7800, Automatic Actions

7810 Automatic Suspensions

June 2015

The permit for a licensed operation or a registered or listed family home is automatically suspended if the annual permit fee is not paid by the due date.

An operation that is exempt from paying the annual fee is not subject to an automatic suspension for failure to pay the annual fee. See 5211 Exemptions from Fees.

The permit for a listed family home is also automatically suspended if the listed family home fails to submit the information required for a background check within 24 months of the date the last background check was conducted.

Automatic suspensions are not adverse actions and are not subject to an administrative review or due process hearing.

Texas Human Resources Code §§42.052(j)-(j-1); and 42.054

26 TAC §§745.503745.505(a)

7811 When to Process an Automatic Suspension

June 2015

Procedure

By the 10th day of the month, CCR staff enter an automatic suspension in CLASS 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 by the due date in the BGC Reminder Letter.

7812 How to Process an Automatic Suspension

August 2020

Procedure

To document the automatic suspension in CLASS, 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 by:
    1. entering the date the automatic suspension began;
    2. 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; and
    3. selecting the reason for the automatic suspension;
  3. draft and save notification to the provider on the Provider Voluntary Suspension Plan page using one of the following:
    1. CLASS Letter 2813, Suspension Fee Letter, is used if the automatic suspension is due to failure to pay the annual permit fee;
    2. Form 2742 Auto-Suspension Letter-BGC (LH Only) located on the CCR SharePoint site is used if the automatic suspension is due to a listed family home’s failure to submit information required for subsequent background checks. Form 2742 is drafted on HHSC letterhead and saved to CLASS, with the name AutoSuspend-BGC
    3. Form 2743 Auto-Suspension Letter-BGC/Fees (LH Only) located on the CCR SharePoint site is used if the automatic suspension is due to a listed family home’s failure to submit information required for subsequent background checks, and failure to pay the annual listing fee. Form 2743 is drafted on HHSC letterhead and saved to CLASS with the name AutoSuspend-BGC/Fees; and
  4. mail the letter to the operation.

7813 Conducting Follow Up to Automatic Suspension

June 2015

If a licensed and 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 the operation has stopped providing care to children.

7813.1 Operation or Home is Caring for Children

June 2015

Procedure

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

  1. informs the provider that the permit was automatically suspended for nonpayment of fees;
  2. explains that he or she is operating without a valid permit and provides technical assistance for how and where to send the fee payment;
  3. explains any child care subsidy program funding has been stopped as a result of the automatic suspension; and
  4. issues a citation for providing unregulated child care.

7813.2 Operation or Home has Stopped Providing Care or is No Longer Operating

Revision 23-2; Effective June 26, 2023

If the operation is no longer caring for children in compliance with the automatic suspension letter, the inspector verifies fee payment before reinstating the permit.

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

7814 Ending an Automatic Suspension

August 2020

A permit that has been automatically suspended is reinstated once the permit holder has either paid the annual fee or submitted the required background check information before the end of the suspension period.

Procedure

To reinstate a permit, 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 End Date of the automatic suspension, 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 in the CLASS page 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, and
    3. entering the date the automatic suspension ends in the End Date field.
  3. complete Form 2744 Auto-Suspension End and saves the form on the Provider Voluntary Suspension Plan page in CLASS by:
    1. copying the text from Form 2744 Auto-Suspension End and pasting the information onto HHSC letterhead found on the Provider Voluntary Suspension Plan page in CLASS, and
    2. saving the letter with the appropriate name; and
  4. Mail the letter to the operation.

7820 Automatic Revocations

June 2015

The permit for a licensed operation, or a registered or listed family home, is automatically revoked if the annual permit fee is not paid within six months of the permit being automatically suspended.

The permit for a listed family home is automatically revoked if the home fails to submit the information required for a renewal background check within six months after the listing is automatically suspended.

Automatic revocations are not considered corrective or adverse actions and are not subject to an administrative review or a due process hearing.

If an operation's permit has been automatically revoked the permit holder may re-apply at any time.

Texas Human Resources Code §§42.052(j)-(j-1); and 42.054

Procedure

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

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

If the operation is a listed family home, staff notifies the appropriate Licensing inspector that the permit has been automatically revoked and a follow-up inspection is needed.

7821 Conducting Follow-Up to an Automatic Revocation

June 2015

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

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.

7821.1 Operation or Home is Caring for Children

June 2015

Procedure

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

  1. informs the provider that 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. issues a citation for providing illegal child care.

If the permit holder does not submit a new application at the time of the follow-up inspection, the inspector enters a new illegal operation investigation to ensure the operation closes or becomes permitted. The inspector or 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.

7822 Closing an Operation After an Automatic Revocation

June 2016

Procedure

If the permit has been automatically revoked, Licensing staff follow the procedures below to close the operation:

  1. An inspector conducts an inspection at the operation to verify that the operation is not caring for children. If the operation is caring for children, Licensing staff follow procedures in 6530 Investigations of Illegal Operations.
  2. Licensing staff close the operation in CLASS by entering the current date into the Closure Date field and using the appropriate closure reason, as outlined in the procedures below.

Closure Reasons for Automatic Revocations

Licensing 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 due to the operation’s failure to pay the annual fee;
  2. Auto-Revocation, Background Checks – LH, if the automatic revocation is due to 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 due to a listed family home’s failure to:
    • submit information required for subsequent background checks; and
    • pay the annual listing fee.