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COMMUNITY CARE LICENSING DIVISION Staff contacted the State Department of Social Services-Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) to have it assess whether the Academy requires any State licensing. Based on the initial information provided by the applicant in September, a Licensing Program Manager with CCLD determined that a license issued by CCLD would be required because the program would be offered to "school age" children who would be at the facility for more than an hour and a half (1 %2) and attending the facility for more then 16 hours per week. (See Exhibit J for CCLD's letter.) Also CCLD staff believed that the proposed scope of operations was more than martial arts classes and CCLD would consider this operation to be a childcare facility, given the amount of time the child is in the "care" of the Academy. However, following additional information from Mr. Pfund, CCLD re-evaluated the Academy's scope of operations and has determined that a license is not required. This determination from CCLD was based on an inspection by CCLD at the applicant's previous location in Dublin and based on the fact that Mr. Pfund would have the parents sign a waiver. Specifically, this waiver would state that the Academy is not day care, that the Academy is not responsible for supervision and care of the child, and that the children are free to come and go from the facility. Please see Exhibit J for the CCLD's letter of re-evaluation. Per staff's conversations with Diane Gorman, Licensing Program Manager with the Department of Social Services, the Department has "policy statements" that it follows. Here, the Department has a policy statement that exempts "drop-in recreational" facilities from state licensure as specified in Health & Safety Code Section 1596.792 and 1596.793. Specifically, the policy statement exempts facilities from licensure if the facility: does not provide care and supervision to children; the facility is a drop-in recreational program that children can enter and depart at will; children are not required to formally sign in/out (other than for accountability/membership); etc. Please see Exhibit K for CCLD's child care licensing requirements. Staff does not agree with the State's determination that the Academy falls within the exemptions set forth in the policy statements. Specifically, the policy statement says that in order for the facility to be considered "drop-in" (and thus exempt), the children cannot be "assigned specific activities or placed in a structured program." Although Mr. Pfund has identified segments of "free time" for the children to do homework, relax, etc., there are also segments where the children will be engaged in specific activities or in structured programs, e.g., martial arts classes. Notwithstanding staff's disagreement with Department of Social Services, more fundamentally, staff cannot recommend that the Academy be permitted to have children come and go freely (as is required in order to be exempt from CCLD licensure.) As part of his application, Mr. Pfund asks parents to sign a waiver. (See appendix A of staffs Exhibit A.2 for the full text of the waiver.) Staff has serious concerns about the waiver, particularly the following language: PCUP-200, Tri-Valley Martial Arts Academy Planning Commission Page 13 of 16