1300, Child Care Regulation Records

Revision 22-5; Effective Nov. 4, 2022

The purpose of retaining Child Care Regulation (CCR) records is to:

  1. document that staff have followed the policies and procedures required by law, the rules, and the policies in this handbook;
  2. maintain a chronology of an operation's regulatory history with CCR; and
  3. maintain a chronology of a licensed administrator's regulatory history with CCR.

1310 Content and Organization of Child Care Regulation Records

Revision 22-5; Effective Nov. 4, 2022

A CCR record consists of:

  • a hard copy record (if applicable);
  • electronic records maintained in CLASS; and
  • digital files maintained on the CCR Digital Storage SharePoint site or in the digital Neubus system for licensed administrators.

The documentation in CCR records must be legible, objective, concise, and clear.

CCR staff establish operation and licensed administrator records according to the following table:

Program Area Hard Copy record CLASS Record Digital Record
Day Care An application inquiry, or report is received. An application or inquiry is received. On CCR Digital Storage SharePoint site when an application is accepted.
Residential Care No longer used; all records are maintained in CLASS record or Digital records. An application or inquiry is received. On CCR Digital Storage SharePoint site when an application, inquiry, or report is received.
Unregulated Operations Not used; all records are maintained in CLASS record or Digital records.
  • An inquiry or report of an alleged unregulated operation is received; or
  • A search is conducted by staff and a possible unregulated operation is identified. 
 On CCR Digital Storage SharePoint site when an investigation is initiated for an alleged unregulated operation.
Exempt Operations No longer used; if staff receive a paper copy, the document is scanned and a digital record is created. An application, inquiry, or report is received. On CCR Digital Storage SharePoint site when an exemption request is received.
Licensed Administrators No longer used; all records are stored in the digital Neubus system. Not applicable; all records are stored in the Neubus system. In the digital Neubus system when an application is received.

Procedure

Records are maintained according to the guidelines in Appendix 1000-1: Organizing Child Care Regulation Records.

1311 Records for Investigations

Revision 22-5; Effective Nov. 4, 2022

For investigations:

  1. hard copy records are maintained separately from other records until the investigation is complete;
  2. the entire file for the investigation becomes part of the hard copy record, after the investigation is completed;
  3. electronic records are maintained in CLASS; and
  4. all external documentation, including digital photographs, videos, scanned documents, digital files, and audio files are uploaded onto the CCR Digital Storage SharePoint site.

See 6740 Maintaining an Investigation File.
 

1320 Custody of Child Care Regulation Records

May 2020

Each office must establish procedures to track the location of and store hard copy records. The district director must approve the tracking procedures.

1321 Assigning, Reassigning, and Transferring Records

December 2011

Electronic records are assigned, reassigned, and transferred in CLASS. See 1200 Application Security for CLASS and IMPACT.

In CLASS, a record is always assigned to the Child Care Licensing employee who is responsible for regulating the operation or administrator, even though different Licensing employees may be assigned to complete an investigation or inspection.

The hard copy record is transferred when the electronic record is assigned or reassigned in CLASS. When a Licensing employee vacates his or her Licensing position, the employee's supervisor ensures continuous custody of the hard copy records until the record is reassigned to another Licensing employee.

1330 Records Retention

September 28, 2018

Every electronic and hard copy record created in the course of business must be retained for a specific period of time. The amount of time Child Care Licensing records are retained is listed in the DFPS Records Retention Schedule, which is approved by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. No records or documents may be destroyed before the time designated in the retention schedule.

Procedure

Licensing staff follow the:

  • retention schedule for Licensing records in the DFPS Records Retention Schedule; and
  • policy and procedures outlined in the HHS Records Management Operating Policy.

Extending the Record Retention Period

All records and documents must be kept at least as long as the retention period stated in the schedule. If there is a business need to keep a record longer than the time specified in the retention schedule, Licensing staff must receive approval to extend the retention period of that record from:

  1. a district director (or designee);
  2. the director of day care licensing (or designee);
  3. the director of residential child care licensing (or designee);
  4. the associate commissioner of licensing (or designee); or
  5. an HHSC attorney.

The extension may be granted for as long as needed. After receiving approval to extend the retention schedule, Licensing staff document the following in the operation's record in Chronology field in the CLASS system:

  1. The reason for the extension.
  2. The name of the approver.
  3. The date of the approval.