I just found out so I figured there were other FCC in CA that hadn't heard.
The CA Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division has launched an on-line database search that is going through a "soft opening" phase. Parents can go online and search a facility file to look at visit and non-compliance information. They haven't announced it yet because they want input about it first.
I personally don't think it's a bad thing and do think that we are behind in the game on this part because there are many other states that do this already. I have been playing around with the site and looking up other providers (and let me tell you I have definitely seen some
) so test the functionality of it.
So far I have my opinions about certain things and how they work but I'll save that for later. I just wanted to Post the email I got and get other CA providers opinions and ideas for improvement on it. I'm planning on writing an email to the CA DSS about it but want to get different opinions before I do that. Thanks for looking.
Here is the email ...
Originally Posted by :
Sharon Coleman
President, California Association for Family Child Care
www.cafcc.org
The Professional Provider Resource Guide
www.sharoncolemanassociates.com
Owner, Director
Loving Care for Kids FCC & Preschool
www.lovingcareforkids.com
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Licensing Posts Violations on their Website
Licensing started putting providers’ public records on their website. They called this a soft launch because it isn’t intended for public use yet. Licensing asked agencies to give them feedback before they make it fully public. For small licensed family child care homes, the exact name that’s on the license is needed to access the record, so it makes it more difficult.
The Department of Social Services has been under a lot of public pressure to post citations for licensed facilities. The federal government is also requiring states to make licensing violations publicly accessible. So this is here to stay.
Link to facility search: https://secure.dss.ca.gov/CareFacilitySearch/
What we can do:- Check the site to see if it has correct information on our family child care home. If not, contact licensing right away.
- Give our feedback to Licensing. Email: cclwebmaster@dss.ca.gov. cc: fccasf@gmail.com
- 3. Contact legislators on AB 2621 (Garcia & Olsen). More information will follow when we know which legislators to contact.
- 4. Make sure that our family child care homes are in total compliance so we won’t get any Type A violations from now on.
Problems with the way records appear on the website:
a. The number of complaints is listed. Licensing investigates complaints and comes to a determination. It is not appropriate to show the number of complaints.
b. Addresses and maps should not be listed. At a minimum, providers should be able to “opt out” and not have their address and street map shown.
c. Violations, once corrected, should come off the site after 2 years.
d. There should be a process for correcting errors immediately.
See below for the great feedback Nancy Wyatt submitted to Licensing.
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Governor Signs State Budget
Let’s just say that it’s not as bad as it could have been for family child care providers:
· Most new funding for additional slots are in the state child development centers. There’s nothing specific for infants & toddlers.
· The Regional Market Rate Reimbursements will be adjusted effective January 1, 2015. Overall, it should be about a 9% increase statewide, but it depends on how the state chooses to work the numbers. There’s only $20M for rate increases and will go in effect in January 2015.
· Licensing annual fees will increase by 10% but the awful proposed citation increases will not happen this year. We can claim victory for stopping them for this year. Let’s stay connected because it will come up again next year.
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Legislative Bills Update
SB 837 (Steinberg) - Transitional Kindergarten)
This bill was going to require school districts to offer all 4 year olds one year of Pre-Kindergarten. In response to loud protests from the field, Steinberg’s office assured us that the senator was not moving forward with the bill. However, the senator managed to include more money in the governors’ budget for 4 yr-olds in the state funded child development programs.
SB 1123 (Liu) – This bill was changed to focus on quality and parent involvement:
“The Superintendent shall develop standards, rules, and regulations for the implementation of high-quality, evidenced-based infant-toddler services, based on, but not limited to, the federal Early Head Start model”
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Family Child Care Feedback Facility Search Web Site: New Features June 2014
Respectfully submitted June 23, 2014, by Nancy Wyatt, CalKids Moderator
The following comments and concerns were gathered in just a few days from providers who are members of the California family child care e-group called “CalKids.” Members recently discovered the new facility search website pages. We appreciate Licensing’s invitation to offer feedback. It is so important that the state recognizes that providers are important stakeholders, without whose input, no system for public posting of providers’ information should be fully implemented. Since providers’ feedback is being requested now, we are counting on the state to still have the capacity to make changes and respond to providers ‘input. We will start with the two features that received the most attention and then make a few additional points.
Posting the Providers’ Addresses and the Showing of Google Maps
This address/map feature seems to have elicited the most concerns. Large capacity family child care home providers wanted the state to understand that they, too, work out of their private homes. When they have fewer children in care, they work alone. Several were greatly concerned that public address listings with maps could endanger the children in their care. Unwanted visitors are a potential endangerment because they might hurt the children or rob the providers. Many providers prefer to choose who may have their address information and they prefer to schedule appointments with potential clients at the safest possible times for the children and themselves. When people must call them to obtain information and schedule appointments they believe that they are better able to protect the children.
Other providers might not object to the public posting of their addresses and might see this as a marketing advantage. The public posting should be an option that the provider may choose or not choose. Any good programmer can easily place a condition on the display of information in the address and map fields. A message such as, “Please call the provider for address information,” could replace the address lines and map when the provider has chosen this option when an address option field is filled with “yes or no” data.
Posting Inconclusive Complaints
Some of the providers and advocates expressed concerns about the posting of complaint information that could be misleading to parents, damage their reputations, and threaten their businesses and children’s access to the benefits of family child care homes. These providers believe that complaints that cannot be substantiated are all too often submitted maliciously by parents who owe money, disgruntled employees, competing providers, or neighbors that do not like children. When the provider cannot prove that a malicious or erroneous complaint is not substantiated, a judgment of “inconclusive” goes in the provider’s file and is now posted on the public website. Posting complaints that are not substantiated is an injustice and better policies promoting due process need to be developed and implemented so that the children and their caregivers are not mistreated.
A Few Additional Points:
The Numbers for Complaints/Citations: Dividing and relisting the number of complaints and or citations under various tabs presents an opportunity for confusion. People are too likely to think that these are additional times rather than realizing that they are subdivisions of the total number.
Years of Operation: We were glad to see that you are working on this information during the next few weeks. When the provider has been licensed for many years or at more than one location, the parents should have this information and licensed dates should reflect the true number of years as a licensed provider.
Corrections: We must have a way to correct errors quickly.