Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

An automatic action occurs when an operation does not:

• pay an annual permit fee; or
• submit a renewal background check in the required time frame.

Automatic actions are not adverse actions. They are also not subject to an administrative review or due process hearing.

If an operation's permit has been automatically revoked, the permit holder may reapply at any time. Automatic actions occur in the following situations.

5810 Automatic Suspensions

Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

An automatic suspension occurs in the following situations.  

Operations Exempt from Paying Annual Permit Fees

An operation exempt from paying the annual fee is not subject to an automatic suspension for failure to pay the fee.

References

Exemptions from Fees, 5211

26 TAC Sections 745.503 and 745.505(a)

Additional Information for Renewal Background Checks

The due date for a renewal background check is:

• based on the type of background check a person is required to have; and
• measured from the date the operation submitted the last background check per the chart below.

Reference 26 TAC Section 745.621.

5811 When to Process an Automatic Suspension

Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

Procedure

Between the first and 10th day of the month, CCR staff enter an automatic suspension in CLASS per 5812 How to Process an Automatic Suspension when a permit has been automatically suspended because:

• the operation did not pay the annual permit fee by the last day of the previous month; or
• the listed family home did not submit the information required for a background check renewal by the due date noted on Form 2740 LH BGC Reminder Letter.

The date entered in the Begin Date field on the Provider Voluntary Suspension Plan page in CLASS cannot be a date in the past.

5812 How to Process an Automatic Suspension

Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

Procedure

To document the automatic suspension in CLASS, CCR staff:

1. update the Operation Main page by:
   1. changing the Operating Status to No;
   2. changing the Effective Date of the permit to reflect the date of the automatic suspension; and
   3. notifying the program administrator or designee to check the Do not display on the public/provider website check box;
2. complete the Provider Voluntary Suspension Plan page available from the Corrective and Adverse Action History page by:
   1. selecting Add Voluntary in the Suspension section;
   2. entering the date the automatic suspension began;
   3. selecting the reason for the automatic suspension; and
   4. describing the plan for the operation to come into compliance, including the date the automatic revocation is effective if the correction plan is not met;
3. draft and save the auto-suspension notification to the provider using one of the following forms on the Provider Voluntary Suspension Plan page:
   1. CLASS Form 2813 Suspension Fee Letter if the automatic suspension is because of failure to pay the annual permit fee;
   2. CLASS Form 2742 Auto-Suspension Letter-BGC (LH Only) if the automatic suspension is because of a listed family home’s failure to submit information required for subsequent background checks; or
   3. CLASS Form 2743 Auto-Suspension Letter-BGC/Fees (LH Only) if the automatic suspension is because of a listed family home’s failure to submit information required for subsequent background checks and failure to pay the annual listing fee; and
4. mail the letter and any required enclosures to the operation.

5813 Conducting Follow Up to Automatic Suspension

Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

If a licensed or registered operation’s permit is automatically suspended, the inspector conducts a follow-up inspection within 15 days of sending notification to the operation that the permit has been automatically suspended. The purpose of the inspection is to verify if the operation has stopped providing care to children.

5813.1 If the Operation is Caring for Children After an Automatic Suspension

Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

Procedure

If the operation is caring for children after the permit has been automatically suspended, the inspector:

• informs the provider that the permit was automatically suspended for:
  • nonpayment of the annual permit fee;
  • failure to submit the information required for a background check by the due date; or
  • both nonpayment of the annual permit fee and failure to submit information required for a background check by the due date;
• explains to the provider that the operation is operating without a valid permit and provides technical assistance for submitting the fee payment or background check information as applicable;
• explains any child care subsidy program funding was stopped because of the automatic suspension if applicable; and
• cites the operation for providing unregulated child care.

5813.2 If the Operation Stopped Providing Care or is No Longer Operating After an Automatic Suspension

Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

If the operation is no longer caring for children in compliance with the automatic suspension letter, the inspector verifies payment of the annual permit fee or submission of required background check information before reinstating the permit.

If the provider informs the inspector the operation has closed, the inspector follows procedure in 5540 Voluntary Closure to close the operation.

5814 Ending an Automatic Suspension

Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

A permit that has been automatically suspended is reinstated before the end of the suspension period once the permit holder has:

• paid the annual fee;
• submitted the required background check information; or
• both paid the annual fee and submitted the required background check information.

Procedure

To reinstate a permit, CCR staff:

1. update the Operation main page in CLASS by:
   1. changing the Operating Status to Yes;
   2. updating the Effective Date to reflect the date the automatic suspension ended; and
   3. notifying the program administrator or designee to uncheck the Do not display on public/provider website box;
2. update the Provider Voluntary Suspension Plan page available from the Corrective and Adverse Action History page in CLASS by:
   1. documenting how the operation came into compliance in the Correction Plan field;
   2. entering Auto-Suspension, Compliance Met in the Result of Suspension field;
   3. entering the date the automatic suspension ended in the End Date field; and
   4. complete and save CLASS Form 2744 Auto-Suspension End on the Provider Voluntary Suspension Plan page; and
3. mail the letter and any required enclosures to the operation.

5820 Automatic Revocations

Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

An automatic revocation occurs in the following situations.

Procedure

To document the automatic revocation of a permit in CLASS, CCR staff:

1. enter the date the automatic suspension ended in the End Date field;
2. enter Auto-Revocation in the Result of Suspension field;
3. draft the notification using CLASS Form 2865e, 2825 Vol Suspension/Relocation/Clsr Letter on the operation's Application/Closure page;
4. selects the appropriate statement about automatic revocation on CLASS Form 2865e, 2825 Vol Suspension/Relocation/Clsr Letter; and
5. mails the letter to the operation.

If the operation is a listed family home, the CCR staff assigned to the operation notifies the appropriate inspector that:

• the permit has been automatically revoked; and
• a follow-up inspection is needed per 5821 Conducting Follow-Up to an Automatic Revocation.

5821 Conducting Follow-Up to an Automatic Revocation

Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

Within 15 days of sending notification that the permit has been automatically revoked, the inspector conducts a follow-up inspection to verify the operation no longer cares for children.

For listed family homes, the operation is assigned from the administrative technician’s workload in CLASS to the workload of an inspector to conduct a follow-up inspection.

A permit holder may not pay the overdue annual fee or submit overdue background check information at the time of the follow-up inspection. The permit holder must reapply for a permit.

5821.1 Operation is Caring for Children After an Automatic Revocation

Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

Procedure

If the operation is caring for children after the permit has been automatically revoked, the inspector:

1. informs the provider the permit was automatically revoked and the reasons why;
2. explains that there are no due process rights related to automatic revocation and that the permit holder may reapply for a new permit at any time;
3. provides an application for a permit; and
4. cites the operation for providing unregulated child care.

If the permit holder does not submit a new application at the time of the follow-up inspection, the inspector completes the relevant action in the chart below to make sure the operation closes or becomes permitted.

The CCR staff assigned to the operation then closes the operation in CLASS.

If the operation submits an application at the time of an inspection, the inspector closes the operation that had the permit automatically revoked and creates a new operation in CLASS.

5822 Closing an Operation After an Automatic Revocation

Revision 24-2; Effective May 22, 2024

Procedure

If the permit has been automatically revoked, CCR staff follow the procedures below to close the operation.

1. An inspector conducts a follow up inspection at the operation per 5821 Conducting Follow-Up to an Automatic Revocation to verify that the operation is not caring for children. If the operation is caring for children, CCR staff follow procedures in 6530 Investigations of Unregulated Operations.
2. CCR staff close the operation in CLASS by entering the current date into the Closure Date field and using the appropriate closure reason per the procedures below.

Closure Reasons for Automatic Revocations

CCR staff select one of the following reasons on the Application/Closure page in CLASS to close an operation if the permit is automatically revoked:

1. Auto-Revocation, Fees if the automatic revocation is because of the operation’s failure to pay the annual fee;
2. Auto-Revocation, Background Checks – LH if the automatic revocation is because of a listed family home’s failure to submit the information required for a subsequent background check; or
3. Auto-Revocation, BGCs/Fees – LH if the automatic revocation is because of a listed family home’s failure to:
   • submit information required for subsequent background checks; and
   • pay the annual listing fee.