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   VISION:
      Access to safe, healthy child care for Utah families.

   MISSION:
      To support working parents by protecting the health and
      safety of children in regulated child care programs. This       is accomplished by:

  • Establishing and enforcing health and safety standards for child care programs.
  • Training and supporting providers in meeting the established health and safety standards.
  • Providing the public with accurate information about regulated child care.








 
   WHAT'S NEW?

  • Information for Providers and Parents about Pertussis (Whooping Cough)

    Whooping cough is a contagious and fairly common bacterial infection that causes a range of illnesses, from mild cough to severe disease. Tdap is a booster to the DTaP vaccine. It protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough). Because this vaccine protects against pertussis, the following people should make sure they are up-to-date with their Tdap immunization:
  • Adults who are in contact with infants under 12 months.
  • New mothers who have never received Tdap.
  • Health care workers who are in direct contact with patients.

  • New Home Providers

    For new providers who are in the process of becoming licensed or certified, if there are more than 5 items that need to be corrected after the pre-license/certificate inspection, an additional fee of $25.00 will be charged. If more than one follow-up inspection is required, $25.00 will be charged for each additional inspection.
  • Notice of Change from Child Care Licensing

    The Department of Public Safety has informed us that the fees for fingerprint background checks will NOT affect child care providers this year.

    Please disregard our previous notice since the costs for fingerprint background checks will remain $31.00.

    We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused.

    For questions concerning this information, please contact Joan Isom, Background Clearance Unit Supervisor at (801) 538-6574.
  • For Licensed Centers:

    2010 is the third year of the five year phase-in schedule for the new center playground equipment rules (Link) . The two new rules that became effective as of December of 2009 are:
    1. There is no designated play surface on infant and toddler equipment that exceeds 3 feet in height. This applies to any playground equipment used by infants and toddlers, even if also used by older children.

    2. Stationary play equipment that has a designated play surface less than the height specified in Table 3 (infants and toddler, less than 18"; preschoolers, less than 20"; school age, less than 30"), and that does not have moving parts children sit or stand on, is not placed on concrete, asphalt, dirt, or any other hard surface. If these items have previously been installed in asphalt, dirt or a hard surface, they must be removed from that surface and placed over grass or approved protective cushioning.
    In our ongoing effort to improve the consistency of licensing and ensure fairness among centers statewide, and because we know playground improvements can be costly, we want to make sure that all center playgrounds are inspected in the same way. For this reason, the inspection of the technical (CPSC and ASTM) aspects of your outdoor play area will be conducted by a certified Playground Inspector, rather than your regular Licensing Specialist.

    In the coming months a Licensing Specialist will contact you to schedule this appointment to inspect the technical (CPSC and ASTM) aspects of your outdoor play area. A copy of the checklist that will be used to inspect for these aspects of your playground will be sent to you with your appointment letter. The items on this checklist will not be inspected during your next regular announced annual inspection. They will only be inspected once, during your playground inspection. If you have any question about this playground inspection, please contact the Regional Program Manager responsible for playground inspections:

    Lynda Worthington, (801) 347-7688 or toll free at 1-800-894-2588


  • For Home and Center providers:

    Beginning January of 2010, the Bureau will only update the Interpretation Manual once a year, in January of each year. This means that the next manual updates will be made in January of 2011. In January of 2011 you will receive a post card in the mail letting you know that the manual updates are completed. In addition, Joyce and Karrie will offer provider trainings on the manual updates that same month, so that we can review with providers the specific updates that were made. For more information, Center providers contact Joyce Hasting at 801-538-9288 or jhasting@utah.gov, and Home providers contact Karrie Phillips at 801-538-6107 or kphillips@utah.gov


  • The Bureau is now required by the state legislature to implement a $25 fee for noncompliant facilities. Effective July 1, 2009, this fee is charged as follows:
    1. Each provider will have one follow-up inspection (if needed) after their Announced and Unannounced Inspections, and one follow-up inspection (if needed) after each Complaint Investigation. If additional follow-up inspections are needed because noncompliance was found on the first follow-up inspection, the provider will be charged $25 for each additional follow-up inspection that is needed.

    2. If you are issued a conditional license or certificate for noncompliance to the rules, there will be a $25 charge for each monitoring inspection that takes place during the period of the conditional license or certificate.
    If you have any questions regarding this fee, please click here to contact your regional Licensing office.

  • In the 2008 session the Utah State Legislature passed a new law that now requires the Department of Health to verify the lawful presence in the United States of any individual to whom a new child care license or certificate is issued. Click here for a copy of the form that will be used to verify providers' lawful presence.

    If you were born in Utah and need a copy of your birth certificate, click here for information about how to get a copy. If you need a copy of your birth certificate from another state, click here