(a)  Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter, or any regulations issued pursuant to this chapter, or who shall intentionally make any false statement or reports to the director with reference to the matters contained herein, shall, upon conviction for the first offense, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding six (6) months or be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), or both, and for a second or subsequent offense, shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year or be fined not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both the fine and imprisonment.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 42-12.5-7

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Department: means the department of human services (DHS). See Rhode Island General Laws 42-12.5-2
  • Director: means the director of the department of human services, or the director's designee. See Rhode Island General Laws 42-12.5-2
  • Family daycare home: means any home, other than the child's home, in which child day care in lieu of parental care and/or supervision is offered at the same time to four (4) or more children who are not relatives of the caregiver. See Rhode Island General Laws 42-12.5-2
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6

(b)  Anyone who maintains or conducts a program or facility without first having obtained a license pursuant to this chapter, or who maintains or conducts a program or facility after a license has been revoked or suspended, or who shall refuse to permit a reasonable inspection and examination of a program or facility, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500) for each week that the program or facility shall have been maintained without a license or for each refusal to permit inspection and examination by the director.

(c)  Any individual, firm, corporation, or other entity who maintains or conducts a family daycare home without first having obtained a registration certificate for the home pursuant to this chapter, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100) for each week that the home shall have been maintained without a valid registration certificate.

(d)  The department shall refer any violations to the attorney general’s office for prosecution.

History of Section.
P.L. 2019, ch. 88, art. 4, § 15.