Ohio Code 5104.039 – Access to centers for parents or guardians
(A) Any parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian of a child enrolled in a child care center and any custodian or guardian of such a child shall be permitted unlimited access to the center during its hours of operation for the purposes of contacting their children, evaluating the care provided by the center, evaluating the premises of the center, or for other purposes approved by the director. A parent of a child enrolled in a child care center who is not the child’s residential parent shall be permitted unlimited access to the center during its hours of operation for those purposes under the same terms and conditions under which the residential parent of that child is permitted access to the center for those purposes. However, the access of the parent who is not the residential parent is subject to any agreement between the parents and, to the extent described in division (B) of this section, is subject to any terms and conditions limiting the right of access of the parent who is not the residential parent, as described in division (I) of section 3109.051 of the Revised Code, that are contained in a parenting time order or decree issued under that section, section 3109.12 of the Revised Code, or any other provision of the Revised Code.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 5104.039
- Administrator: means the person responsible for the daily operation of a center, type A home, or approved child day camp. See Ohio Code 5104.01
- Child: includes an infant, toddler, preschool-age child, or school-age child. See Ohio Code 5104.01
- Child care: means all of the following:
(1) Administering to the needs of infants, toddlers, preschool-age children, and school-age children outside of school hours;
(2) By persons other than their parents, guardians, or custodians;
(3) For part of the twenty-four-hour day;
(4) In a place other than a child's own home, except that an in-home aide provides child care in the child's own home;
(5) By a provider required by this chapter to be licensed or approved by the department of job and family services, certified by a county department of job and family services, or under contract with the department to provide publicly funded child care as described in section 5104. See Ohio Code 5104.01
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
(B) If a parent who is the residential parent of a child has presented the administrator or the administrator’s designee with a copy of a parenting time order that limits the terms and conditions under which the parent who is not the residential parent is to have access to the center, as described in division (I) of section 3109.051 of the Revised Code, the parent who is not the residential parent shall be provided access to the center only to the extent authorized in the order. If the residential parent has presented such an order, the parent who is not the residential parent shall be permitted access to the center only in accordance with the most recent order that has been presented to the administrator or the administrator’s designee by the residential parent or the parent who is not the residential parent.
(C) Upon entering the premises pursuant to division (A) or (B) of this section, the parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian, the parent who is not the residential parent, or the custodian or guardian shall notify the administrator or the administrator’s designee of the parent’s, custodian’s, or guardian’s presence.
Last updated August 28, 2023 at 2:48 PM