or denial. A licensee or applicant may provide evidence to contest the action.
"Home" means both family and large family child care homes.
"Household member" means a person living in or spending the night in a family or large family home for more than 30 days within a year or a person who has a current driver's license or state-issued identification card showing the address listed on the license application.
"Individualized education program" or "IEP" means a document written at least yearly which describes the services and supports needed for a child identified for special education usually for a child age three years and older.
"Individualized family service plan" or "IFSP" means a document written at least yearly about the required services for an infant or toddler (ages birth to two years) with an identified disability.
"Infant" means a child less than 12 months old.
"Large family aide" means the staff member who works under the direct supervision of the large family provider, large family assistant, or substitute and provides child care at a large family home. This staff member may not be alone with children, unless trained in administration of medication and CPR and first aid.
"Large family assistant" means the staff member who works under the supervision of the large family provider and provides child care at a large family home. This staff member may provide direct supervision of a large family aide and meets the qualifications listed in these regulations.
"Large family child care home" or "large family home" means a private home where the licensee resides and provides licensed child care or a non-residential property where a licensee offers licensed child care.
"Large family child care license" means a document issued by OCCL allowing a person or entity to operate a large family home after demonstrating compliance with these regulations and other applicable codes, regulations, and laws.
"Large family provider" means the staff member responsible for the total program including providing child care and, when applicable, managing the administrative aspects of a large family child care home. This staff member may supervise large family assistants, large family aides, and substitutes and meets the qualifications listed in these regulations.
"License" means the document issued by OCCL granting authority to a licensee at the home's location to operate under applicable State laws.
"Licensee" means the individual or entity, such as a company, corporation, business, or agency, legally responsible for a family or large family home.
"Licensing specialist" means an OCCL employee who is responsible for performing regulatory activities including monitoring child care facilities, investigating complaints, monitoring the need for enforcement actions, and making recommendations for licensure as set forth in Delaware Code and these regulations.
"Licensing supervisor" means an OCCL employee who is responsible for supervising licensing specialists. This person may perform regulatory actions and ensures licensing specialists are performing regulatory activities. This person approves complaint investigations, enforcement actions, and licenses.
"Licensure" means the status of a licensee when OCCL issued a child care license when the applicant demonstrated compliance with these regulations and applicable codes, regulations, and laws.
"Office of Child Care Licensing" or "OCCL" means the agency within the Department authorized under 14 Del.C. §§ 3001A- 3005 A to promulgate and enforce regulations for child care, to license child care facilities, and to develop and implement policies and procedures.
"Parent" or "Guardian" means a birth or adoptive parent, legal guardian, or other person having responsibility for, or legal custody of, a child.
"Preschool-age child" means a child age three through five not yet attending kindergarten or a higher grade. If a child is older than age five and not attending kindergarten or a higher grade, OCCL considers that child in the preschool-age group.
"Private home" means a non-public residence, such as a house, duplex, townhouse, apartment, or mobile home, where a licensee lives and has control over the furnishings and use of space.
"Probation" means an enforcement action initiated by OCCL due to the home being cited for serious non-compliance with these regulations.
"Provisional license" means a license issued for a time-limited period of when a licensee has not achieved regulatory compliance and there is no serious risk to the health, safety, or well-being of children.
"Regulation" means the minimum standard established by OCCL that is required for a particular aspect of child care.
"Revocation" means the process of rescinding a license during the license's effective dates withdrawing permission to operate.
"School-age child" means a child who attends or has attended kindergarten or a higher grade out of the home.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of Education.
"Section 504 Plan" means a document describing accommodations provided to a child with a disability to ensure full participation at the home.
"Serious injury" means any impact or injury to a child's face or head, or any physical injury that creates a substantial risk of death or causes serious and prolonged disfigurement, prolonged impairment of health, or prolonged loss or impairment of the function of a body part.
"Serious non-compliance" means an action or actions that violate the terms of a license and presents a significant risk to children. Serious non-compliance includes, but is not limited to the following: child abuse or neglect, excessive non-compliance, failing to admit authorized people into the facility, failing to cooperate with an investigation, failing to disclose household members, failing to report abuse or neglect, improper discipline, improper release of children, improper staff-to-child ratios, inappropriate adult behavior, lack of supervision, medication errors, having no administrator or curriculum coordinator, being over-capacity, participating in fraud or making false statements, safe sleep violations, being sanctioned by another agency, providing transportation in an unsafe manner, being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, leaving unqualified staff alone with children, failing to complete comprehensive background checks as required, having an unsafe home or environment, violating an agreement of understanding, or refusing to sign an agreement of understanding.
"Staff member" means a licensee, a family provider, a large family provider, a large family assistant, a large family aide, or a substitute. Although substitutes are considered staff members, a licensee is not required to provide a complete staff file for a substitute in a large family home.
"Substitute" means an adult staff member selected by a licensee to provide child care in a family or large family home. The substitute may provide care when a licensee, large family provider, large family assistant, or large family aide is not present due to an emergency or non-emergency situation. The substitute may be present when a licensee or staff member is present but a licensee wants another person to help provide care. OCCL must approve substitutes.
"Supervision" or "direct supervision" (of children or staff members) means a licensee or staff member is physically present in the same room or area, including outside, with children or staff. Supervision of children includes providing watchful oversight and timely attention to children's actions and needs.
"Suspension order" means a notice issued by OCCL directing a licensee to stop providing child care as of a specific date. While the license is suspended, a licensee may not provide child care.
"Toddler" means a child at least 12 months old and less than 36 months old.
"Training" means an organized professional development activity that is accepted by OCCL as designed to develop or enhance the staff member's skills in providing care to children.
"Variance" means OCCL's approval for a licensee to meet the intent of a specific licensing regulation in a way that is different from the way the regulation specifies. OCCL will only give this approval when the change will not endanger the health, safety, or well-being of children in care.
"Youth volunteer" means a person at least 13 years old who provides an unpaid service or support to a family or large family home. OCCL must approve youth volunteers before they begin volunteering.
"Warning of probation" means an enforcement action initiated by OCCL because the home was cited for serious non-compliance.
14 Del. Admin. Code § 934-I-3.0
25 DE Reg. 1017 (5/1/2022)
26 DE Reg. 103 (8/1/2022) (Final)