9600, Renewing an Administrator’s License

9610 Training Requirements for an Administrator’s License

February 2020

Licensing staff review training documentation submitted by licensed administrators before approving a request to renew an administrator’s license.

Procedure

Staff review training documentation to ensure the following:

  • The licensed administrator obtained 15 hours of training each year of the two-year renewal cycle.
  • The training was designed for professional-level staff. Training designed for direct care staff is not acceptable.
  • The training was directly related to residential child care or business management.
  • The subject of the training was not an organization’s policies and procedures.
  • The licensed administrator participated in the training. Training credit is not given for presenting training to others.

For more information on training requirements, see LCC or LCP Agency Administrator FAQs.

If a licensed administrator has not submitted enough acceptable training for each of the two years in his or her renewal cycle:

  • Licensing staff contact the administrator and ask him or her to submit additional training documentation.
  • Licensing staff generate and send a letter to the administrator notifying him or her that the renewal is pending, due to insufficient training hours.
  • If the administrator cannot submit documentation verifying that training requirements were met, Licensing staff ask the administrator to confirm in writing that he or she has no other training documentation to submit for the time period.
  • Remedial action is taken. See 9700 Remedial Action on an Administrator’s License. 

9620 Inactive Status for an Administrator’s License

February 2020

Licensed administrators who are on inactive status for an entire renewal period are not required to submit training documentation for that period.

If an administrator was on active status for only a portion of the renewal period, the training requirement is prorated.

Administrators on inactive status pay lower renewal fees and are not required to undergo a background check.

Procedure

A licensed administrator must submit in writing, along with Form 3014, Administrator License – Renewal or Status Change, a request to change his or her license status in writing. Licensing must have a written record of the requests in order to prevent miscommunication and to hold the licensed administrator accountable for training requirements. (Emails and faxes are considered written requests.)

When an administrator switches from inactive to active status in the middle of a renewal period, he or she must pay the appropriate fee and submit a background check request. The training requirement is prorated at 1.25 hour per each active month. For example, if an administrator switches to inactive status six months after renewing his or her license, and the status remains inactive for the rest of the renewal period, only 7.5 hours of training is required. (For an additional example, see 9630 Renewal Fees for an Administrator’s License.)

See Texas Administrative Code, §745.9007, for details on changing a license status from inactive to active. 

9630 Renewal Fees for an Administrator’s License

February 2020

While training requirements for an administrator’s license are based on the renewal period that just ended, renewal fees are based on the license status that the administrator requests for the coming period. For fee schedules, see §745.9003 and §745.9005 of the Texas Administrative Code.

Procedure

To assess late fees, Licensing staff follow these guidelines:

  • Accept a renewal request postmarked on or before the license’s expiration date.
  • Assess late fees only when the administrator initiates the renewal process after his or her license expires (assess higher late fees when the request is initiated 90 days or more past the expiration date). Do not assess late fees if the administrator initiates a timely renewal and the renewal remains pending after his or her license expires.
  • Assess late fees, even if an administrator did not receive a notice from Licensing about a license’s expiration or impending expiration. Licensed administrators are accountable for renewing on time.

Example of Assessing Late Fees

An example of assessing late fees follows:

John Smith submits a request to renew his license. During his most recent renewal period, he was on active status for the first year, and then switched to inactive status. He is now asking to be placed back on active status. Unfortunately, he is renewing 30 days late. In this case, Mr. Smith owes 15 training hours (pro-rated for the one year that he was on active status) and $75 (because he is submitting a late request to renew his license on active status). Mr. Smith must have obtained all of the required training hours during the 12 months that he was on active status. 

9640 Background Checks for an Administrator’s License

February 2020

A background check is conducted on each licensed administrator who requests renewal of an administrator’s license on active status, even if the person has had a background check under a licensed residential child care operation within the last five years.

If a licensed administrator has a background check match that violates minimum standards rules and is not subject to a risk evaluation, remedial action is initiated. See 10310 Acting on the Results of a Criminal History Check.

Procedure

The procedures for background checks are as follows:

  • Run a background check on each licensed administrator requesting renewal on active status, regardless of whether the administrator is affiliated with a licensed residential child care operation.
  • If an administrator has a background check match that violates minimum standards rules and is not subject to a risk evaluation, the Centralized Background Check Unit (CBCU) notifies the administrator about the match by letter and notifies the Licensed Administrator program about the match by email. 

    A remedial action of either revocation or refusal to renew is initiated. See 9700 Remedial Action on an Administrator’s License. 
     
  • If an administrator has a background check match that violates minimum standards rules and is subject to a risk evaluation, the type of follow-up depends on whether the administrator is affiliated with a licensed residential child care operation. 

    The CBCU notifies the administrator about the match by letter and notifies the Licensed Administrator program about the match by email.
    • If the administrator is not affiliated with a licensed residential child care operation, the administrator’s license is renewed, if the administrator would otherwise be eligible for renewal. No risk evaluation is conducted, unless or until the administrator becomes affiliated with an operation licensed by HHSC’s Residential Child Care Licensing Division (RCCL).
    • If the administrator is affiliated with an operation licensed by RCCL, the administrator must submit the request for a risk evaluation to the CBCU. The administrator has 30 calendar days from the date the operation submitted the request for the background check to request a risk evaluation. The CBCU notifies the Licensed Administrator program about the results of the risk evaluation. Licensing staff do not renew a license while the risk evaluation is pending. Staff delay renewal until the risk evaluation is complete and approved.

See 10400 Risk Evaluation of Criminal History or Findings of Child Abuse or Neglect. 

9650 Lapsed Administrator’s Licenses

February 2020

An administrator’s license lapses after it has been expired for one year.

A lapsed administrator’s license cannot be renewed.

Texas Human Resources Code (HRC), §43.009

Procedure

If a person with a lapsed administrator’s license contacts Licensing staff to renew his or her license, Licensing staff inform the person that he or she must apply for a new license.

The only exception is active military personnel who are exempt from renewal requirements as specified in §745.9029 of the Texas Administrative Code. 

9660 Emeritus Status for an Administrator’s License

February 2020

An emeritus license is an honorary license for a person who had an administrator’s license and no longer serves as an administrator.

Emeritus status is primarily designed for persons who have retired.

An emeritus license is valid for the lifetime of the licensee.

Renewal and reporting requirements do not apply.

A person cannot act as a licensed administrator with an emeritus license.

Procedure

To receive an emeritus license, a licensed administrator submits a written request, along with Form 3014, Administrator License – Renewal or Status Change.

An emeritus license is granted only when the administrator:

  • is at least 55 years old or has a permanent physical or medical disability;
  • has a valid administrator’s license and has no remedial action or pending remedial action against the license; and
  • is no longer engaged in professional residential child care.

If the administrator decides to act as a licensed administrator again after obtaining an emeritus license, he or she must apply for a new license. 

9670 Relinquishing an Administrator’s License

February 2020

Procedure

To relinquish a license, a licensed administrator mails completed Form 3014, Administrator License – Renewal or Status Change, and the original license to the address indicated on the form.

Licensing staff:

  • send a letter on CLASS letterhead confirming the receipt of the license;
  • inform the person he or she must apply for a new license should he or she decide to become a licensed administrator again; and
  • change status of license in CLASS to “withdrawn.”