Transcript

Family Child Care Providers

Your Rights as a Child Care Licensee

Produced by the Community Care Licensing Division of the California Department of Social Services

[music]

[The series host speaks in a preschool classroom.]

Series Host:
As a licensed childcare provider, you have specific rights in your working relationship with Community Care Licensing. Knowing and exercising your rights will help you build a positive partnership with licensing personnel.

[Three licensing representatives speak.]

Community Care Licensing Representative 1:
Your rights as a licensed childcare provider help define the structure of your relationship with Community Care Licensing, and protect your status as a professional within our community. It is part of our responsibility to know and respect your rights at all times.

Community Care Licensing Representative 2:
These rights also empower you to respond to any situation you feel is unwarranted or handled unprofessionally by your licensing program analyst, also known as an LPA, or by any other licensing staff member, and to find your formal authority to file a complaint or challenge a decision.

Community Care Licensing Representative 3:
That’s why LPAs and other department personnel with whom you deal directly are required to provide you with information about your rights. We also post them on our website, and make them available on request.

CCL Rep 2:
We want you to feel comfortable exercising your rights when you feel there’s just cause.

[The host speaks, and the questions she asks are displayed on a white board.]

What are my rights regarding community care licensing personnel?
In any interaction you may have with your LPA or other licensing staff member, including during visits to your facility, your rights include:

to be treated as a professional, with dignity and respect;
to be advised at the beginning of any visit or communication you receive from licensing staff of the purpose of that visit or communication;
and to receive a complete and accurate report of the evaluator’s findings of observed deficiencies or licensing violations.
All reports will include the LPA’s phone number.

You have the right to be informed at the time of any direct interaction between you and licensing staff of your right to appeal any of the following:

citation decisions,
investigation findings,
civil penalties,
denial of an application,
revocation of a license,
any administrative action being taken,
and any perceived or documented failure of the licensing agency to honor its responsibilities towards licensed childcare facilities.

You also have the right to file a complaint with the LPA’s supervisor. Additionally, you have the right to access all public files maintained by Community Care Licensing that are related to your facility, and to purchase a copy of those files at reasonable cost. Some of your rights specific to inspection visits are covered in the video “Community Care Licensing Inspection Authority.” [The corresponding webpage briefly appears.]

Where can I get written information about my rights as a licensed child care provider?
The licensing website has the most current information regarding your rights.

[Pages from the licensing website appear: www.ccld.ca.org. Licensing forms appear as the host names them.]

There, you can download applicant licensee rights, form LIC 9058, which provides you with a full list of your rights when interacting with licensing staff, especially during on-site evaluations by LPAs. It also provides a description of the appeal process.

What’s the difference between an appeal and a complaint?

[The host speaks as the corresponding content is displayed onscreen.]

An appeal is a formally filed response to a citation or other potentially binding decision affecting a facility that the licensee has reason to believe was unjust or unfounded. In the context of this module, a complaint is a response that a licensee can make about an interaction with a licensing representative. You can find additional information in the video “How to File a Complaint with Community Care Licensing.”

[The corresponding webpage briefly appears.]

How do I file an appeal if needed?
[Host onscreen.] Licensees have a right to file appeals to Community Care Licensing, but there are timeframes you need to be aware of. You can contact your local licensing office or local advocate for more information. If you aren’t satisfied with the outcome, you can process the appeal further within the Community Care Licensing division.

How do I make a complaint if needed?
Complaints can be made by phone, in person, or both to Community Care Licensing division.

Key Points:
Licensing staff members are expected to know and respect the rights of all licensed childcare providers. We also truly want our licensees to know and exercise their rights to file appeals or complaints if needed. Whenever a licensee has a problem with a licensing decision or personnel, there are rights and procedures in place which ensure that problems can be responded to appropriately.