DHS COVID-19 PROVIDER GUIDANCE // OCDEL

• Initial citations for non-compliance.
• Failure to return a license inspection summary with an acceptable Plan of Correction (POC) within ten (10) calendar days after notification of noncompliance may result in the DHS denying, refusing to renew or revoking your certificate of compliance.
• A downgrade to a Provisional Certificate of Compliance as a result of noncompliance to the Order will result in the inability to apply for, or receive, a Child Care Stabilization Grant. Communications to states related to the issuance of American Rescue Plan Act funds was issued in Information Memoranda CCDFACF-IM-2021-02. Applicants for these Stabilization grants attest through the application that the provider will, when open and providing services, implement policies in line with guidance and orders from corresponding state, territorial, tribal, and local authorities and, to the greatest extent possible, implement policies in line with guidance from the CDC, available at COVID-19 Guidance for Schools and Child Care.
• Continued non-compliance may result in continued enforcement action up to and including issuance of an Emergency Removal Order

Citations will not be issued to providers where there are temporary instances when staff and children are not wearing their face mask but there is intent to comply with the Order. Providers will be responsible for demonstrating their intent to comply and can do so by implementing best practices and can contact OCDEL for guidance and support.

Process for Exemptions to the Face Covering Order 

Compliance with the Order is not optional. Any child care facility simply permitting a parent’s/caretaker’s sign-off without medical documentation that the child has a medical or mental health condition or disability that precludes the wearing of a face covering is not in compliance with the Order. Under the Order, child care facilities mustrequire all individuals, two years of age and older, to wear face coverings unless the individual has an exception to the Order as identified in Section 3 of the Order of the Acting Secretary Directing Face Coverings in Schools.pdf (pa.gov). Additionally, in accordance with Section 3 of the Order, before an individual is exempt from the face covering requirements, all alternatives to a face covering, including a face shield, are to be exhausted. 

While there are exceptions to the Order, a parent’s/caretaker’s opposition to the Order is not one of them. Parents/Caretakers indicating their child is exempted from the Order due to a medical condition must have individualized documentation from the child’s physician. Form letters and parental/caretaker notes are not sufficient for documentation of compliance. Child care providers are expected to enforce the Order as they do other state laws and school rules and policies. When able to do so, providers should provide a mask or alternative face covering. 

Parents/caretakers indicating their child or children meet a medical exemption under Section 3 of the Order, if not already noted in a child’s health report, will have until Tuesday Sept. 21, 2021, to submit appropriate documentation signed by a medical professional of the medical exemption to the child care provider. 

Staff indicating a medical exemption under Section 3 of the Order, if not already documented in the staff’s health report, will have until Tuesday Sept. 21, 2021, to submit appropriate documentation signed by a medical professional of the medical exemption to the child care provider.

Next Steps

Child care providers must:

1. Read this Announcement and share with appropriate staff.
2. Stay up-to-date on the most recent 
3. CDC Guidance for Operating Child Care.
4. For additional resources on COVID-19 developed for early learning programs in Pennsylvania click here.
5. Direct all questions and comments to your child care Certification Regional Office.