(b) Local standards for the approval of individual providers of respite care and services for families must include, but are not limited to, the following criteria:

1. (1) completion of a background review and evaluation, including employment history, personal and employment references and relevant child-caring experience;
2. (2) interviews with individual providers to assess their capability to care for children;
3. (3) consideration of the general health of the prospective provider of respite care and services and each member of the prospective provider's household to ascertain that there are no health needs or problems that could negatively affect the provider's ability to care for a child under his or her supervision;

4. (4) for each individual provider to be approved to care for children with AIDS, HIV infection or HIV-related illness, documentation that:

   1. (i) the provider has experience caring for children with AIDS, HIV infection or HIV-related illness; or
   2. (ii) the provider has received training to care for children with AIDS, HIV infection or HIV-related illness; or
   3. (iii) the provider will receive, at the same time as the provider is caring for children with AIDS, HIV infection or HIV-related illness, training in caring for such children;

5. (5) an inquiry to the department whether a prospective provider of respite care and services or any person 18 years of age or older residing in a prospective provider's home is the subject of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment on file with the State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment:

   1. (i) Prior to making an inquiry to the department, the social services district must notify, in the form prescribed by the department, the person who will be the subject of the inquiry that such an inquiry will be made.
   2. (ii) If the person about whom the agency has made an inquiry is found to be the subject of an indicated report of abuse or maltreatment, the district must determine whether to approve such person as a provider of respite care and services in accordance with guidelines developed and determined by the department, except that any district which had guidelines for the review of persons who are subjects of indicated reports of child abuse or maltreatment in use prior to January 1, 1986 may continue to use the district guidelines in making the required determination. Whenever a person who is the subject of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment is approved to be a provider of respite care and services, the district must maintain a written record, as a part of the application for the person, of the specific reason(s) why such person was determined to be appropriate and acceptable as an approved provider of respite care and services.

   3. (iii) If a denial of an applicant to be a provider of respite care and services is based in whole or in part on the existence of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment, the district must provide a written statement to such applicant indicating that such denial was based in whole or in part on the existence of the indicated report and the reasons for the denial. The written statement must also include, in the form prescribed by the department, written notification to the person who is the subject of the indicated report that:

      1. (a) he or she has a right, pursuant to section 424-a of the Social Services Law, to request a hearing before the department regarding the record maintained in the State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment;
      2. (b) a request for such a hearing must be made within 90 days of the receipt of the notice indicating that the denial was based in whole or in part on the existence of the indicated report; and
      3. (c) the sole issue at any such hearing will be whether the person who is the subject of the indicated report has been shown by a fair preponderance of the evidence to have committed the act or acts of child abuse or maltreatment giving rise to the indicated report.
   4. (iv) If in a hearing held pursuant to a request made in accordance with subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph and section 424-a of the Social Services Law the department fails to show by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the person who is the subject of the indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment committed the act or acts upon which the indicated report is based, the department will notify the social services district which made the inquiry to the department that, pursuant to the hearing decision, the district's decision to deny approval of the person as a provider of respite care and services should be reconsidered. Upon receiving such notification, the district must review its decision without considering the indicated report;
6. (6) an inquiry to the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs whether a prospective provider of respite care and services or any person 18 years of age or older residing in a prospective provider’s home is listed on the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register. If the person about whom the agency has made an inquiry is found to be listed on the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register, the district must determine whether to approve such person as a provider of respite care and services. Whenever a person who is listed on the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register is approved to be a provider of respite care and services, the district must maintain a written record, as part of the application for the person, of the specific reason(s) why such person was determined to be appropriate and acceptable as an approved provider of respite care and services; and

7. (7) where respite care and services are to be provided by an individual provider in the provider's own home, an assessment of the suitability of the home conducted according to standards developed by the social services district in order to assure that the home:

   1. (i) is free of fire or safety hazards;
   2. (ii) is clean and sanitary; and
   3. (iii) has adequate space and furnishings to care for a child receiving respite care and services.

(c) A social services district may delegate to a voluntary authorized agency or to a preventive services agency the authority to approve individual providers of respite care and services for families.

1. (1) Notwithstanding the requirements of subdivisions (a), (b) and (c) of this section, contingent approval of an individual provider of respite care and services for families may be given by a social services district when the following conditions have been met:

   1. (i) an interview has been held with the provider by the social services district;
   2. (ii) a visit has been made to the home of the provider when the respite care and services are to be provided at that location;
   3. (iii) a completed State Central Register clearance form has been obtained and submitted to the department pursuant to section 424-a of the Social Services Law and paragraph (b)(5) of this section; and
   4. (iv) a completed Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register clearance has been obtained and submitted to the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs pursuant to section 495 of the Social Services Law and paragraph (b)(6) of this section.
2. (2) Contingent approval is limited to one seven-day period.

(d) Contingent approval.

(e) The social services district, voluntary authorized agency or preventive services agency must maintain a record for each approved individual provider of respite care and services for families. This record must include, but need not be limited to:

1. (1) the date the provider is approved;
2. (2) the result of the review and assessment of the provider, including a summary of the provider's compliance with the local standards developed pursuant to the requirements of this section;
3. (3) documentation that the training requirements contained in section 435.7 of this Part have been met;
4. (4) the dates on which respite care and services are provided, including the names of the child(ren) and family or families for whom the services have been authorized; and
5. (5) a summary of any situations or incidents that reflect upon the competence and skill, whether positively or negatively, of the provider.