(a) No person, group of persons, association, organization, corporation, institution or agency, public or private, shall maintain a child care center or group child care home without a license issued in accordance with sections 19a-77 to 19a-80, inclusive, and 19a-82 to 19a-87a, inclusive. Applications for such license shall be made to the Commissioner of Early Childhood on forms provided by the commissioner and shall contain the information required by regulations adopted under said sections. The forms shall contain a notice that false statements made therein are punishable in accordance with section 53a-157b.

(b) (1) Upon receipt of an application for a license, the commissioner shall issue such license if, upon inspection and investigation, said commissioner finds that the applicant, the facilities and the program meet the health, educational and social needs of children likely to attend the child care center or group child care home and comply with requirements established by regulations adopted under this section and sections 19a-77 to 19a-79a, inclusive, and sections 19a-82 to 19a-87a, inclusive. The commissioner shall offer an expedited application review process for an application submitted by a municipal agency or department. A currently licensed person or entity, as described in subsection (a) of this section, seeking a change of operator, ownership or location shall file a new license application, except such person or entity may request the commissioner to waive the requirement that a new license application be filed if such person or entity submits such request prior to the change of operator, ownership or location. The commissioner may grant or deny such request. Each license shall be for a term of four years, shall be nontransferable, and may be renewed upon receipt by the commissioner of a renewal application and accompanying licensure fee. The commissioner may suspend or revoke such license after notice and an opportunity for a hearing as provided in section 19a-84 for violation of the regulations adopted under this section and sections 19a-77 to 19a-79a, inclusive, and sections 19a-82 to 19a-87a, inclusive. In the case of an application for renewal of a license that has expired, the commissioner may renew such expired license within thirty days of the date of such expiration upon receipt of a renewal application and accompanying licensure fee.

(2) The commissioner shall collect from the licensee of a child care center a fee of five hundred dollars prior to issuing or renewing a license for a term of four years. The commissioner shall collect from the licensee of a group child care home a fee of two hundred fifty dollars prior to issuing or renewing a license for a term of four years. The commissioner shall require only one license for a child care center operated in two or more buildings, provided the same licensee provides child care services in each building and the buildings are joined together by a contiguous playground that is part of the licensed space.

(3) The commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, shall make an unannounced visit, inspection or investigation of each licensed child care center and group child care home at least once each year. At least once every two years, the local health director, or the local health director’s designee, shall make an inspection of each licensed child care center and group child care home.

(c) The commissioner, within available appropriations, shall require each prospective employee of a child care center or group child care home in a position requiring the provision of care to a child to submit to comprehensive background checks, including state and national criminal history records checks. The criminal history records checks required pursuant to this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with section 29-17a. The commissioner shall also request a check of the state child abuse registry established pursuant to section 17a-101k. The Department of Social Services may agree to transfer funds appropriated for criminal history records checks to the Office of Early Childhood. The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall notify each licensee of the provisions of this subsection. No such prospective employee shall have unsupervised access to children in the child care center or group child care home until such comprehensive background check is completed and the Commissioner of Early Childhood permits such prospective employee to work in such child care center or group child care home.

(d) The commissioner shall inform each licensee, by way of a plain language summary provided not later than sixty days after the regulation’s effective date, of new or changed regulations adopted under sections 19a-77 to 19a-80, inclusive, or sections 19a-82 to 19a-87a, inclusive, with which a licensee must comply.

(1967, P.A. 696, S. 2, 3; P.A. 77-157, S. 4, 11; 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 82-256, S. 2; P.A. 85-613, S. 42, 154; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 7, 117; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; 95-360, S. 9, 32; P.A. 97-259, S. 33, 41; P.A. 98-250, S. 14, 39; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2, S. 69; P.A. 01-175, S. 15, 32; P.A. 03-243, S. 11; P.A. 05-207, S. 9; P.A. 07-22, S. 1; 07-129, S. 2; P.A. 09-232, S. 104; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 168; P.A. 10-117, S. 30; P.A. 11-97, S. 1; 11-242, S. 16; P.A. 14-39, S. 50; P.A. 15-143, S. 5; 15-227, S. 21, 25; P.A. 16-100, S. 1; 16-163, S. 35; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 174.)

History: P.A. 77-157 added references to group day care homes; P.A. 77-614 replaced commissioner of health with commissioner of health services, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 82-256 required that application forms contain a notice that false statements are punishable in accordance with Sec. 53a-157 and increased the license fee for day care centers from $25 to $100 and the fee for group day care homes from $25 to $50; Sec. 19-43e transferred to Sec. 19a-80 in 1983; P.A. 85-613 made technical changes; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 amended Subsec. (b) to raise fee for day care center two-year term license or renewal from $100 to $200, six-month license or renewal from $15 to $50, and for group day care home two-year term license or renewal from $50 to $100 and a six-month license or renewal from $15 to $30; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-360 allowed license revocation or suspension after “an opportunity for” a hearing rather than requiring a hearing and substituted Sec. 19a-82 for Sec. 19a-81, effective July 13, 1995; P.A. 97-259 added Subsec. (c) re criminal records checks and state child abuse registry checks, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-250 added new Subsec. (d) re plain language summary, effective July 1, 1998; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2 amended Subsec. (c) by changing “criminal records check” and “criminal history records check” to “fingerprint criminal records check” and “fingerprint criminal history records check”; P.A. 01-175 amended Subsec. (c) by replacing language re fingerprint criminal records checks as a permissive request with language re mandatory state and national criminal history records checks pursuant to Sec. 29-17a, deleted language re fee and made technical changes, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 03-243 added “for perpetrator information” in Subsec. (c); P.A. 05-207 amended Subsec. (c) to delete requirement that commissioner check state child abuse registry for perpetrator information; P.A. 07-22 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) and (b) and added provision in Subsec. (b) specifying licensing requirements for child day care centers operated by the same licensee in 2 or more buildings joined together by a contiguous playground, effective May 9, 2007; P.A. 07-129 amended Subsec. (b) by adding Subdiv. designators (1) to (3), disallowing issuance of temporary licenses, extending license term from 2 to 4 years on and after October 1, 2008, increasing licensing fee from $200 to $400 on and after October 1, 2008, and making technical changes; P.A. 09-232 amended Subsec. (b)(1) by adding provision requiring commissioner to offer expedited review process for application submitted by municipal agency or department, effective July 8, 2009; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (b)(3) to increase license fees; P.A. 10-117 amended Subsec. (b)(1) by substituting “nontransferable” for “transferable” re licenses, effective June 8, 2010; P.A. 11-97 amended Subsecs. (a), (b) and (d) by substituting “19a-87a” for “19a-87”, amended Subsec. (b)(1) by adding provision re commissioner’s discretion to determine whether change of operator, ownership or location requires filing of a new license application by license holder and by making technical changes, deleted former Subsec. (b)(2) re license fees prior to October 1, 2008, redesignated existing Subsec. (b)(3) as Subsec. (b)(2) and made technical changes in same; P.A. 11-242 amended Subsec. (b)(1) by adding provision re renewal of license upon receipt of renewal application and accompanying license fee and by making technical changes, deleted former Subsec. (b)(2) re license fees prior to October 1, 2008, redesignated existing Subsec. (b)(3) as Subsec. (b)(2) and amended same by replacing “for each license issued or renewed” with “prior to issuing or renewing a license” and making technical changes; P.A. 14-39 replaced references to Commissioner and Department of Public Health with references to Commissioner and Office of Early Childhood and amended Subsec. (b) by adding Subdiv. (3) re unannounced visit, inspection or investigation, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 15-143 amended Subsec. (c) by deleting reference to Sec. 10-16s and replacing “commissioner” with “Commissioner of Early Childhood”, effective June 30, 2015; P.A. 15-227 amended Subsec. (b)(1) by replacing “child day care center” with “child care center” and “group day care home” with “group child care home”, adding provision re renewal of expired license, and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2015; pursuant to P.A. 15-227, “child day care center”, “group day care home” and “child day care services” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “child care center”, “group child care home” and “child care services”, respectively, in Subsecs. (a), (b)(2) and (3), and (c), effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 16-100 amended Subsec. (b)(1) by adding provision re currently licensed person or entity seeking change of operator, ownership or location to file new license application and making a conforming change; P.A. 16-163 amended Subsec. (b)(2) by replacing “day care center” with “child care center”, effective June 9, 2016; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 amended Subsec. (c) by adding “comprehensive background checks, including” and adding provision re prospective employee not to have unsupervised access to children until comprehensive background check is completed and commissioner permits prospective employee to work, effective October 31, 2017.