Substitute House Bill No. 5409
          Substitute House Bill No. 5409

               PUBLIC ACT NO. 98-71


AN  ACT  ALLOWING  LIMITED  CHILD  CARE  IN RETAIL
STORES.


    Be it enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 19a-77 of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
    (b) For registration and licensing requirement
purposes,  child  day   care  services  shall  not
include such services which are:
    (1) [administered] ADMINISTERED  by  a  public
school system; [,]
    (2) [administered] ADMINISTERED  by  a private
school which is  in compliance with section 10-188
and is approved by the State Board of Education or
is accredited by  an accrediting agency recognized
by the State Board of Education; [,]
    (3) [recreation] RECREATION operations such as
but not limited  to  library  programs,  boys' and
girls' clubs, church-related activities, scouting,
camping or community-youth programs; [,]
    (4)  [informal]  INFORMAL  arrangements  among
neighbors  or  relatives   in   their  own  homes,
PROVIDED THE RELATIVE  IS  LIMITED  TO  ANY OF THE
FOLLOWING DEGREES OF  KINSHIP BY BLOOD OR MARRIAGE
TO THE CHILD  BEING  CARED  FOR  OR TO THE CHILD'S
PARENT: CHILD, GRANDCHILD, SIBLING, NIECE, NEPHEW,
AUNT, UNCLE OR CHILD OF ONE'S AUNT, OR UNCLE; [or]
    (5) [drop-in] DROP-IN supplementary child care
operations [where parents are on the premises] for
educational or recreational purposes and the child
receives such care infrequently [. For purposes of
subdivision  (4)  of  this  subsection,  the  term
"relative" is limited  to  any  of  the  following
degrees of kinship  by  blood  or  marriage to the
child being cared for or to a parent of the child:
Child, grandchild, sibling,  niece,  nephew, aunt,
uncle or child  of one's aunt or uncle.] WHERE THE
PARENTS ARE ON THE PREMISES; OR
    (6)   DROP-IN   SUPPLEMENTARY    CHILD    CARE
OPERATIONS  IN  RETAIL  ESTABLISHMENTS  WHERE  THE
PARENTS ARE ON  THE  PREMISES FOR RETAIL SHOPPING,
IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 2 OF THIS ACT, PROVIDED
THAT   THE   DROP-IN    SUPPLEMENTARY   CHILD-CARE
OPERATION DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AND DOES NOT REFER
TO ITSELF AS A CHILD DAY CARE CENTER.
    Sec. 2. (NEW) (a) During the period commencing
on the effective  date  of  this act and ending on
October 1, 1999,  any retail establishment in this
state  may  establish   a   drop-in  supplementary
child-care  operation  on  the  premises  of  such
retail  establishment  in   accordance   with  the
following requirements:
    (1) The hours of operation may only be between
six o'clock a.m. and nine o'clock p.m.
    (2) No child receiving care shall be less than
three years nor more than ten years of age.
    (3) A child  may  not  receive  more  than two
hours of care per day.
    (4)  The  operation   may  immediately  notify
appropriate law enforcement  or  state agencies if
any child receiving  care at such operation is not
picked up by  a  parent  or  guardian  after three
hours.
    (5) A parent  or  guardian  shall  be  on  the
premises at the  retail establishment at all times
while the child is receiving care.
    (6) The retail  establishment  shall provide a
clean and safe  area for the drop-in supplementary
child-care operation.
    (7) At all  times  the operation shall provide
(A) at least one child-care staff person for every
ten children and (B) at least one child-care staff
person who is twenty years of age or older who has
experience in child care.
    (8) All child-care staff shall be subject to a
criminal records check. The operation shall submit
the  names  of   all   child-care   staff  to  the
Commissioner of Public Health, who shall request a
check of such  names  from  the  state child abuse
registry established pursuant  to section 17a-101k
of the general statutes.
    (b) Any retail  establishment that establishes
a drop-in supplementary child-care operation under
subsection (a) of  this  section shall provide the
Commissioner of Public  Health with written notice
of  the  establishment   of  such  operation.  The
commissioner  may monitor  and  inspect  any  such
operation  and  shall  investigate  any  complaint
received by the  commissioner  concerning any such
operation. Not later  than  February  1, 1999, the
commissioner shall submit  a  report  to the joint
standing committee of  the General Assembly having
cognizance of matters relating to public health in
accordance  with  section  11-4a  of  the  general
statutes.  Such report  shall  contain  the  total
number  of such  operations  established  in  this
state,  the  total   number   and  nature  of  any
complaints received by the commissioner concerning
any such operations and any policy or legal issues
identified by the commissioner with respect to the
continuation of such operations in this state.
    Sec. 3. This  act  shall  take effect from its
passage.

Approved May 19, 1998