Definitions

PURPOSE: This rule defines the terms used in the licensing rules for group day care homes and child day care centers. (1) Adult is any individual eighteen (18) years of age or older. (2) Caregiver is the child care provider or other child care staff member and also includes a Junior Aide for group child care homes and child care centers. A Junior Aide is an individual sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age. (3) Child care or day care is care of a child away from his/ her own home for any part of the twenty-four- (24-) hour day for compensation or otherwise. Child care or day care is a voluntary supplement to parental responsibility for the child’s protection, development, and supervision. (4) A child care center or center, whether owned by a sole proprietor or other legal entity, is a child care program conducted in a location other than the provider’s permanent residence, or separate from the provider’s living quarters, where care is provided for children for any part of the twentyfour- (24-) hour day. (5) A child care facility or facility is a family child care home, group child care home, or child care center. (6) Child care provider, group child care home provider, or provider is the adult person(s) licensed or required to be licensed under section 210.211, RSMo, in order to establish, conduct, or maintain a child care facility. This person(s) shall have the following rights and responsibilities as determined by the department: (A) Ultimate responsibility for making and implementing decisions regarding the operation of the facility; and (B) Ultimate financial control of the operation of the facility. (7) A child care staff member is a child care provider; persons employed by the child care provider for compensation, including contract employees or self-employed individuals; individuals or volunteers whose activities involve the care or supervision of children for a child care provider or unsupervised access to children who are cared for or supervised by a child care provider; individuals residing in a family child care home who are eighteen (18) years of age and older; or individuals residing in a family child care home who are under eighteen (18) years of age and have been certified as an adult for the commission of an offense. (8) Commissioner is the Commissioner of Education for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (9) Department is the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (10) A family child care home or home, whether owned by a sole proprietor or other legal entity, is a child care program where care is given by a person licensed as a child care home provider for no more than ten (10) children for any part of the twenty-four- (24-) hour day. The provider may be licensed to operate no more than one (1) family child care home or group child care home. (11) A group child care home, whether owned by a sole proprietor or other legal entity, is a child care program where care is given by a person licensed as a group child care home provider for not more than twenty (20) children for any part of the twenty-four- (24-) hour day. A group child care home shall be in a location other than the provider’s permanent residence or separate from the provider’s living quarters. The provider may be licensed to operate no more than one (1) group child care home or family child care home. (12) Group size is the maximum number of children assigned to a specific staff member or group of staff members, occupying an individual classroom or well-defined physical space within a large room. (13) Homeless children and youths— (A) Are individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and (B) Include— 1. Children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals; 2. Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; 3. Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and 4. Migratory children who qualify as homeless because the children are living in the circumstances described above. (14) Infant is any child under twelve (12) months of age. (15) Legal entity is the lawful or legally standing individual, corporation, sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, limited liability limited partnership, partnership, charity, and other forms of organization that has the legal capacity to enter into agreements, contracts, assume obligations, incur and pay debts, sue and be sued in its own right, and that is accountable for illegal activities. (16) Licensee is an individual or other legal entity who has been granted a child care license by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (17) Night is the part of the twenty-four- (24-) hour day between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. (18) Parent means a child’s biological parent whose parental rights have not been terminated, a step-parent, an adoptive parent, a legal guardian, a caretaker relative, or other person standing in loco parentis for the child. (19) Premises is a house(s), dwelling(s), or building(s) and its adjoining land. AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (20) Preschool child is any child two through five (2–5) years of age who is not in kindergarten. (21) A religious organization is— (A) A church, synagogue, or mosque; (B) An entity that qualifies for federal tax exemption status as a not-for-profit religious organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; or (C) An entity whose real estate on which the child care facility is located is exempt from taxation because it is used for religious purposes. (22) School-age child is any child five (5) years of age or older who is in kindergarten or above. (23) Staff/child ratio is the number of caregivers required in relation to the number of children in care. (24) Toddler is any child twelve to twenty-four (12–24) months of age. AUTHORITY: section 161.092, RSMo 2016, and section 210.221.1(3), RSMo Supp. 2023.* This rule previously filed as 13 CSR 40-62.010 and 19 CSR 40-62.010. Original rule filed in 1956. Amended: Filed Dec. 19, 1975, effective Jan. 1, 1976. Amended: Filed Dec. 14, 1976, effective March 11, 1977. Rescinded: Filed April 13, 1982, effective Aug. 31, 1982. Readopted: Filed April 13, 1982, effective Sept. 1, 1982. Amended: Filed March 14, 1985, effective Aug. 11, 1985. Amended: Filed Oct. 7, 1987, effective March 25, 1988. Rescinded and readopted: Filed March 29, 1991, effective Oct. 31, 1991. Changed to 19 CSR 40-62.010, effective Dec. 9, 1993. Emergency amendment filed Aug. 18, 1993, effective Aug. 28, 1993, expired Dec. 25, 1993. Emergency amendment filed Jan. 4, 1994, effective Jan. 14, 1994, expired May 13, 1994. Amended: Filed Aug. 18, 1993, effective April 9, 1994. Changed to 19 CSR 30-62.010 July 30, 1998. Amended: Filed Aug. 31, 2020, effective Feb. 28, 2021. Moved to 5 CSR 25-500.010, effective Aug. 30, 2021. Amended: Filed Oct. 12, 2021, effective May 30, 2022. Amended: Filed June 14, 2023, effective Jan. 30, 2024. *Original authority: 161.092, RSMo 1963, amended 1973, 2002, 2003, 2013, 2014, and 210.221.1(3), RSMo 1949, amended 1955, 1987, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2022.