237A.25 Consumer information.

1. The department shall develop consumer information material to assist parents in selecting a child care provider. In developing the material, the department shall consult with department of human services staff, department of education staff, the state child care advisory committee, the early childhood Iowa state board, and child care resource and referral services. In addition, the department may consult with other entities at the local, state, and national level.

2. The consumer information material developed by the department for parents and other consumers of child care services shall include but is not limited to all of the following:

a. A pamphlet or other printed material containing consumer-oriented information on locating a quality child care provider.

b. Information explaining important considerations a consumer should take into account in selecting a licensed or registered child care provider.

c. Information explaining how a consumer can identify quality services, including what questions to ask of providers and what a consumer might expect or demand to know before selecting a provider.

d. An explanation of the applicable laws and regulations written in layperson’s terms.

e. An explanation of what it means for a provider to be licensed, registered, or unregistered.

f. An explanation of the information considered in registry and record background checks.

g. Other information deemed relevant to consumers.

3. The department shall implement and publicize an internet page or site that provides all of the following:

a. The written information developed pursuant to subsections 1 and 2.

b. Regular informational updates, including when a child care provider was last subject to a state quality review or inspection and, based upon a final score or review, the results indicating whether the provider passed or failed the review or inspection.

c. Capability for a consumer to be able to access information concerning child care providers, such as informational updates, identification of provider location, name, and capacity, and identification of providers participating in the state child care assistance program and those participating in the child care food program, by sorting the information or employing other means that provide the information in a manner that is useful to the consumer. Information regarding provider location shall identify providers located in the vicinity of an address selected by a consumer and provide contact information without listing the specific addresses of the providers.

d. Other information deemed appropriate by the department.

2003 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 2, §18, 209; 2010 Acts, ch 1031, §357, 361; 2017 Acts, ch 29, §57

Referred to in §237A.4A, 237A.30