(A) Application for license must be made on forms supplied by the department and in the manner it prescribes.

(B) Before issuing a license the department shall conduct an investigation of the applicant and the proposed plan of care for children and for operating a private childcare center or group childcare home. If the results of the investigation verify that the provisions of this chapter and the applicable regulations promulgated by the department are satisfied, a license must be issued. The applicant shall cooperate with the investigation and related inspections by providing access to the physical plant, records, excluding financial records, and staff. Failure to comply with the regulations promulgated by the department within the time period specified in this chapter, if adequate notification of deficiencies has been made, is a ground for denial of application. The investigation and inspections may involve consideration of any facts, conditions, or circumstances relevant to the operation of the childcare center or group childcare home, including references and other information about the character and quality of the personnel.

(C) Each license must be conditioned by stating clearly the name and address of the licensee, the address of the childcare center or group childcare home, and the number of children who may be served.

(D) Failure of the department, except as provided in Section 63-13-200, to approve or deny an application within ninety days results in the granting of a provisional license.

(E)(1) No license may be issued to an operator who has been convicted of any of the offenses included in Section 63-13-40(A)(1).

(2) This section does not prohibit licensing when a conviction or plea of guilty or nolo contendere for one of the crimes enumerated in this subsection has been pardoned. However, notwithstanding the entry of a pardon, the department may consider all information available, including the person's pardoned convictions or pleas and the circumstances surrounding them, to determine whether the person is unfit or otherwise unsuited to be an operator.

(F) Application forms for licenses issued under this section must include, at the top of the form in large bold type, a statement indicating that a person who has been convicted of a crime enumerated in Section 63-13-40(A)(1) who applies for a license as an operator is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(G) A person eighteen years of age or older living in a group family childcare home, and any person eighteen years of age or older who moves into a group family childcare home after an initial application for licensing is approved, shall undergo a state fingerprint review to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history, a fingerprint review to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine any other criminal history, a Central Registry check to be conducted by the department to determine any abuse or neglect perpetrated by the person upon a child, and a search of the National Crime Information Center National Sex Offender Registry and the state sex offender registry pursuant to Section 23-3-430. The person shall be subject to a state criminal register or repository check, a state sex offender check, and a state child abuse and neglect registry and database check in each state where the person has lived in the previous five years. The fingerprint reviews required by this subsection are required to be repeated every five years.

(H) A person fifteen through seventeen years of age living in a group family childcare home, and any person fifteen through seventeen years of age who moves into a group family childcare home after an initial application for licensing is approved, shall undergo a state fingerprint review to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history and a fingerprint review to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine any other criminal history. The fingerprint reviews required by this subsection are required to be repeated every five years.

(I) A person applying for a license as an operator under this section shall undergo a state fingerprint review to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history, a fingerprint review to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine any other criminal history, a Central Registry check to be conducted by the department to determine any abuse or neglect perpetrated by the person upon a child, and a search of the National Crime Information Center National Sex Offender Registry and the state sex offender registry pursuant to Section 23-3-430. The person shall be subject to a state criminal register or repository check, a state sex offender check, and a state child abuse and neglect registry and database check in each state where the person has lived in the previous five years. If a person is not employed or does not provide caregiver services for six months or longer, then the fingerprint reviews must be repeated. The fingerprint reviews required by this subsection are required to be repeated every five years.

(J) A person applying for a license as an operator under this section or seeking employment or seeking to provide caregiver services at a facility licensed under this section shall undergo a state fingerprint review to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history, a fingerprint review to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine any other criminal history, a Central Registry check to be conducted by the department to determine any abuse or neglect perpetrated by the person upon a child, and a search of the National Crime Information Center National Sex Offender Registry and the state sex offender registry pursuant to Section 23-3-430. The person shall be subject to a state criminal register or repository check, a state sex offender check, and a state child abuse and neglect registry and database check in each state where the person has lived in the previous five years. If a person is not employed or does not provide caregiver services for six months or longer, then the fingerprint reviews must be repeated. The fingerprint reviews required by this subsection are required to be repeated every five years.

(K) The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are authorized to retain and store fingerprints for further use in the identification of persons, including, but not limited to, use in identifying unsolved latent prints. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are authorized to provide the department with current and future information regarding the fingerprints stored, including arrests, convictions, dispositions, warrants, and other information available to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, such as civil and criminal information. The prospective employee or childcare facility shall be responsible for any fees associated with any and all required background checks. Fees shall not exceed the actual cost of processing and administration.

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2; 2019 Act No. 52 (S.595), Section 3, eff May 16, 2019.

Effect of Amendment

2019 Act No. 52, Section 3, in (E), inserted the (1) identifier, inserted "any of the offenses included in Section 63-13-40(A)(1)", deleted (1) to (6), which related to specific crimes, and inserted the (2) identifier; in (F), substituted "Section 63-13-40(A)(1)" for "subsection (E)"; inserted (G), and redesignated (G) as (H); rewrote (H); inserted (I), and redesignated (H) as (J); rewrote (J); and added (K).