This letter is to notify stakeholders that as a result of the passage of Am. Sub. H.B. 153 of the 129^th General Assembly, and the agency's rule review process that requires all rules to be reviewed at least every five years, the following rules have been reviewed and adopted, rescinded or amended. These rules are effective September 29, 2011.

The following is a summary of the changes to the rules:

Rule 5101:2-12-01 "Definitions for Licensed Child Care Centers." This rule has been amended to include the definition of "career pathways model" and "serious risk noncompliance" and to remove the definition of "license capacity."

Rule 5101:2-12-03 "License Capacity for Licensed Child Care Centers." This rule has been amended to detail the differences in the way license capacity is determined for programs in a regular license versus programs in the provisional license period.

Rule 5101:2-12-04 "Initial Application and Issuance of a Provisional License for Child Care Centers." This rule has been amended to define a "continuous license." Programs will no longer need to reapply every two years to have their licenses renewed. After the center completes the provisional period, the license will continue as a regular license without an expiration date, unless the program demonstrates that it cannot operate in compliance with the licensing rules. The rule has also been amended to increase the initial application fee, to extend the provisional period to twelve months and to add language regarding the application process.

Rule 5101:2-12-04.1 "Procedures for Child Care Centers Operating Under a Provisional License." This rule is a new rule which explains the requirements for compliance inspections during the provisional period, what happens at the end of the provisional period and under what circumstances a license may be proposed for revocation during the provisional period. An appendix has been added to this rule to detail sanctions that may be taken for serious risk noncompliances found during the provisional period.

Rule 5101:2-12-05 "License Amendments for Licensed Child Care Centers." This rule has been amended to revise the title of the rule, to remove language regarding initial applications and to move that language to 5101:2-12-04, and to detail the process for requesting an amendment to a child care license.

Rule 5101:2-12-06"Procedures for Renewal of a Child Care Center License." This rule has been rescinded as a result of the change to a continuous license for child care.

Rule 5101:2-12-07 "Inspection and Investigation of Licensed and Unlicensed Child Care Centers." This rule has been amended to revise the title of the rule, to move language regarding inspections to 5101:2-12-04.1, to require the center to respond to the inspection report by the date listed in the report and to remove language regarding renewal of a license.

Rule 5101:2-12-09 "Denial or Revocation of a Child Care Center Application or License." This rule has been amended to remove language about renewal of a license and to increase the number of years required to pass before someone who has had their license revoked can apply again for a child care license.

Rule 5101:2-12-10 "Building Approval for Licensed Child Care Centers." This rule has been amended to include the requirement that the center follow any stipulations or limitations that the building inspection department indicates on the report.

Rule 5101:2-12-11 "Fire Department Approval for Licensed Child Care Centers." This rule has been amended to specify that a center must secure a new fire inspection approval if the program changes location.

Rule 5101:2-12-20 "Supervision, Staff/Child Ratios and Grouping for Licensed Child Care Centers." This rule has been amended to clarify supervision standards, to revise the requirement for employing adequate numbers of staff for the center's license capacity, to update the revision date of the JFS 01238 and to clarify attendance policies.

Rule 5101:2-12-24 "Administrator Responsibilities and Qualifications for Licensed Child Care Centers." This rule has been amended to increase the number of qualifications that a person must have to qualify as a child care administrator and to allow an additional year for the administrator to meet the second part of the qualifications. This rule has also been amended to increase the ways that an administrator may meet the education qualifications.

Rule 5101:2-12-30 "Written Information, Policies and Procedures to be Provided to Parents/Guardians of Children in Licensed Child Care Centers." This rule has been amended to include the specifics of the parental participation policy language from 5101:2-12-32. The revision date of the JFS 1237 has also been updated.

Rule 5101:2-12-32 "Parental Participation Policies and Parent Roster Requirements in Licensed Child Care Centers." This rule has been rescinded as the statutory requirement for child care centers to prepare and maintain a parent roster has been removed. Language regarding the parental participation policy has been moved to 5101:2-12-30.

The electronic version of the Child Care Center Manual is located at: http://emanuals.jfs.ohio.gov/emanuals . The manual contains all rules and transmittal letters that the department has issued to licensed child care centers. A current version of this manual should be accessible and utilized by all providers in all licensed child care centers.

Please contact the Help Desk for the Office for Families and Children at 1-866-886-3537, option 4 if you have any questions.

INSTRUCTIONS: The following chart identifies the material that needs to be removed from and inserted into the Child Care Center Manual (CCCM).