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Inspections

Licensing staff conduct inspections to home, center-based, and licensed facilities to determine if they meet minimum standards and licensing laws. Every licensed facility must be inspected at least once every 12 months, and at a minimum one inspection per year must be unannounced. Other inspections may be announced or unannounced.

Facilities are placed on a monitoring plan when they are issued a non-expiring license or certificate. The monitoring plan sets the intervals for the inspections by licensing representatives. The plan is based on an assessment of the facility or homes compliance history and other pertinent factors.

Every home-based facility must be inspected once every 3 years. At least one inspection every 3 years must be unannounced.

Monitoring plan inspections schedules are as follows:

Plan 1 (more frequent plan) inspections are made:

a. At least every 3 to 5 months for all licensed facilities, and
b. At least every 10 to 12 months for registered homes.

Plan 2 (basic plan) inspections are made:

a. At least every 6 to 9 months for all licensed facilities, and
b. At least every 22 to 24 months for registered homes.

Plan 3 (less frequent plan) inspections are made:

a. At least every 10 to 12 months for all licensed facilities, and
b. At least every 34 to 36 months for all registered homes.

Risk-based criteria is assessed before selecting a monitoring plan. Some of the considerations are as follows:

1. The number and kinds of non-compliances,
2. Whether or not non-compliances are repeated and, if so, why,
3. Whether or not corrections are made within time frames,
4. Type of training staff, registrant, director, or administrator receive,
5. The interaction between caregivers and children and the level of supervision provided,
6. The education and experience level of the director, staff or registrant,
7. The level of communication between the director or registrant and parents, staff, licensing, and
8. For 24 hour care only, treatment and programming for children.

Licensing staff complete a compliance letter or compliance evaluation form when an inspection is conducted. The most recent letter or form is require to be posted  for two months, or made available for you to review.

During the process of monitoring, when a facility fails to correct compliances in a timely manner, action against the facility can result in evaluation, probation, suspension, administrative penalties, or revocation of the license or registration certificate.

 

Last updated: September 08, 2006.