1. a. A person who operates or establishes a family child care home may apply to the department for registration under this chapter. The department shall issue a certificate of registration upon receipt of a statement from the family child care home that the home complies with rules adopted by the department. The registration certificate shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the family child care home, shall state the name of the registrant, the number of individuals who may be received for care at any one time, and the address of the home, and shall include a check list of registration compliances.
b. No greater number of children than is authorized by the registration certificate shall be kept in the family child care home at any one time. However, a registered or unregistered family child care home may provide care for more than six but less than twelve children at any one time for a period of less than two hours, provided that each child in excess of six children is attending school in kindergarten or a higher grade level.
c. A family child care home may provide care in accordance with this subsection for more than six but less than twelve children for two hours or more during a day with inclement weather following the cancellation of school classes. The home must have prior written approval from the parent or guardian of each child present in the home concerning the presence of excess children in the home pursuant to this paragraph. The home must have a responsible individual, age fourteen or older, on duty to assist the home provider when more than six children are present in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph. In addition, one or more of the following conditions shall apply to each child present in the home in excess of six children:
(1) The home provides care to the child on a regular basis for periods of less than two hours.
(2) If the child was not present in the family child care home, the child would be unattended.
(3) The home regularly provides care to a sibling of the child.
d. In determining the number of children cared for at any one time in a registered or unregistered family child care home, if the person who operates or establishes the home is a child's parent, guardian, or custodian and the child is not attending school in kindergarten or a higher grade level or is not receiving child care full-time on a regular basis from another person, the child shall be considered to be receiving child care from the person and shall be counted as one of the children cared for in the home.
e. The registration process may be repeated on an annual basis.
f. A child care home provider or program which is not a family child care home by reason of the definition of child care in section 237A.1, but which provides care, supervision, or guidance to a child may be issued a certificate of registration under this chapter.
2. a. A person shall not operate or establish a group child care home unless the person obtains a certificate of registration under this chapter. Two persons who comply with the individual requirements for registration as a group child care provider may request that the certificate be issued to the two persons jointly and the department shall issue the joint certificate provided the group child care home requirements for registration are met. All other requirements of this chapter for registered family child care homes and the rules adopted under this chapter for registered family child care homes apply to group child care homes. In addition, the department shall adopt rules relating to the provision in group child care homes for a separate area for sick children. In consultation with the state fire marshal, the department shall adopt rules relating to the provision of fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and two exits accessible to children.
b. Except as provided in subsection 3, a group child care home shall not provide child care to more than eleven children at any one time. If there are more than six children present for a period of two hours or more, the group child care home must have at least one responsible individual who is at least fourteen years of age present to assist the group child care provider in accordance with either of the following conditions:
(1) If the responsible individual is a joint holder of the certificate of registration, not more than four of the children present shall be infants. The total number of children present at any one time who are younger than school age, including infants, shall not exceed eleven.
(2) If the responsible individual is not a joint holder of the certificate of registration, but is at least fourteen years of age, not more than four of the children shall be infants and each child in excess of six children shall be of school age.
3. A registered group child care home may provide care in accordance with this subsection for more than eleven but less than sixteen children for a period of less than two hours or for a period of two hours or more during a day with inclement weather following the cancellation of school classes. The home must have the prior written approval from the parent or guardian of each child present in the home concerning the presence of excess children in the home. In addition, one or more of the following conditions shall apply to each child present in the home in excess of eleven children during a period of inclement weather:
a. The group child care home provides care to the child on a regular basis for periods of less than two hours.
b. If the child was not present in the group child care home, the child would be unattended.
c. The group child care home provides care to a sibling of the child.
4. A person who operates or establishes a child care home and who is a child foster care licensee under chapter 237 shall register with the department under this chapter. For purposes of registration and determination of the maximum number of children who can be provided child care by the child care home, the children receiving child foster care shall be considered the children of the person operating the child care home.
5. If the department has denied or revoked a registration because the applicant or person has continually or repeatedly failed to operate a registered child care facility in compliance with this chapter and rules adopted pursuant to this chapter, the person shall not own or operate a registered facility for a period of six months from the date the registration is denied or revoked. The department shall not act on an application for registration submitted by the applicant or person during the six-month period.
[C75, 77, 79, 81, § 237A.3; 82 Acts, ch 1016, § 3, ch 1213, § 4]
90 Acts, ch 1005, § 5; 91 Acts, ch 151, § 2; 91 Acts, ch 232, § 13; 91 Acts, ch 267, § 142; 92 Acts, ch 1163, § 55; 93 Acts, ch 76, §10, 11; 94 Acts, ch 1129, §2, 3; 97 Acts, ch 151, §2; 99 Acts, ch 192, §3; 2001 Acts, ch 135, §3
Referred to in § 237A.1, 237A.3A, 237A.19, 237A.20
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