La. Admin. Code tit. 67 § V-6703

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
Section V-6703 - Definitions
A. A maternity home is defined as "any place or facility in which any institution, society, agency, corporation, person or persons, or any other group regularly receives and provides necessary services for children before, during, and immediately following birth. This definition shall not include any place or facility which receives and provides services for women who receive maternity care in the home of a relative within the sixth degree of kindred, computed according to civil law, or general or special hospitals in which maternity treatment and care is part of the medical services performed and the care of children only brief and incidental.
B. Additional Definitions
1. Definitions, as used in this Chapter:

Affiliate-

i. with respect to a partnership, each partner thereof;
ii. with respect to a corporation, each officer, director and stockholder thereof;
iii. with respect to a natural person:
(a). that person and any individual related by blood, marriage, or adoption within the third degree of kinship to that person;
(b). any partnership, together with any or all its partners, in which that person is a partner; and
(c). any corporation in which that person an officer, director or stockholder, or holds, directly or indirectly, a controlling interest;
iv. with respect to any of the above, any mandatory, agent, or representative or any other person, natural or juridical acting at the direction of or on behalf of the licensee or applicant; or
v. director of any such maternity home.

Age or Developmentally Appropriate Activities or Items-activities or items that are generally accepted as suitable for children of the same chronological age or level of maturity or that are determined to be developmentally appropriate for a child, based on the development of cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities that are typical for an age or age group; and in the case of a specific child, activities or items that are suitable for the child based on the developmental stages attained by the child with respect to the cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities of the child.

Contractor-any person who renders professional services, therapeutic services, enrichment services, or counseling to residents and/or infants of residents such as educational consulting, athletic, or artistic services within a maternity home, whose services are not integral to either the operation of the maternity home or to the care and supervision of residents and/or infants of residents. Contractors may include, but are not limited to social workers, counselors, dance instructors, gymnastic or sports instructors, computer instructors, speech therapists, licensed health care professionals, art instructors, state-certified teachers employed through a local school board, and other outside contractors. A person shall not be deemed a contractor if he/she is a staff person of the maternity home.

Department (DCFS) - Department of Children and Family Services, formerly the Department of Social Services.

Disqualification Period-the prescriptive period during which the department shall not accept an application from a provider. Any unlicensed operation during the disqualification period shall interrupt running of prescription until the department has verified that the unlicensed operation has ceased.

Division of Licensing and Certification-Department of Children and Family Services, Licensing Section.

Effective Date-of a revocation, denial, or non-renewal of a license shall be the last day for applying to appeal the action, if the action is not appealed.

Facility-any place, program, facility or agency operated or required by law to operate under a license, including facilities owned or operated by any governmental, profit, nonprofit, private, or church agency.

Individual Owner-Repealed.

License -

i. any license issued by the department to operate any child care facility or child-placing agency as defined in R.S. 46:1403; or
ii. any license issued by the Department of Health and Hospitals to operate any facility providing services under Title XIX or XX of the Social Security Act; or
iii. any license issued by the Department of Health and Hospitals (or formerly issued by the Department of Social Services) to operate any adult residential care facility.

Licensing Section - DCFS, Division of Programs, Licensing Section.

Mandated Reporter - professionals who may work with children in the course of their professional duties and who consequently are required to report all suspected cases of child abuse and neglect. This includes any person who provides training and supervision of a child, such as a public or private school teacher, teacher's aide, instructional aide, school principal, school staff member, social worker, probation officer, foster home parent, group home or other child care institution staff member, personnel of maternity home facilities, a licensed or unlicensed day care provider, any individual who provides such services to a child, or any other person made a mandatory reporter under Article 603 of the Children's Code or other applicable law.

Owner or Operator-individual or juridical entity exercising direct or indirect control over a licensed entity.

a. For licensing purposes the following are considered owners:
i.Individual Ownership-individual and spouse listed on the licensing application submitted and who have access to the residents and/or infants of residents in care of the provider and/or residents and/or infants of residents who receive services from the provider and/or who are present at any time on the facility premises when residents and/or infants of residents are present;
ii.Partnership-all limited or general partners and managers who are listed on the licensing application submitted and who have access to the residents and/or infants of residents in care of the provider and/or residents and/or infants of residents who receive services from the provider, and/or who are present at any time on the facility premises when residents and/or infants of residents are present;
iii.Church Owned, University Owned or Governmental Entity-any clergy and/or board member who is listed on the licensing application submitted and who has access to the residents and/or infants of residents in care of the provider, and/or residents and/or infants of residents who receive services from the provider, and/or who is present at any time on the facility premises when residents and/or infants of residents are present; or
iv.Corporation (includes limited liability companies)-individual(s) who is registered as an officer of the board with the Louisiana Secretary of State and/or listed on the licensing application submitted and who has access to the residents and/or infants of residents in care of the provider, and/or residents and/or infants of residents who receive services from the provider, and/or who is present at any time on the facility premises when residents and/or infants of residents are present.

Ownership - the right that confers on a person direct, immediate, and exclusive authority over a thing. The owner of a thing may use, enjoy, and dispose of it within the limits and under the conditions established by law. Refers to direct or indirect ownership.

i.Direct Ownership - when a natural person is the immediate owner of a child care facility, i.e., exercising control personally rather than through a juridical person.
ii.Indirect Ownership - when the immediate owner is a juridical entity.

Provider-all owners or operators of a facility, including the director of such facility.

Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard- standard that a caregiver shall use when determining whether to allow a child in foster care under the responsibility of the State to participate in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities. The standard is characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the health, safety, and best interests of a child while at the same time encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of the child.

Reasonable and Prudent Parent Training- training that includes knowledge and skills relating to the reasonable and prudent parent standard for the participation of the child in age or developmentally appropriate activities. This includes knowledge and skills relating to the developmental stages of the cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities of a child and knowledge and skills relating to applying the standard to decisions such as whether to allow the child to engage in social, extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities. Activities include sports, field trips, and overnight activities lasting one or more days. Also included is knowledge and skills in decisions involving the signing of permission slips and arranging of transportation for the child to and from extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities.

Reasonable Suspicion-to have or acquire information containing specific and articulable facts indicating that an owner, operator, current or potential employee, or volunteer has been investigated and determined to be the perpetrator of abuse and/or neglect of a minor with a justified (valid) finding currently recorded on the state central registry

Resident-a pregnant female who has not reached her eighteenth birthday or otherwise been legally emancipated and receives care at the maternity home before childbirth and within 6 weeks after childbirth. The resident may not reside in the home with her parents nor be related to the owner of the facility.

Staff - all full or part-time paid or unpaid staff who perform services for the maternity home and have direct or indirect contact with children at the facility. Facility staff includes the director and any other employees of the facility including, but not limited to the cook, housekeeper, driver, custodian, secretary, and bookkeeper.

State Central Registry (SCR)-repository that identifies individuals with certain justified (valid) findings of abuse and/or neglect of a child or children by the Department of Children and Family Services.

Unlicensed Operation-operation of any child care facility or child-placing agency, adult residential care facility, or transitional youth residence, at any location, without a valid, current license issued by the department.

2. Disqualification of Facility and Provider
a. If a facility's license is revoked or not renewed due to failure to comply with state statutes and licensing rules, the department shall not accept a subsequent application from the provider for that facility or any new facility for a minimum period of two years after the effective date of revocation or non-renewal or a minimum period of two years after all appeal rights have been exhausted, whichever is later (the disqualification period). Any pending application by the same provider shall be treated as an application for a new facility for purposes of this Section and shall be denied and subject to the disqualification period. Any subsequent application for a license shall be reviewed by the secretary or their designee prior to a decision being made to grant a license. The department reserves the right to determine, at its sole discretion, whether to issue any subsequent license.
b. Any voluntary surrender of a license by a facility facing the possibility of adverse action against its license (revocation or non-renewal) shall be deemed to be a revocation for purposes of this rule, and shall trigger the same disqualification period as if the license had actually been revoked.
c. In addition, if the applicant has had a substantial history of non-compliance, including but not limited to revocation of a previous license, operation without a license, or denial of one or more previous applications for licensure, the department may refuse to accept a subsequent application from that applicant for a minimum period of two years after the effective date of denial.
d. With respect to an application in connection with the revoked, denied, or not renewed facility, the disqualification period provided in this Section shall include any affiliate of the provider.

La. Admin. Code tit. 67, § V-6703

Promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Resources, Office of the Secretary, Division of Licensing and Certification, LR 13:246 (April 1987), repromulgated by the Department of Social Services, Office of the Secretary, Bureau of Residential Licensing, LR 33:2694 (December 2007), repromulgated by the Department of Social Services, Office of Community Services, LR 35:1570 (August 2009), amended LR 36:799, 835 (April 2010), repromulgated LR 36:1275 (June 2010), amended by the Department of Children and Family Services, Child Welfare Section, LR 36:2521 (November 2010), amended by the Department of Children and Family Services, Division of Programs, Licensing Section, LR 38:968 (April 2012), Amended by the Department of Children and Family Services, Division of Programs, Licensing Section, LR 42220 (2/1/2016), Amended by the Department of Children and Family Services, Licensing Section, LR 45514 (4/1/2019), effective 5/1/2019, Amended LR 46666 (5/1/2020), effective 6/1/2020.
AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 36:477 and R.S. 46:1401 et seq.