Md. Code Regs. 13A.15.01.02

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 25, December 13, 2024

Section 13A.15.01.02 - Definitions

A. In this subtitle, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) "Abuse" means:

(a) The physical or mental injury of a child, under circumstances that indicate that the child's health or welfare is significantly harmed or at risk of being significantly harmed, by:

(i) A parent;

(ii) An individual who has permanent or temporary care or custody or responsibility for supervision of a child; or

(iii) A household or family member; or

(b) Sexual abuse of a child, whether physical injuries are sustained or not.

(2) "Acute illness" means an abnormal condition of the body with rapid onset that has a short course of duration, as opposed to a chronic illness of long duration.

(3) "Additional adult" means an individual 18 years old or older who assists a family child care provider in caring for children who are younger than 24 months old.

(4) "Agency" means the Office of Child Care, Division of Early Childhood Development, in the State Department of Education.

(5) "Agency representative" means an individual designated by the Agency to determine compliance with this subtitle.

(6) "Applicant" means a person who has submitted to the office all of the required forms and documentation to request approval for initial registration or for continuing registration.

(7) "Approved training" means course work or a workshop provided by:

(a) A regionally accredited college or university;

(b) A State-approved private career school;

(c) The Child Development Associate National Credentialing Program;

(d) Other organizations or individuals approved by the office; or

(e) The Agency.

(7-1) Cannabis.

(a) "Cannabis" means the plant cannabis sativa L. and any part of the plant, including:

(i) All derivatives;

(ii) Extracts;

(iii) Cannabinoids;

(iv) Isomers;

(v) Acids;

(vi) Salts; and

(vii) Salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration greater than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.

(b) "Cannabis" includes any product that is composed of cannabis, cannabis concentrate, or cannabis extract including but not limited to cannabis vaporizing devices, concentrated cannabis products, edible cannabis products, and any usable cannabis products.

(c) "Cannabis" does not include hemp or hemp products, as defined in Agriculture Article, § 14-101, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(8) "Child" means an individual who is younger than:

(a) 13 years old; or

(b) 21 years old and has a developmental disability or other emotional, physical, educational, or medical need for child care beyond 13 years old.

(9) "Continuing registration" means a family child care registration that does not expire.

(10) "Core of knowledge" means the competencies identified by the office as essential for all individuals working in the child care delivery system, including:

(a) Child development;

(b) Curriculum;

(c) Special needs;

(d) Professionalism;

(e) Community; and

(f) Health, safety, and nutrition.

(11) "Department" means the Maryland State Department of Education.

(12) "Elective training" means training at a conference, seminar, or other event that is approved by the office but is not in a core of knowledge competency area.

(13) Employee.

(a) "Employee" means an individual who is employed to work in a family child care home and who:

(i) Cares for or supervises children in the facility; or

(ii) Has access to children who are cared for or supervised in the facility.

(b) "Employee" includes a substitute.

(c) "Employee" does not include an individual who is:

(i) An independent contractor; or

(ii) A licensed or certified health care professional who is compensated by the family child care provider or the parent of a child in care to provide a specified health care service to the child.

(d) For the purpose of applying the criminal background check requirements and the child and adult abuse and neglect record review requirements set forth in this subtitle, "employee" includes an individual who:

(i) Meets the definition of an employee as set forth in this subsection; and

(ii) Does not clearly meet, or is not excluded from, the definition of independent contractor as set forth in §B(19) of this regulation.

(14) "Family child care" has the same meaning as family child care as defined in Education Article, § 9.5-301(d), Annotated Code of Maryland, and means the care given to a child younger than 13 years old or to a developmentally disabled person younger than 21 years old in place of parental care for less than 24 hours a day, in a residence other than the child's residence, for which the provider is paid in cash or in kind.

(15) "Family child care coprovider" means an individual who shares responsibility with the family child care provider for the operation of the family child care home and who meets the requirements of this subtitle.

(16) "Family child care home" means the residence in which child care is given.

(17) "Family child care provider" means the adult who has primary responsibility for the provision of child care in the family child care home and who meets the requirements of this subtitle.

(18) "Identified as responsible for child abuse or neglect" means being determined by a local department of social services or other state agency to be responsible for indicated child abuse or neglect, or awaiting the local department's appeal hearing after the determination.

(19) Independent Contractor.

(a) "Independent contractor" means an individual or other entity:

(i) That is hired by the family child care provider, a resident, or the parent of a child in care, on the basis of a service contract or agreement, to perform a specialized service at the family child care home, including, but not limited to, home maintenance or repair, academic tutoring, or recreational programming, for a specified period of time or in order to achieve a specified result;

(ii) That determines how the specialized service shall be performed; and

(iii) Whose specialized service is not restricted to the family child care home, but is available for hire by other customers.

(b) "Independent contractor" does not include an individual who:

(i) Is a licensed or certified health care professional compensated by the family child care provider to provide a specified health care service to a child in care;

(ii) Under a private arrangement with the parent or guardian of a child or children in care, provides a health care, educational, or other service only to that child or those children; or

(iii) Is employed for compensation by a public school or by a private or nonpublic school required to report annually to the State Board of Education.

(19-1) "Infant-toddler" means a child age group comprising children younger than 2 years old.

(20) "Injurious treatment" means:

(a) Physical discipline, including but not limited to spanking, hitting, shaking, or any other means of physical discipline, or enforcement of acts which result in physical pain;

(b) Failure to attend to a child's physical needs and other physically damaging acts, excluding reasonable acts to protect the child from imminent danger;

(c) Subjecting a child to verbal abuse intended to cause mental distress, such as shouting, cursing, shaming, threatening, or ridiculing; and

(d) Utilizing discipline methods that are considered inappropriate by child care professionals and create undue discomfort, such as, but not limited to, washing a child's mouth with soap, putting pepper or other spicy or distasteful items in a child's mouth, requiring a child to stand on one foot as punishment, or tying a child to a cot or other equipment.

(20-1) "Intimate partner" means a person eligible to seek relief from domestic violence as specified in Family Law Article, § 4-501(m)(1), (2), (6), or (7), Annotated Code of Maryland.

(21) "Mental injury" means the observable, identifiable, and substantial impairment of a child's mental or psychological ability to function.

(22) "Neglect" means leaving a child unattended or otherwise failing to give proper care and attention to a child by the child's parents, guardian, or custodian under circumstances that indicate that the child's health or welfare is significantly harmed or placed at risk of significant harm.

(23) "Office" means the central office or a regional office of the Agency.

(24) Overnight Care.

(a) "Overnight care" means family child care that is provided between the hours of 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.

(b) "Overnight care" does not include family child care provided to a child enrolled for care during daytime or evening hours who, because of the parent's schedule, must remain at the family child care home for up to 1/2 hour after 12 a.m. or arrive up to 1/2 hour before 6 a.m.

(25) "Parent" means the biological or adoptive parent, or the legal guardian or custodian of a child, who enrolls the child in care.

(26) Potentially Hazardous Food.

(a) 'Potentially hazardous food" means any food that consists in whole or in part of milk or milk products, eggs, meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, edible Crustacea, or other ingredients, including synthetic ingredients capable of supporting rapid and progressive growth of infectious, toxigenic microorganisms.

(b) 'Potentially hazardous food" does not include clean, whole, uncracked, odor-free shell eggs.

(27) "Professional development plan" means the written instrument for tracking continued training that is:

(a) Distributed by the office to a provider; and

(b) To be completed annually by the provider.

(28) "Provider" means the individual or individuals to whom a family child care certificate of registration is issued under this subtitle.

(29) Relative.

(a) "Relative" means an individual related to a child by blood, marriage, or adoption.

(b) "Relative" includes a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, stepparent, stepsister, stepbrother, uncle, aunt, first or second cousin, great grandparent, great uncle, or great aunt.

(30) "Resident" means a person who lives in the family child care home.

(31) "Sanction" means an enforcement action under this subtitle.

(32) "Substitute" means an adult who is responsible for the operation of a family child care home when the provider is absent.

(33) "Successfully passed" means, when used in connection with a criminal background check or a review of records of abuse and neglect of children or adults conducted on an individual, that the individual has not:

(a) Received a conviction, a probation before judgment disposition, or a not criminally responsible disposition, or does not have a pending charge for the commission or attempted commission of a crime listed in COMAR 12.15.02.07B ; or

(b) Been identified as responsible for the abuse or neglect of a child or an adult.

(34) "Superintendent" means the State Superintendent of Schools or the Superintendent's designee.

(35) "Treatment foster care" means a 24-hour substitute care program, operated by a licensed child placement agency or local department of social services, for children with a serious emotional, behavioral, medical, or psychological condition.

(35-1) "Vaping" means using a device that can deliver aerosolized or vaporized products, including but not limited to nicotine and cannabis, to an individual inhaling from the device.

(36) Volunteer.

(a) "Volunteer" means an individual who:

(i) Is 13 years old or older;

(ii) Works in or for the family child care program but is not a compensated employee of the provider; and

(iii) Is not enrolled as a child in care at the family child care home.

(b) "Volunteer" does not mean an additional adult or a substitute.

Md. Code Regs. 13A.15.01.02

Regulations .02B amended effective April 19, 2010 (37:8 Md. R. 618); 40:12 Md. R. 1043, eff. 6/24/2013 ; 41:7 Md. R. 423, eff. 4/14/2014 ; amended effective 47:1 Md. R. 12, eff. 1/13/2020; amended effective 49:8 Md. 500, eff. 4/18/2022; amended effective 50:20 Md. R. 885, eff. 8/31/2023, exp. 2/12/2024(Emergency); amended effective 51:2 Md. R. 76, eff. 2/5/2024