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Chapter 42 of the Texas Human Resources Code requires the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to regulate child care and child-placing activities in Texas and to create and enforce minimum standards. The HHSC Child Care Regulation (CCR) Department, Regulatory Services Division, develops rules for child care in Texas. The Minimum Standards reduce risk for children in out-of-home care settings by outlining basic requirements to protect the health, safety and well-being of children in care.
Report
A report is information CCR receives from the public, including from a parent, regarding a possible violation of statutes, administrative rules or minimum standards. CCR investigates the possible violations and, if applicable, cites a deficiency.
A report may also be information received regarding possible child abuse, neglect or exploitation. These reports are referred to Child Care Investigations (CCI), a division of Child Protective Investigations within the Department of Family and Protective Services, that investigates child abuse, neglect, and exploitation allegations in licensed and regulated child care operations in the state. CCI closely coordinates with CCR to ensure the safety, health and well-being of children in out-of-home care.
Self Reports
A self report is an account of a serious incident that happened at an operation. All operations, except listed family homes, are required to report certain types of serious incidents to CCR, which chooses to investigate an operation’s self-report and, if applicable, cite a deficiency of statutes, administrative rules or minimum standards. A serious incident includes but is not limited to a serious illness or injury to a child, a missing child or a disaster that requires the operation to close.
Monitoring Inspections
A monitoring inspection is a routine, on-site visit to a child care operation by a CCR inspector. The inspector can cite a deficiency if the operation is in violation of statutes, administrative rules or minimum standards.
Assessments
An assessment is when CCR cites an operation for a deficiency of statutes, administrative rules or minimum standards after reviewing information, paperwork or other materials instead of conducting an on-site inspection.
Frequency of Child Care Regulation Inspections
CCR conducts unannounced inspections at licensed operations at least once per year and conducts unannounced inspections at registered child care homes at least once every two years. Inspections might be more frequent based on an operation's ability to comply with statutes, administrative rules and minimum standards.
CCR only conducts inspections at listed family homes as part of an investigation.
Minimum Standards Weights
Each minimum standard is assigned a weight of high, medium high, medium, medium low and low based on the risk a violation of the minimum standard presents to children. A requirement weighted as high presents a greater risk to children if violated than a requirement weighted as low.
Deficiencies
A deficiency, also referred to as a violation, is any failure to comply with a CCR statute, administrative rule or minimum standard. A deficiency is posted to the operation’s online record only after it has had the opportunity to dispute it.
How to Find Information About an Operation’s Deficiencies
Information regarding the minimum standard requirements and deficiencies cited for each operation can be found at Search Texas Child Care. Deficiencies can be cited for a variety of reasons, and are detailed in a short narrative.
You should carefully evaluate an operation’s deficiencies and share any concerns or questions with the director, administrator or child care provider.
Information on how the operation corrected each deficiency is also included on Search Texas Child Care. After reviewing the deficiency, you can ask how the operation plans to prevent repeating the deficiency.
Here are a few things to consider when evaluating an operation’s deficiencies and plans to correct those deficiencies:
- Which deficiency was cited and what weight was assigned to the standard? A violation of a standard with a high weight presents a greater risk to children than a standard with a low weight.
- Have deficiencies been repeated in the last two years?
- How long did it take the operation to come into compliance?
- How often is the operation inspected? Monitoring frequencies will change depending on the type of permit and an operation’s ability to comply with statutes, administrative rules and minimum standards.
Administrative Penalties
An administrative penalty is a fine for a deficiency of a statute, administrative rule or minimum standard with a high weight, such as a background check requirement.
Heightened Monitoring
Heightened Monitoring (HM) is an increase in oversight and tracking of 24-hour residential child care operations that:
- have a current contract with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) or a Single Source Continuum Contractor (SSCC) to provide care to children in DFPS conservatorship; and
- have demonstrated a pattern of contract or minimum standard violations during at least three of the last five years compared to other operations of the same care-type and size.
Heightened Monitoring is a multi-agency, multi-division program delivered by both HHSC and DFPS.
Corrective Actions
HHSC imposes a corrective action when an operation has a pattern of deficiencies or one single, serious deficiency that endangers the health and safety of children. A corrective action includes steps to help an operation meet compliance with statutes, administrative rules and minimum standards. CCR inspects an operation more frequently during a corrective action.
Adverse Actions
HHSC takes an adverse action to address deficiencies that endanger the health or safety of children. This can include closing an operation or adding permanent restrictions or conditions to a permit. HHSC takes adverse action when a corrective action doesn’t reduce the risk at the operation.
An operation has the right to dispute the adverse action through a due process hearing. If an administrative law judge upholds HHSC’s decision to take the adverse action, the operation must notify each parent, guardian or managing conservator of the children in care of the operation.