Coeur d'Alene 'streamlines' child care licensing process

The Coeur d’Alene City Council unanimously approved amendments to municipal code to streamline the licensing process for child care providers. 

The changes include eliminating the requirement for a tuberculosis test, not requiring a parent/volunteer license for individuals who visit a facility for less than 12 hours per month, and allowing individuals aged 16 and 17 to obtain a provider license. 

Councilor Dan English said he supported the changes, noting the cost is minimal to the city and would be a financial benefit to child care providers.

“If we can shave a few nickels off their costs it benefits the whole city,” he said.  

Background checks will also be different. 

Currently, the state and city run background checks on applicants, who must pass a TB test and have a CPR certificate.

“That’s just to get their first day on the job,” said Kelley Setters, deputy city clerk and Childcare Commission liaison during Tuesday's presentation to the council.

The city has different classifications of child care facilities. 

There are 36 large facilities with 13 or more children in a separate building, not within a home.

There are seven small facilities, less than 13 children, which can be within a home or in a separate building.

The city also licenses individual providers, which are the child care workers, of which there are 282 as of Friday.

City code requires an annual National Crime Information Center background check to be conducted by the city at the time of license renewal. That will be eliminated, and a search of the Idaho Courts database will be conducted, which is consistent with state code. 

City and state background checks will be conducted every five years. 

A parent/volunteer license for individuals who visit a facility for less than 12 hours per month will no longer be mandatory. 

“This adjustment acknowledges that parents or volunteers who occasionally assist in classrooms face an unreasonable burden of undergoing two background checks, education requirements and a TB test,” a staff report said. 

Those 16 and 17 can obtain a provider license, “as long as they are continuously supervised by a licensed provider and are not left alone with children.” 

On eliminating the TB test for a child care license, it was noted that no other cities in the state require it. The test costs about $60. 

Christine Hahn, epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist for Idaho, told the Childcare Commission the requirement was unnecessary “as the numbers of TB in Idaho are very low."

"The Childcare Commission believes these amendments will facilitate a more efficient licensing process while continuing to ensure the safety and well-being of children," the staff report said.

Councilor Christie Wood agreed.

"I feel comfortable with the amendments,” she said.