(a) Whenever any licensee under this chapter has reasonable cause to believe that a child in his or her care has suffered any injury or has been subjected to any act of violence while under the licensee’s care, the licensee shall, as soon as possible, report that injury or act of violence to the parent, parents, or guardian of that child.
(b) (1) A report shall be made to the department by telephone or fax during the department’s normal business hours before the close of the next working day following the occurrence during the operation of a family day care home of any of the following events:
(A) Death of any child from any cause.
(B) Any injury to any child that requires medical treatment.
(C) Any unusual incident or child absence that threatens the physical or emotional health or safety of any child.
(2) In addition to the report required pursuant to paragraph (1), a written report shall be submitted to the department within seven days following the occurrence of any events specified in paragraph (1). The report shall contain all of the following information:
(A) Child’s name, age, sex, and date of admission.
(B) Date and nature of the event.
(C) Attending physician’s name and findings and treatment, if any.
(D) Disposition of the case.
(c) The department may develop the report form to be used for reporting purposes pursuant to this section, and shall maintain all reports filed under this section in a manner that allows the department to report the data to the Legislature.
(d) The failure of a licensee to report, as prescribed by this section, any injury of, or act of violence to, a child under the licensee’s care may be grounds for the suspension of his or her license pursuant to this chapter, but shall not constitute a misdemeanor.
(e) Nothing in this section shall relieve any licensee of any obligation imposed by other law including, but not limited to, laws relating to seeking medical attention for a child or reporting suspected child abuse.
(Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 679, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)