Penalties

101195

(a) A penalty of $50 per day, per cited violation, shall be assessed for serious deficiencies that are not corrected by the date specified in the notice of deficiency, up to a maximum of $150 per day.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 101195(a) above, an immediate penalty of $100 per cited violation per day for a maximum of five (5) days shall be assessed if any individual required to be fingerprinted under Health and Safety Code Section 1596.871(b) has not obtained a California clearance or criminal record exemption, requested a transfer of a criminal record clearance or requested and be approved for a transfer of an exemption as specified in Section 101170(e) prior to working, residing or volunteering in the facility.

(1) Subsequent violations within a twelve (12) month period will result in a civil penalty of one hundred dollars ($100) per violation per day for a maximum of thirty (30) days.

(2) The Department may assess civil penalties for continued violations as permitted by Health and Safety Code Section 1596.99.

(3) Progressive civil penalties specified in Sections 101195(d) and (e) below shall not apply.

(c) Notwithstanding (a) above, an immediate penalty of $150 per day shall be assessed if a child becomes sick, is injured or dies as a result of a deficiency.

(d) When a child care center is cited for a deficiency and violates the same regulation subsection within a 12-month period, the child care center shall be cited and an immediate penalty of $150 per cited violation shall be assessed for one day only. Thereafter, a penalty of $50 per day, per cited violation, shall be assessed until the deficiency is corrected.

(e) When a child care center that was cited for a deficiency subject to the immediate penalty assessment specified in Section 101195(d) above violates the same regulation subsection within a 12-month period of the last violation, the child care center shall be cited and an immediate penalty of $150 per cited violation shall be assessed for one day only. Thereafter, a penalty of $150 per day, per cited violation, shall be assessed until the deficiency is corrected.

(1) For purposes of Sections 101195(d) and (e) above, a regulation subsection is the regulation denoted by a lower-case letter after the main regulation number.

An example of the same regulation subsection are Sections 101216.1(d)(1) and 101216(d)(3). Sections 101216.1(b) and 101216.1(d) are not the same regulation subsection.

(f) If any deficiency is not corrected by the date specified in the notice of deficiency, a penalty shall be assessed for each day following that date until compliance has been demonstrated.

(1) Immediate penalty assessment as specified in Sections 101195(c), (d) and (e), shall begin on the day the deficiency is cited.

(g) If a licensee or his/her representative reports to the Department that a deficiency has been corrected, the penalty shall cease as of the day the Department receives either verbal or written notification that the correction was made.

(1) If the evaluator determines the deficiency was not corrected as reported, civil penalties shall continue to accrue from the date of the original citation.

(2) If it can be verified that the correction was made prior to the date of notification, the penalty shall cease as of that earlier date.

(h) If necessary, a site visit shall be made immediately or within five working days to confirm that the deficiency has been corrected.

(i) If an immediate civil penalty is assessed and the deficiency is corrected on the same day, the penalty shall still be assessed for that day.

(j) Unless otherwise ordered by the Department all penalties are due and payable upon receipt of notice for payment, and shall be paid only by check or money order made payable to the agency indicated in the notice.

(k) The Department has the authority to file a claim in a court of competent jurisdiction or to take other appropriate action for failure to pay penalties as specified in (j) above.

NOTE: Authority cited: Sections 1596.81 and 1596.893(b), Health and Safety Code. Reference: Sections 1596.81(b), 1596.871, 1596.893, 1596.98 and 1596.99, Health and Safety Code.