Section R9-3-101. Definitions

In addition to the definitions in A.R.S. § 36-897 and unless the con- text indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply in this Chapter:

1.        “Abuse” has the meaning in A.R.S. § 8-201.

2.        “Accident” means an unexpected occurrence that:

a.        Causes physical injury to an enrolled child, and

b.        May or may not be an emergency.

3.        “Accredited” means approved by the:

a.        New England Association of Schools and Colleges,

b.        Middle States Association of Colleges and Second- ary Schools,

c.        North Central Association of Colleges and Schools,

d.        Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges,

e.        Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or

f.         Western Association of Colleges and Schools.

4.        “Activity” means an action planned by a certificate holder or staff member and performed by an enrolled child while supervised by a staff member.

5.        “Adaptive device” means equipment used to augment an individual’s use of the individual’s arms, legs, sight, hear- ing, or other physical part or function.

6.        “Adult” means an individual 18 years of age or older.

7.        “Age-appropriate” means consistent with a child’s age and age-related stage of physical growth and mental development.

8.        “Applicant” means an individual or business organization requesting one of the following:

a.        A certificate under R9-3-201, or

b.        Approval of a change affecting a certificate under R9-3-205.

9.        “Application” means the documents that an applicant is required to submit to the Department to request a certifi- cate or approval of a request for a change affecting a cer- tificate.

10.     “Business organization” has the same meaning  as “entity” in A.R.S. § 10-140.

11.     “Capacity” means the maximum number of enrolled chil- dren authorized by the Department to be present at a child care group home during hours of operation.

12.     “Certificate” means the written authorization issued by the Department to operate a child care group home in Ari- zona.

13.     “Certificate holder” means a person to whom the Depart- ment has issued a certificate.

14.     “Change in ownership” means a transfer of controlling legal or controlling equitable interest and authority in the operation of a child care group home.

15.     “Child” means any individual younger than 13 years of age.

16.     “Child care experience” means an individual’s docu- mented work with children in:

a.        A child care facility or a child care group home that was licensed, certified, or approved by a state in the United States or by one of the Uniformed Services of the United States;

b.        A public school, a charter school, a private school, or an accommodation school; or

c.        A public or private educational institution autho- rized under the laws of another state where instruc- tion was provided for any grade or combination of grades between pre-kindergarten and grade 12.

17.     “Child care services” means the range of activities and programs provided by a certificate holder to an enrolled child, including personal care, supervision, education, guidance, and transportation.

18.     “Child with special needs” means:

a.        A child with a documented diagnosis from a physi- cian, physician assistant, or registered nurse practi- tioner of a physical or mental condition that substantially limits the child in providing self-care or performing manual tasks or any other major life function such as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, or learning;

b.        A child with a “developmental disability” as defined in A.R.S. § 36-551; or

c.        A “child with a disability” as defined in A.R.S. § 15- 761.

19.     “Clean” means:

a.        To remove dirt or debris by methods such as wash- ing with soap and water, vacuuming, wiping, dust- ing, or sweeping; or

b.        Free of dirt and debris.

20.     “Communicable disease” has the meaning in A.A.C. R9- 6-101.

21.     “Compensation” means money or other consideration, including goods, services, vouchers, time, government or public expenditures, government or public funding, or another benefit, that is received as payment.

22.     “Controlling person” has the meaning in A.R.S. § 36-881.

23.     “Corporal punishment” means any physical act used to discipline a child that inflicts pain to the body of the child, or that may result in physical injury to the child.

24.     “CPR” means cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

25.     “Credit hour” means an academic unit earned through an accredited college or university for completing the equiv- alent of one hour of class time each week during a semes- ter or equivalent shorter course term, as designated by the accredited college or university.

26.     “Days” means calendar days, not including the day of the act, event, or default from which a designated period of time begins to run, but including the last day of the period unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday, in which case the period runs until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday.

27.     “Designated agent” means an individual who is autho- rized by an applicant or certificate holder to receive com- munications from the Department, including legal service of process, and to file or sign documents on behalf of the applicant or certificate holder.

28.     “Developmentally appropriate” means consistent with a child’s physical, emotional, social, cultural, and cognitive development, based on the child’s age and family back- ground and the child’s personality, learning style, and pat- tern and timing of growth.

29.     “Discipline” means the on-going process of helping a child develop self-control and assume responsibility for the child’s own actions.

30.     “Documentation” means information in written, photo- graphic, electronic, or other permanent form.

31.     “Emergency” means a potentially life-threatening occur- rence involving an enrolled child or staff member that requires an immediate response or medical treatment.

32.     “Endanger” means to expose an individual to a situation where physical or mental injury to the individual may occur.

33.     “Enrolled child” means a child:

a.        Who is not a resident; and

b.        Who has been placed by a parent, who may be a staff member, to receive child care services at the child care group home.

34.     “Fall zone” means the surface under and around a piece of equipment onto which a child falling from or exiting from the equipment would be expected to land.

35.     “Field trip” means travel for a specific activity to a loca- tion away from an area of the child care group home approved for providing child care services.

36.     “Food” means a raw, cooked, or processed edible sub- stance or ingredient, including a beverage, used or intended for use in whole or in part for human consump- tion.

37.     “Guidance”  means  the   ongoing  direction,  counseling,

teaching, or modeling of generally accepted social behav- ior through which a child learns to develop and maintain the self-control, self-reliance, and self-esteem necessary to assume responsibilities, make daily living decisions, and live according to generally accepted social behavior.

38.     “Hazard” means a source of endangerment.

39.     “High school equivalency diploma” means:

a.        A document issued by the Arizona Department of Education under A.R.S. § 15-702 to an individual who passes a general educational development test or meets the requirements of A.R.S. § 15-702(B);

b.        A document issued by another state to an individual who passes a general educational development test or meets the requirements of a state statute equiva- lent to A.R.S. § 15-702(B); or

c.        A document issued by another country to an individ- ual who has completed that country’s equivalent of a 12th grade education, as determined by the Depart- ment based upon information obtained from Ameri- can or foreign consulates or embassies or other governmental entities.

40.     “Hours of operation” means the specific days of the week and time period during a day when a certificate holder provides child care services on a regular basis.

41.     “Illness” means physical manifestation or signs of sick- ness such as pain, vomiting, rash, fever, discharge, or diarrhea.

42.     “Immediate” means without restriction, delay, or hesita- tion.

43.     “Inaccessible” means:

a.        Out of an enrolled child’s reach, or

b.        Locked.

44.     “Infant” means a child 12 months of age or younger.

45.     “Infestation” means the presence of lice, pinworms, sca- bies, or other parasites.

46.     “Mat” means a foam pad that has a waterproof cover.

47.     “Mechanical restraint” means a device, article, or gar- ment attached or adjacent to a child’s body that the child cannot easily remove and that restricts the child’s free- dom of movement or normal access to the child’s body, but does not include a device, article, or garment:

a.        Used for orthopedic purposes, or

b.        Necessary to allow a child to heal from a medical condition.

48.     “Medication” means a substance prescribed by a physi- cian, physician assistant, or registered nurse practitioner or that is available without a prescription for the treat- ment or prevention of illness or infestation.

49.     “Menu” means a written description of food that a child care group home provides and serves as a meal or snack.

50.     “Motor vehicle” has the meaning in A.R.S. § 28-101.

51.     “Neglect” has the meaning in A.R.S. § 8-201.

52.     “Outbreak” has the meaning in A.A.C. R9-6-101.

53.     “Parent” means:

a.        A natural or adoptive mother or father,

b.        A legal guardian appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, or

c.        A “custodian” as defined in A.R.S. § 8-201.

54.     “Perishable food” means food that becomes unfit for human consumption if not stored to prevent spoilage.

55.     “Person” has the meaning in A.R.S. § 1-215.

56.     “Personal items” means those articles of property that belong to an enrolled child and are brought to the child care group home for that enrolled child’s exclusive use, such as clothing, a blanket, a sheet, a toothbrush, a paci- fier, a hairbrush, a comb, a washcloth, or a towel.

57.     “Physician” means an individual licensed as a doctor of:

a.        Allopathic medicine under A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 13;

b.        Naturopathic medicine under A.R.S. Title 32, Chap- ter 14;

c.        Osteopathic medicine under A.R.S. Title 32, Chap- ter 17;

d.        Homeopathic medicine under A.R.S. Title 32, Chap- ter 29; or

e.        Allopathic, naturopathic, osteopathic, or homeo- pathic medicine under the laws of another state.

58.     “Physician assistant” means:

a.        The same as in A.R.S. § 32-2501, or

b.        An individual licensed as a physician assistant under the laws of another state.

59.     “Premises” means a child care group home’s residence and the surrounding property, including any structures on the property, that can be enclosed by a single unbroken boundary line that does not encompass property owned or leased by another person.

60.     “Registered nurse practitioner” means:

a.        The same as in A.R.S. § 32-1601, or

b.        An individual licensed as a registered nurse practi- tioner under the laws of another state.

61.     “Regular basis” means at recurring, fixed, or uniform intervals.

62.     “Residence” means a dwelling, such as a house, used for human habitation.

63.     “Resident” means an individual who uses a child care group home as the individual’s principal place of habita- tion for 30 days or more during the calendar year.

64.     “Sanitize” means to use heat, a chemical agent, or a ger- micidal solution to disinfect and reduce pathogen counts, including bacteria, viruses, mold, and fungi.

65.     “School-age child” means a child who attends:

a.        A public school, as defined for “school” in A.R.S. § 15-101; or

b.        A private school, as defined in A.R.S. § 15-101.

66.     “Separate” means to exclude a child from and have the child physically move away from other children, while keeping the child under supervision.

67.     “Signed” means affixed with an individual’s signature or, if the individual is unable to write the individual’s name, with a symbol representing the individual’s signature.

68.     “Sippy cup” means a lidded drinking container that is designed to be leak-proof or leak-resistant and from which a child drinks through a spout or straw.

69.     “Space utilization” means the designated use of specific areas on the premises for providing child care services.

70.     “Staff member” means an individual who works at a child care group home providing child care services, regardless of whether compensation is received by the individual in return for providing child care services, and includes a provider.

71.     “Supervision” means:

a.        For a child who is awake, knowledge of and accountability for the actions and whereabouts of the child, including the ability to see or hear the child at all times, to interact with the child, and to provide guidance to the child;

b.        For a child who is asleep, knowledge of and accountability for the actions and whereabouts of the child, including the ability to see or hear the child at all times and to respond to the child;

c.        For a staff member who is not an adult, knowledge of   and  accountability  for  the  actions  and  where-

abouts of the staff member and the ability to interact with and provide guidance to the staff member; or

d.        For an individual other than a child or staff member, knowledge of and accountability for the actions and whereabouts of the individual, including the ability to see and hear the individual when the individual is in the presence of an enrolled child and the ability to intervene in the individual’s actions to prevent harm to enrolled children.

72.     “Swimming pool” has the meaning in A.A.C. R18-5-201.

73.     “Training” means instruction received through:

a.        Completion of a live or computerized conference, seminar, lecture, workshop, class, or course; or

b.        Watching a video presentation and completing a Department-provided form to document the video instruction.

74.     “Week” means a seven-day period beginning on Sunday at 12:00 a.m. and ending on Saturday at 11:59 p.m.

75.     “Working day” means the period between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday that is not a state holiday.

Historical Note

Emergency rule adopted effective June 16, 1992, pursuant to A.R.S. § 41-1026, valid for only 90 days (Supp. 92-2). Emergency expired. Adopted effective October 22, 1992 (Supp. 92-4). Section expired on June 30, 1999 under

A.R.S. § 41-1056(E) upon receipt of notice from the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (Supp. 99-3). New Section made by final rulemaking at 10 A.A.R.

1214, effective September 1, 2004 (Supp. 04-1). Amended by exempt rulemaking at 17 A.A.R. 1530, effective September 30, 2011 (Supp. 11-3).