Child Care Resource & Referral

Complaint on child care facilities & providers

It is the philosophy of the Child Care Circuit (CCC) to encourage all parents or other individuals to resolve problems with child care providers. Child Care Circuit does not act in a regulatory capacity. As an R & R Agency, we provide information to the complainants and assist them so that the complaints may be investigated by the appropriate agency.

The following procedures apply when complaints are received by the R & R staff from individuals regarding any licensed or legally exempt child care facility. Complaints may originate from a variety of sources, including:

1.    Parent or consumer of child care services.
2.    Interested or concerned individuals.
3.    Department of Social Services (DSS), Department of Early Care & Education (EEC) or other human    services agency.

Receipt and Documentation of Complaint:
When a complaint is received:

1.     The R & R staff person will document the complaint on the “R & R Complaint Intake Form” filling in all the necessary information. Information should include but need not be limited to date of incident, location, ages of children involved, names of persons involved, and details of the complaint. It may be appropriate to document the complainant’s attempts to resolve the complaint and whether the child has been removed from the caregiver or child care facility.
2.   The R & R staff person will inform the complainant about R & R complaint procedures and policy at the time the complaint is received, ask the complainant if the R & R agency may use the complainant’s name during any follow-up procedures with the Department of Early Care & Education or other investigating agency.
3.     The R & R staff person will encourage the complainant to discuss the problem with the provider, if appropriate.
4.     Should EEC/DSS not request a delay in notification, the Child Care Circuit director or her/his designee will immediately inform the child care provider/program of the complaint in writing.

Should EEC request a delay in notification, The Child Care Circuit Director or her/his designee will inform the child care provider/program of the complaint in writing on the first business day following the final day of the delayed notification.

5.    When appropriate, R & R staff persons receiving complaints should:
            a.  Encourage complainants to telephone and/or send written documentation to the Department of Early Care & Education.
            b.  Advise complainants of the statutory requirement to report abuse or neglect by a person responsible for a child’s welfare.
            c.  Explain to complainants the circumstances under which an R & R staff member will forward complaints to EEC Licensing or DSS.
6.    The R & R agency will report complaints related to Licensing or Child Welfare to the Department of Early Education & Care. Complaints of child abuse or neglect will be forwarded to DSS.
7.    The R & R staff person will give the original “R & R Complaint Form” to the R & R Supervisor, to be placed in a file. Complaint files will be created and maintained by the R & R pursuant to the Record Retention Policy.
8.    In the event the R & R agency is notified by EEC Licensing of the revocation of caregiver’s license, the R & R will remove the caregiver from the active database. It will be the caregiver’s responsibility to notify the R & R, with documentation, when the caregiver becomes licensed again.