8100, Information for General Release

August 2020

Child Care Regulation (CCR) records are considered open records, with certain exceptions.

Upon written request, information that is not considered confidential must be released to the public.

Texas Government Code, Title 5, Ch. 552, Public Information Act

CCR staff provide information about child care and regulation upon request. Making the community aware of the minimum level of care required by CCR increases the safety of the children in the community:

Staff may receive inquiries from:

  • persons subject to regulation (see 2000 Handling Inquiries About the Licensing Process and Exemptions);
  • parents;
  • HHSC staff;
  • staff from other state and federal agencies;
  • the media;
  • attorneys;
  • advocacy organizations;
  • legislators; and
  • the public.

The method CCR staff uses to release information depends on:

  • the source of the request;
  • type of information requested;
  • amount of information requested; and
  • resources HHSC has available.

8110 Referring Requestors to the CCR Public Website

August 2020

Procedure

CCR staff refer a requestor to the Child Care Regulation (CCR) public website when the requestor requests publicly available information, such as:

  • proposed changes to HHSC rules;
  • minimum standards and guidelines for child day care;
  • minimum standards and guidelines for residential child care;
  • addresses and phone numbers of local CCR offices;
  • the Child Care Licensing Policy and Procedures Handbook;
  • forms the provider may download and print; and
  • data and statistics about CCR.

8120 Providing Information About Child Care Operations

August 2020

Procedure

CCR staff refer the requestor to the CCR public website if the requestor requests a list of operations or requests information about a specific operation, including information about:

  • the status of an operation’s license or registration;
  • the type of operation;
  • the name of the permit holder;
  • an operation’s address and phone number;
  • an operation’s capacity, the ages it serves, and its hours, days, and months of operation; and
  • details about an operation’s violations of minimum standards that have been upheld.

For any other information about an operation, staff instruct the requestor to submit a request for open records by emailing the HHSC Open Records mailbox.

See also:

8210 Confidential Information Not for Release to the Public
8500 Releasing Information to the Media

8130 Processing an Open Records Request

Revision 23-3; Effective Sept. 22, 2023

Procedure

When designated CCR state office staff receive an open records request from the HHSC Open Records Office, staff take the following steps:

  1. ensure that the request was sent to the appropriate program;
  2. determine if a time cost estimate is needed; if so, then make sure it is complete and accepted by the requestor, if appropriate;
  3. collect documentation from operation hard copy records, CLASS, the CCR Digital Storage SharePoint Site, the Neubus system, and CLASS Document Library;
  4. request any needed documentation from the field;
  5. log the information provided on the:
    • Regulatory Services Division (RSD) Records Tracking Log located on the RSD share drive (for RCCR operations); or
    • CCR Records Tracking Log located on the CCR share drive (for DCCR operations);
  6. provide information to the HHSC Open Records Office; and
  7. provide notation of possible concerns, including legal concerns and pending due process, to HHSC Open Records for consideration for release.

8131 Charging for Materials

August 2020

HHSC may charge a fee when:

  • providing printed copies of HHSC materials; or
  • the request requires staff time and effort to program or decode electronic data.

If HHSC will charge a fee, CCR provides the requestor with a cost estimate prior to processing the request. The requestor may modify the requestor’s initial request based on the cost estimate.