BILL NUMBER: SB 265 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 18
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MARCH 20, 1996
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR MARCH 20, 1996
PASSED THE SENATE MARCH 14, 1996
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MARCH 11, 1996
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 26, 1996
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 20, 1995
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 2, 1995
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 1995
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 17, 1995
INTRODUCED BY Senators O'Connell and Leslie
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Bordonaro)
FEBRUARY 8, 1995
An act to amend Section 1596.78 of, to add Sections 1596.775,
1597.43, and 1597.465 to, and to repeal and add Section 1597.44 of,
the Health and Safety Code, relating to day care.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 265, O'Connell. Family day care homes.
Existing law provides for the licensure of family day care homes,
and defines, in part, a large family day care home as providing day
care for 7 to 12 children, and a small family day care home as
providing day care for 6 or fewer children.
This bill would revise the definition of family day care homes to
allow a large family day care home to care for no more than 14
children and a small family day care home to care for no more than 8
children, provided that certain prescribed conditions are met in the
case of small homes providing care for more than 6, and large homes
providing care for more than 12, children. The bill would make
conforming, technical changes.
Existing law prohibits small family day care homes from providing
care for 6 or fewer infants at one time unless certain conditions are
met.
This bill would repeal those provisions and would repeal certain
obsolete provisions relating to a related San Diego County Pilot
project.
Existing law provides that the willful or repeated violation of
the provisions regulating child day care facilities is subject to
criminal sanction.
By changing the definition of a family day care home to increase
the number of children authorized to be cared for, this bill would
expand the class of facilities subject to the standards for family
day care homes thereby changing the definition of a crime and
imposing a state-mandated local program.
This bill would state legislative findings that the uses of a
congregate care facility, as defined, are distinguishable from the
uses of a family day care home, and that the Legislature does not
intend for the expansion that this bill would authorize for family
day care homes to apply to congregate care facilities.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1596.775 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, immediately following Section 1596.771, to read:
1596.775. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) There is a severe shortage of child care for schoolage
children throughout California, with many schoolage children going
home to an empty, unsupervised setting after school.
(b) For nearly five years several counties have participated in a
pilot program that allows for a family day care home to care for two
additional children above the current number allowed pursuant to
licensing regulations.
(c) As part of the pilot program, a study was conducted by the
Assembly Office of Research. The results of the study demonstrated
that the pilot program achieved all of the following results:
(1) Increased access to care for schoolage children.
(2) Participating providers encountered few problems and strongly
support expansion of the program.
(3) Parents of children in the pilot program family day care homes
strongly support the program.
(4) Participating providers with additional children were no more
likely to receive substantiated complaints from licensing officials
than nonparticipants.
(5) Local governments and planning officials saw little or no
impact on their licensing policies and procedures.
(6) Overall quality of care was not adversely affected.
SEC. 2. Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
1596.78. (a) "Family day care home" means a home that regularly
provides care, protection, and supervision for 14 or fewer children,
in the provider's own home, for periods of less than 24 hours per
day, while the parents or guardians are away, and is either a large
family day care home or a small family day care home.
(b) "Large family day care home" means a home that provides family
day care for 7 to 14 children, inclusive, including children under
the age of 10 years who reside at the home, as set forth in Section
1597.465 and as defined in regulations.
(c) "Small family day care home" means a home that provides family
day care for eight or fewer children, including children under the
age of 10 years who reside at the home, as set forth in Section
1597.44 and as defined in regulations.
SEC. 3. Section 1597.44 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
SEC. 3.5. Section 1597.43 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
1597.43. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Family day care homes operated under the standards of state
law constitute accessory uses of residentially zoned and occupied
properties and do not fundamentally alter the nature of the
underlying residential uses. Family day care homes draw clients and
vehicles to their sites during a limited time of day and do not
require the attendance of a large number of employees and equipment.
(b) The uses of congregate care facilities are distinguishable
from the uses of family day care homes operated under the standards
of state law. For purposes of this section, a "congregate care
facility" means a "residential facility," as defined in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a) of Section 1502. Congregate care facilities are
used throughout the day and night, and the institutional uses of
these facilities are primary uses of the facilities, not accessory
uses, and draw a large number of employees, vehicles, and equipment
compared to that drawn to family day care homes.
(c) The expansion permitted for family day care homes by Sections
1597.44 and 1597.465 is not appropriate with respect to congregate
care facilities, or any other facilities with quasi-institutional
uses. Therefore, with these provisions, the Legislature does not
intend to alter the legal standards governing congregate care
facilities and these provisions are not intended to encourage, or be
a precedent for, changes in statutory and case law governing
congregate care facilities.
SEC. 3.7. Section 1597.44 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
1597.44. A small family day care home may provide care for more
than six and up to eight children, without an additional adult
attendant, if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) At least two of the children are at least six years of age.
(b) No more than two infants are cared for during any time when
more than six children are cared for.
(c) The licensee notifies each parent that the facility is caring
for two additional schoolage children and that there may be up to
seven or eight children in the home at one time.
(d) The licensee obtains the written consent of the property owner
when the family day care home is operated on property that is leased
or rented.
SEC. 4. Section 1597.465 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
immediately following Section 1597.46, to read:
1597.465. A large family day care home may provide care for more
than 12 children and up to and including 14 children, if all of the
following conditions are met:
(a) At least two of the children are at least six years of age.
(b) No more than three infants are cared for during any time when
more than 12 children are being cared for.
(c) The licensee notifies a parent that the facility is caring for
two additional schoolage children and that there may be up to 13 or
14 children in the home at one time.
(d) The licensee obtains the written consent of the property owner
when the family day care home is operated on property that is leased
or rented.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless
otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become
operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the
California Constitution.