Existing law, the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of day care centers by the State Department of Social Services (Department). Existing regulation generally requires child day care facilities that are licensed by the State Department of Social Services to require proof of each child’s immunizations, including tuberculosis testing, and to maintain files of this proof on the premises. Existing law exempts from these requirements any child day care center that exclusively offers a program of services for which there is no contract or agreement between the parent and the center for the regular care of the child, and there is no prearranged schedule of care for any child. Existing law requires parents using these exempt child day care centers to sign a form acknowledging that they understand the center is not required to verify immunizations and tuberculosis testing for any children accepted for care. Existing law makes a willful or repeated violation of the act a crime.
Assembly Bill 772 (AB 772) adds the requirement that child day care facilities subject to the above exemption—which it terms “drop-in childcare centers”—must obtain a written health assessment completed by the child’s authorized representative if the typical medical assessment required by Department regulations is not available for the child. This means that if the child’s representative cannot provide proof of the child’s immunizations, including tuberculosis testing, then the childcare center must obtain a written health assessment from the child’s representative. The written health assessment must include the same information and be maintained in the same manner as the medical assessment required by Department regulations. The distinction is that a drop-in childcare center need not require physician approval of the health assessment completed by the child’s authorized representative.
(AB 772 adds section 1596.7916 to the Health and Safety Code.)