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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Can My Wife Get Licensed If I Am A Felon In CA?
JMason 06:49 PM 02-08-2013
My wife and mother of our 3 children ages 4yr-1yr wants to run an in-home daycare. She has no criminal record. I went to prison for 2nd Degree Attempted Murder back in 1996 (I was 19) and paroled in 2005. I have not had any legal issues since. I successfully completed parole and have impecable references from my career in violence prevention/gang intervention work. I am a leading figure in this arena, testify as a gang expert in court, train mental health experts etc. Basically I am the epitome of "rehabilitation". I will not be in the home whatsoever during the hours she is operating childcare since I work. Is she eligible to be licensed? I hate to see her deprived of her dream (it's not merely a "job"-she makes much more money as an employee in the workforce) because she fell in love with an ex-felon. Please direct me to the sources of your information when you respond if at all possible. Thanks!!
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Willow 07:26 PM 02-08-2013
I would assume not. See 102352(c)-(1):

http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/getinfo/pdf/fcc.PDF

Not sure if there could be any sort of exemption made though if you were simply never on the property during operating hours?

Your best bet would be to have her call her county licensing office and ask them directly.
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itlw8 07:27 PM 02-08-2013
The only way you would know for sure is to call someone in licensing in your state and ask. I would guess the answer is yes it could keep her from being licensed but what do I know.

Maybe she do do childcare in a different location than your home.
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Michael 08:54 PM 02-08-2013
Contact info and licensing standards here: https://www.daycare.com/california/
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Starburst 09:43 PM 02-08-2013
According to title 22 she most likely will not be able to have it in your home if you both live there; living there meaning that you spend the night at least 4 nights a week or majority of the month (the state will check- they may ask neighbors or relatives and may even investigate on their own) because all adults over 18 that live in the home are subjected to background tests- even if they promise they wont be there during daycare hours. Maybe if you stayed at a relative or friends house (or rented an appartment) the majority of the week and you can stay home on weekends. Anything that involves another living thing (murder, threaten to harm, battery, sexual assalt, domestic/child/animal abuse or neglect, or even gang related activity) does not easily get exsponged from your record.

I am in CA too and in one of my ECE classes my teacher said that she had a student recently at the time that had to drop out of the ECE program from the school because when she was in high school she had consentual sex with her boyfriend but at the time she was 18 and he was still 17, the bfs parents charged the gf with stagitory rape and she thought it got lifted from her records because she didn't have to file as a registered sex offender; but she got a background check to apply for a job and it was still there so not only can she not work with children but she also cannot be a dr/nurse, a vet, a cop, or do anthing that really has to do with working with people (maybe even animals) directly.

The teacher also said another student had to drop out of the ECE program a while ago too because she got stopped by a cop for running a red light and she would have just gotten a ticket and nothing would have happened but she was talking back to him and swearing him and stuff, it was on her record but she thought it was a misdimenor and got lifted or excused but it wasn't and because of this she also couldn't work in educational or community related jobs.

I don't know the full extent of this or your story but for more information look through Title 22 which has all the california family child care regulations (the last section)
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mamac 10:04 PM 02-08-2013
If you read through the licensing requirements under the criminal records section she may be able to obtain an exemption. I know here in my state a personal conviction or that of a household member does not automatically disqualify a person from getting licensed. They may give her a discretionary approval based on facts such as rehabilitation, likelihood of recurrence, remorse, etc.

Just make sure she is totally up front and honest about everything from the start.
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JMason 11:05 PM 02-08-2013
OK, I read through the relevant parts of 22 and under no circumstances can my wife get a license as long as I am a resident. There is no possible exemption for those convicted under the 187 penal code, which I was. Ever. So...realistically I am not going to move out-my wife and kids are important to me. I have a relative who lives a few blocks away. Hypothetically, if I got my name taken off of our lease and committed to staying over there 4 nights a week I would not need to do any paperwork right, since I am not a resident? Would I really have people parking on my street to see how many nights I was coming over just because there is a marriage certificate on file and no separation paperwork? Also, I believe it was a synopsis of 22 which stated that there is only a pre-license inspection and a random one every 5 yrs + 10% are searched annually by lottery and within 10 days of complaints. It said searches were during business hours, while kids were present and only of areas in which childcare related activities took place. If this is true I could still keep much of my stuff in our bedroom w/ a key lock door and it be unnoticeable, right? I honestly am not here during her business hours-I work a lot-so I am honoring the spirit of the law but want my wife to have her business for the tax benefits, insurance coverage and to remain competitive in an era where there are licensed chill cares on every corner. She charges $35 a day for up to 10 hrs and does crafts, field trips to zoo/park/etc., age appropriate learning, password protected webcam monitoring etc but she has lost a couple people because she doesn't have that piece of paper. I hate that a mistake of mine from 16 yrs ago-before we ever met-is negatively impacting her. Forgive my rambling and feel free to message me if you rather not public ally comment but have insight. Am I really going to have people parked on my street counting how many times I come over at night? I'd imagine the caseloads are a little too big. Parents n kids never see me either
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Blackcat31 06:04 AM 02-09-2013
I understand your frustrations but I honestly would not suggest trying to work around the system.

I wouldnt count on the fact that licensing visits and inspections are few and far between. To me that seems very dishonest and could have some really harsh consequences.

According to you, you have worked really hard to be an upstanding contributing member of society since your mistake and I just can understand why you would want to risk that.

As for your wife, it could prove to be difficult for her to deal with as well if parents were to complain, report her to licensing for something else etc etc.... if you were just "saying" you were sleeing somewhere else when in fact you aren't. That could cause your wife to have citations against her and although I am not sure of the exact content of CA law, I would assume she could possibly risk losing her license and never being able to attain one again.

If your wife really wants to have a child care and it is her life's dream, you both should look at some other options. Perhaps she could purchase or rent a commercial building and open a small family-like child care center or she could partner with someone else and run a child care out of that person's home.

I would suggest looking at other options before I would ever support or adivse someone to simply try and skirt around the law.
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Michelle 06:20 AM 02-09-2013
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I understand your frustrations but I honestly would not suggest trying to work around the system.

I wouldnt count on the fact that licensing visits and inspections are few and far between. To me that seems very dishonest and could have some really harsh consequences.

According to you, you have worked really hard to be an upstanding contributing member of society since your mistake and I just can understand why you would want to risk that.

As for your wife, it could prove to be difficult for her to deal with as well if parents were to complain, report her to licensing for something else etc etc.... if you were just "saying" you were sleeing somewhere else when in fact you aren't. That could cause your wife to have citations against her and although I am not sure of the exact content of CA law, I would assume she could possibly risk losing her license and never being able to attain one again.

If your wife really wants to have a child care and it is her life's dream, you both should look at some other options. Perhaps she could purchase or rent a commercial building and open a small family-like child care center or she could partner with someone else and run a child care out of that person's home.

I would suggest looking at other options before I would ever support or adivse someone to simply try and skirt around the law.
I totally agree with this!
Also if she wanted to be on the food program, they come every couple months!
Just do things by the book!
She sounds like a wonderful provider
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Starburst 12:54 PM 02-09-2013
Originally Posted by JMason:
OK, I read through the relevant parts of 22 and under no circumstances can my wife get a license as long as I am a resident. There is no possible exemption for those convicted under the 187 penal code, which I was. Ever. So...realistically I am not going to move out-my wife and kids are important to me. I have a relative who lives a few blocks away. Hypothetically, if I got my name taken off of our lease and committed to staying over there 4 nights a week I would not need to do any paperwork right, since I am not a resident? Would I really have people parking on my street to see how many nights I was coming over just because there is a marriage certificate on file and no separation paperwork? Also, I believe it was a synopsis of 22 which stated that there is only a pre-license inspection and a random one every 5 yrs + 10% are searched annually by lottery and within 10 days of complaints. It said searches were during business hours, while kids were present and only of areas in which childcare related activities took place. If this is true I could still keep much of my stuff in our bedroom w/ a key lock door and it be unnoticeable, right? I honestly am not here during her business hours-I work a lot-so I am honoring the spirit of the law but want my wife to have her business for the tax benefits, insurance coverage and to remain competitive in an era where there are licensed chill cares on every corner. She charges $35 a day for up to 10 hrs and does crafts, field trips to zoo/park/etc., age appropriate learning, password protected webcam monitoring etc but she has lost a couple people because she doesn't have that piece of paper. I hate that a mistake of mine from 16 yrs ago-before we ever met-is negatively impacting her. Forgive my rambling and feel free to message me if you rather not public ally comment but have insight. Am I really going to have people parked on my street counting how many times I come over at night? I'd imagine the caseloads are a little too big. Parents n kids never see me either
For the record, I'm not sure if that is the minimum or if it would work in this case because that "living at the child care home" thing is usually used because the law says that a home daycare has to be in a home that the licensed provider lives in. I heard of one provider that lived in her daycare home only on weekdays because her husband and her bought one house but didn't want to do daycare in it so she rented a house from her sister-in-law (one of her assistants) but they would stay at the home they bought only on weekends because she has to live in the daycare home the majority of the time.

Also, to be honest, this business is alot about professional image of not only the provider but sometimes even their family. If word some how gets out that she is married to someone with a record of a serious offense (and that they live in the home at all) that could ruin her daycare reputation and make it hard for her to find clients and could cause rumors that can lead your family suseptable to state investigations. And again, if you live in the home it doesn't matter if you are there during daycare hours or not; the law says all adult living in the house need a clean record (when it comes to violent or sexual offenses).

One of my old friends from high school, a few years ago, wanted to be with a guy that was a registerd sex offender and wanted to have his baby and everything (she had daddy issues) but she wanted to do family child care and knew that it would never work because the laws are so strict (with good reason) and he would never be able to live in the same home she did daycare at, even if he wasn't there during hours (her mom did daycare when she was growing up so she knows all the rules). Eventually they broke up, not just because of that but also a huge age difference (20 years) and he was very parinoid/insecure/obsessive and tons more.

There are reasons they have these rules and they are for the safety of the children and families, not always the convienince of the provider. Even if you say that you won't be home what if she has a kid that will be dropped off before you go to work? or still be home when you get out of work? and what about if you get days off- will you beable to stay out of the house for 10-12 hours? it kinda seems like you are trying too much to cheat the system but you do not understand the state takes child care VERY seriously. Not only could you get introuble or your wife lose her license but you and your wife could also go to possibly pay a very heavy penalty and even go to jail for child endangerment and she would never be allowed to work with children again. It's one thing when its your own children, but when it comes to the safety of other people's children you have to be more careful. That thing about daycares treating DCKs like there own is technicly false- they have to treat them BETTER then there own kids because they can't slack off at all!

They do annual check ups at least every 5 years but some providers get checked on more regularly (especually when starting out). One provider I worked for once, just had her inspection done less than two months before they came by again- they do not even knock, the lady just walked through the daycare door! Sometimes the come right at opening or closing. Sneaking around the rules and intentionally breaking the law will may make you both look more guilty and like you don't respect the rules. If your city has a lot of daycares, other daycare providers may call and complain so they have less compitetion or because they seriously think that the children are in danger. It doesn't have to be a daycare parent or neighbor, anyone can call and complain and they will do a thurough investigation and if things don't add up they may suspend or revoke her license and make her go to court. Trust me I am a person who prides themselves on looking through loop holes and stuff (in school and stuff) but I would never do that when it comes to daycare laws because they are air tight and the risks of penalties are not worth the very smallest possibilities of the rewards. I know you don't like the fact that your pass is coming back to haunt you; but there are reasons for these laws and it has to do with the best interest of the children- not the provider.

The only other option that is 100% legal in CA would be to buy or rent a home and convert it into a daycare center but this can cost alot of money upfront (rent/morgage, renovations, finding clients) and also she would need alot more credentials (at least a BA in CD/ECE and a directors teaching permit)http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/leaflets/cl797.pdf and she will need to follow not only Title 22 but also Title 5 and will need to hire assistants.
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