Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Describes the Most Common Kansas Child Care Provider Licensing Issues

Clients frequently come to me with issues regarding their child care licensing issues. Whether it is because they accidentally hired an employee with a criminal past, they are alleged to have endangered a child, or their facility is understaffed, any one of these allegations can end your career as a childcare provider.

If you are a professional in Missouri facing an investigation, call attorney Sanger immediately at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot work your way through this alone.

Child Care Providers in Kansas: The Law

I attached a link to the Kansas statutes and regulations that dictate how child care licensing works in Kansas. For the purposes of this post, however, here are are all of the reasons that a person or business’s childcare license could be revoked:

K.S.A. 65-523. Grounds for limitation, modification or suspension of license or temporary permit.

The secretary may limit, modify or suspend any license or temporary permit issued under the provisions of K.S.A. 65-501 through 65-516, and amendments thereto, upon any of the following grounds and in the manner provided in this act:

• Violation by the licensee or holder of a temporary permit of any provision of this act or of the rules and regulations promulgated under this act;
• aiding, abetting or permitting the violating of any provision of this act or of the rules and regulations promulgated under this act;
• conduct in the operation or maintenance, or both the operation and maintenance, of a maternity center or child care facility which is inimical to the health, safety or welfare of any woman or child receiving services from such maternity center or child care facility, or the public;
• the conviction of a licensee or holder of a temporary permit, at any time during licensure or during the time the temporary permit is in effect, of crimes as defined in K.S.A. 65- 516, and amendments thereto; and
• a third or subsequent violation by the licensee or holder of a temporary permit of subsection (b) of K.S.A. 65-530, and amendments thereto.

Below I will go through the most common types of allegations that I see.

“Conduct Inimical”

To be “inimical” means to be the enemy of something. As used above, it means that it is alleged that a daycare provider is acting in a way that is the enemy of the children’s health, safety, or welfare. This is a broad, subjective category, but I most commonly see allegations involving hitting children, unsanitary or unsafe facilities, or allowing staff to behave inappropriately in front of children in their care. Sadly, given our nation’s opioid epidemic, I frequently see cases where it is alleged that childcare providers are under the influence of opioids while caring for children.

Criminal and Other Conduct

Being convicted of a crime may not mean the loss of your childcare license, but either having a felony conviction or employing someone who does is a common reason for revocation. Any sort of felony sex offense, drug offense, or assault, particularly domestic violence, is a bar to employment at a child care facility, even if it was committed as a child. Employing felons may also trigger a loss of license, so I always advise thorough background checks before any hire. Additionally, Kansas does not allow some people who require a conservator or cannot be legally responsible for themselves, such as people with significant mental disabilities, from working at a child care center. Kansas also people who have had their children taken from them due to abuse or neglect to work at child care centers.

Staffing Ratios and Capacity

As a childcare facility, you should know the required ratios of staff to children. Unfortunately, these license revocation issues often arise after an accident, when the State of Kansas revokes a license because there was, allegedly, inadequate staffing to prevent the accident. Staffing ratios depend on the age and number of children in your facility, know them.

If you are a childcare provider facing license revocation, your livelihood is in jeopardy. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to working with children and losing your career forever.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.