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1. What happens after a complaint is received for a licensed child care facility?

• The surveyor will begin the initial investigation review within 5 days of receipt of the complaint.
• There will be an unannounced onsite visit to the child care facility, this may or may not occur within 5 days of receiving the complaint.
• The surveyor will provide the reason for the visit but will not reveal the identity of the person(s) submitting the complaint.
• A walkthrough of the entire child care facility will be conducted by the surveyor to observe the environment, staff, and the children in care.
• If the complaint involves concerns about the environment, the surveyor may take pictures.
• Files for children and adults will be reviewed. Contact information from files may be obtained to gather information from parents and staff.
• Findings of non-compliance will be documented on a Notice of Survey Findings (NOSF) form and will be available to the public on the online dissemination portal once the complaint has been completed by the surveyor and reviewed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment staff.

2. What if another agency is involved?

The nature of the concern determines if another agency such as the Department for Children and Families (DCF), law enforcement, fire marshal, or food program may be involved in an investigation. For example, if a child care complaint includes concerns of abuse, neglect, or lack of supervision, a DCF social worker may accompany the surveyor.

When a surveyor is conducting an investigation with another agency, each agency will conduct its own investigation and document its own findings. Even though other agencies involved may have no findings, there may be noncompliance cited by the surveyor. Other agency results must be requested from that agency.

3. What happens if complaint is concluded unsubstantiated?

If a complaint is unsubstantiated the complaint displayed through the Online Dissemination System will indicate - unsubstantiated. If noncompliance was found unrelated to the complaint, those findings are available online.

4. What happens if complaint is concluded substantiated?

If the complaint is substantiated:

• The provider is required to correct all findings within five calendar days of the survey.
• The surveyor may return to the facility unannounced to verify compliance.
• If serious or repeat findings are found, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) may consider denial of an application, civil penalty, suspension of a permit or license, or revocation of a license. The licensee has the right to appeal these actions.
• If findings from a visit reveal that children need to be protected from abuse, abandonment, or any other substantial threat to their health or safety, KDHE may issue an Emergency Suspension. Although subject to appeal, an Emergency Suspension results in immediate closure.