(a) Any person or entity, as defined in § 37-5-501, operating a child care agency without being licensed by the department or who continues to operate while a suspension of the license is in effect, or who operates a child care agency following the effective date of a denial or revocation of a license, commits a Class A misdemeanor.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 37-5-509

  • agency: means the person or entity that provides child care, regardless of whether such person or entity is licensed. See Tennessee Code 37-5-501
  • Child: means :
    (i) A person under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 37-5-103
  • Child care: means the provision of supervision, protection and the basic needs of a child for twenty-four (24) hours a day including the provision of such temporary services to a child awaiting placement in permanent care. See Tennessee Code 37-5-501
  • child care agency: includes "child abuse agency" "child caring institution" "child placing agency" "detention center" "family boarding home or foster home" "group care home" "maternity home" or "temporary holding resource" as defined in subsection (b). See Tennessee Code 37-5-501
  • children: means a person or persons under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 37-5-501
  • Department: means the department of children's services. See Tennessee Code 37-5-501
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Each day of operation without an effective license constitutes a separate offense.
(c)

(1) It is unlawful for any person who is an operator, licensee or employee of a child care agency to make any statement, whether written or verbal, knowing such statement is false, including, but not limited to, statements regarding:

(A) The number of children in the child care agency;
(B) The area of the child care agency used for child care; or
(C) The credentials, licensure or qualification of any care giver, employee, substitute or volunteer of the child care agency, when such statement is made to a parent or guardian of a child in the care of such agency, to any state or local official having jurisdiction over such agencies, or to any law enforcement officer.
(2) In order for subdivision (c)(1) to apply, the falsity of the statement must place at risk the health or safety of a child in the care of the child care agency.
(3) A violation of subdivision (c)(1) is a Class A misdemeanor.
(4) This subsection (c) includes statements made in any child care agency license application that misrepresents or conceals a material fact that would have resulted in the license’s being denied.
(5) In addition to any punishment authorized under this subsection (c), the department may also take any licensure action authorized under this part.
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