7 AAC 57.015 - Exemptions from licensure requirements

(a) The following facilities or programs are exempt from the licensure requirements of AS 47.32 and this chapter:

(1) a facility in which child care is regularly provided and each child's parent is on the premises within reasonable proximity and accessibility to the child;

(2) a facility located on a United States Department of Defense or United States Coast Guard installation that is located on federal property, or a facility certified as a family child care provider by a branch of the United States Department of Defense or by the United States Coast Guard;

(3) a recreational program that allows children to attend but that does not assume responsibility for care of the children;

(4) a daytime therapeutic program of supervised, educational, and rehabilitative services for children with special needs as described in 7 AAC 57.940, or with behavioral problems;

(5) a program whose primary function is educational and that

(A) is certified as a pre-elementary school under AS 14.07.020 and 4 AAC 60;

(B) serves children ages three through five years and, under 4 AAC 60.020, is exempt from 4 AAC 60; or

(C) is operated as a Head Start preschool program required to meet standards established under 42 U.S.C. 9836 a;

(6) a temporary facility that provides care for one specific one-time occurrence scheduled for less than five weeks in any 12-month period, including a conference or weekend seminar; for purposes of this paragraph, a temporary facility does not include a day camp or similar facility or program described in (11) of this subsection;

(7) a facility that regularly provides care to four or fewer children who are not relatives of the caregiver; "regularly provides care" means that a child is enrolled for regular care, regardless of whether that child receives full-time or part-time care;

(8) a facility in which the caregiver is a relative of all of the children;

(9) a facility in which the caregiver is caring for a child in the child's own home, regardless of whether the caregiver is a relative of the child;

(10) a public or private elementary school program, kindergarten through grade six, lasting seven or fewer hours each day; the exemption in this paragraph does not apply to child care provided at the school site before or after school;

(11) subject to (b) of this section, a day camp or similar facility or program that

(A) holds a current accreditation or certification from the American Camping Association or another national accreditation group with standards the department finds are substantially similar to the requirements of this chapter; a facility or program that believes it should be exempt under this paragraph shall submit the standards to the department for review and approval;

(B) provides services for children age five years and older;

(C) operates more than five weeks in any 12-month period; and

(D) operates only during summer, winter, and spring school breaks.

(b) To be exempt from the licensure requirements of AS 47.32 and this chapter under (a)(11) of this section, a facility or program must implement and conduct a fingerprint-based background check that meets or exceeds the standards set in 7 AAC 10.900 - 7 AAC 10.990 for each employee and other individual associated with the facility in a manner described in 7 AAC 10.900(b). If the facility or program does not conduct fingerprint-based background checks as described in this subsection,

(1) except for the requirements of this chapter dealing with background checks, the department will accept the accreditation or certification standards of the facility or program in lieu of licensing requirements of this chapter; and

(2) the facility or program must meet the applicable requirements of AS 47.05.300-47.05.390 and 7 AAC 10.900 - 7 AAC 10.990 (barrier crimes and conditions; background checks).

Notes

7 AAC 57.015

Eff. 6/23/2006, Register 178; am 2/9/2007, Register 181; am 6/29/2017,Register 222, July 2017

Authority:AS 44.29.020

AS 47.05.340

AS 47.32.010

AS 47.32.020

AS 47.32.030