1. (1) The department or its authorized representative shall make periodic visits to all licensed day-care centers to ensure that minimum standards are maintained.
2. (2) The department may investigate and inspect the conditions and qualifications of any day-care center, group day-care home, or family day-care home seeking or holding a license or registration certificate under the provisions of this part.
3. (3) The department shall visit and inspect at least 20% of all registered family day-care homes and group day-care homes in each of the governor's planning regions annually.

4. (4)

   1. (a) Subject to subsection (4)(b), the department shall make annual unannounced visits to day-care centers that are licensed on an annual basis.
   2. (b) The department may make annual unannounced visits to day-care centers that have been granted 2-year or 3-year licenses under 52-2-721 or that have successfully passed inspections for 10 consecutive years.
5. (5) Upon request of the department, the state fire prevention and investigation section of the department of justice shall inspect any day-care facility for which a license or registration certificate is applied for or issued and shall report its findings to the department.
6. (6) Upon request, the department shall give consultation to every licensee and registrant who desires to upgrade the services of the licensee's or registrant's program.
7. (7) This section may not be construed to require the department to conduct an inspection of each day-care facility applying for a registration certificate under the provisions of this part.

History: En. Sec. 9, Ch. 247, L. 1965; amd. Sec. 49, Ch. 121, L. 1974; R.C.M. 1947, 10-809(part); amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 606, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 11, Ch. 692, L. 1989; Sec. 53-4-511, MCA 1987; redes. 52-2-733 by Code Commissioner, 1989; amd. Sec. 34, Ch. 706, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 151, Ch. 418, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 351, Ch. 546, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 126, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 37, Ch. 449, L. 2007.