It shall be the secretary’s duty with regard to licensing under this chapter:

(1) In consultation and with the advice and assistance of persons representative of the various type agencies to be licensed, to designate categories of child care facilities or outdoor locations for which separate or different requirements shall be developed as may be appropriate whether because of variations in the ages and other characteristics of the children served, variations in the purposes and services offered or size or structure of the agencies to be licensed, or because of any other factor relevant thereto;

(2)(a) In consultation with the state fire marshal’s office, the secretary shall use an interagency process to address health and safety requirements for child care programs that serve school-age children and are operated in buildings that contain public or private schools that safely serve children during times in which school is in session;

(b) Any requirements in (a) of this subsection as they relate to the physical facility, including outdoor playgrounds, do not apply to before-school and after-school programs that serve only school-age children and operate in the same facilities used by public or private schools;

(3) In consultation and with the advice and assistance of parents or guardians, and persons representative of the various type agencies to be licensed, to adopt and publish minimum requirements for licensing applicable to each of the various categories of agencies to be licensed under this chapter;

(4) In consultation with law enforcement personnel, the secretary shall investigate the conviction record or pending charges of each agency and its staff seeking licensure or relicensure, and other persons having unsupervised access to children in child care;

(5) To satisfy the shared background check requirements provided for in RCW 43.216.270 and 43.20A.710, the department of children, youth, and families and the department of social and health services shall share federal fingerprint-based background check results as permitted under the law. The purpose of this provision is to allow both departments to fulfill their joint background check responsibility of checking any individual who may have unsupervised access to vulnerable adults, children, or juveniles. Neither department may share the federal background check results with any other state agency or person;

(6) To issue, revoke, or deny licenses to agencies pursuant to this chapter. Licenses shall specify the category of child care that an agency is authorized to render and the ages and number of children to be served;

(7) To prescribe the procedures and the form and contents of reports necessary for the administration of this chapter and to require regular reports from each licensee;

(8) To inspect agencies periodically to determine whether or not there is compliance with this chapter and the requirements adopted under this chapter;

(9) To review requirements adopted under this chapter at least every two years and to adopt appropriate changes after consultation with affected groups for child care requirements; and

(10) To consult with public and private agencies in order to help them improve their methods and facilities for the care and early learning of children.

Effective date—2018 c 58: See note following RCW 28A.655.080.

Effective date—2017 3rd sp.s. c 6 §§ 102, 104-115, 201-227, 301-337, 401-419, 501-513, 801-803, and 805-822: See note following RCW 43.216.025.

Effective date—2015 3rd sp.s. c 7 § 4: “Section 4 of this act takes effect July 1, 2016.” [ 2015 3rd sp.s. c 7 § 23.]

Finding—Intent—2015 3rd sp.s. c 7: See note following RCW 43.216.085.

Finding—Intent—2011 c 359: “(1) The legislature finds that some licensed child care centers seeking to operate in public schools incur substantial costs to renovate spaces that are considered safe for children to use for the purpose of education. Consequently, families are forced to seek before or after school child care outside of the school building, resulting in additional transitions for students.

(2) It is the legislature’s intent to allow licensed child care centers that serve school-age children to operate in facilities that provide a safe and healthy environment for children to use for the purpose of education. With respect to section 2(2) of this act, the legislature intends that the development of any related child care licensing requirements shall:

(a) Ensure safe and healthy environments for children;

(b) Utilize existing rule-making processes and resources;

(c) Utilize existing requirements as a starting point rather than create an entirely new set of requirements; and

(d) Give due consideration to the burdens imposed by inconsistent licensing requirements.” [ 2011 c 359 § 1.]