Transcript

Parents and Families

Parent Rights in Child Care

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

[music]

[In a montage of scenes, dads, moms, and grandparents spend time with their children at childcare programs.]

Child:
Washie?

Father:
Wash?

Child:
Wash.

Mother:
Hey, let’s get your aids on. Good job. Yeah, let’s get your hearing aids in.

Grandfather:
Dump trucks bring in gravel for the roadbed, and the cement mixer pours cement down its chutes to make the gutters on the side of the road.

Child:
Guess what this is.

Series Host off-screen:
As a parent or guardian of a child enrolled in a licensed childcare facility, you have a number of important rights you need to know and exercise when needed. [Host onscreen.] Your childcare provider is required to give you a written copy of these rights, —

[Posters of the rights briefly appear.]

— and display a publication that explains these rights at the childcare facility.

[Two licensing representatives speak.]

Community Care Licensing Representative 1:
Parents rights are ultimately for the benefit and protection of each child.

Community Care Licensing Representative 2:
For example, these rights state that you have access to the childcare facility during operating hours, and that only people you have authorized can pick up or drop off your child from the facility.

CCL Rep 1:
You can find the full list of rights in a document entitled Notification of Parents Rights, posted on the Community Care Licensing website.

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

What are my rights that pertain to entering my child’s care facility? You have the right to visit and enter the facility at any time during normal operating hours.

[Fathers drop their children off at a family child care home, and the provider walks out to greet them.]

Child Care Provider:
Good morning.

Series Host onscreen:
You may be asked by the provider or staff to show proof of identity before entering the facility. While there, you have the right to inspect the facility to confirm that it’s safe and comfortable for your child.

What are my rights that pertain to reviewing a facility’s public records?
You have the right to review your child’s records at the facility. You may not, however, review the files of any other children in care. You have the right to review, at the childcare facility, reports of licensing visits and substantiated complaints against the licensee made during the last 3 years. You also have the right to request the identity of anyone with a criminal record exemption who works or lives at the facility. You can also visit the Community Care Licensing transparency website for information on your child’s facility.

[Pages from the website briefly appear.]

In order to review the facility’s complete public file, you can make an appointment at the local childcare licensing office.

What can I do to restrict my child’s other parent’s access to the child care facility?
You may request in writing that a parent not be allowed to visit your child or take your child from care as long as you have shown your provider a certified copy of a court order preventing that person from doing so.

What rights do I have when I need someone else to pick up my child from a childcare facility?
When you enroll your child in a childcare facility, you provide a list of adults who are allowed to pick up your child when needed. Childcare providers must allow any adult on this list to pick up and transport your child. Your provider is not permitted to allow your child to leave with anyone not on your list.

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

In the event that an adult not on the authorized list needs to pick up your child, you may take the following steps.

Contact the provider in advance of the pickup.
Identify who will be arriving to take your child.
And confirm that they have your permission to do so.
Ensure that the person picking up your child has their ID to show the provider or staff upon pickup.

That’s why it’s important for you to keep up to date the list of people who can take your child from the facility.

What can I do if I believe a childcare provider has denied or violated any of my rights?
You have the right to file a formal complaint with licensing about the issue or event by calling the complaint hotline at 1-844-538-8766. That’s 1-844-LET-US-NO. Additional information about where and how to file a complaint is covered in the video How to File a Complaint with Community Care Licensing. [The corresponding webpage briefly appears.] You can also get this information from the regional licensing office. If you make a formal complaint, you have the right to remain anonymous, and your name will be kept confidential by licensing.

Key Points:
As the parent or guardian of a child enrolled in a licensed childcare facility, you have certain rights. They include the following. You can enter and inspect the facility at any time during normal operating hours. You can review the facility’s public records and files. With a court order, you can instruct the childcare provider to deny a parent’s access to your child at the facility. You have the right to know the identity of anyone at the facility with a criminal record exemption. You have the right to file a complaint and remain anonymous. And your childcare provider is required to give you a printed copy of your rights.

[Posters of the rights briefly appear. A mom and dad say goodbye to their son at a childcare program.]

Mother:
We’re going to go bye bye.

Father:
Okay, we go to work. Okay, bye bye.

Teacher:
You’re ready to go play. Yeah, I think so.