DE HB444

Establishes civil penalty structure for violations of child care licensing regulations, with maximum penalties of $100 for general violations and $50 for violations not constituting imminent danger to child health or safety.

Requires the Office of Child Care Licensing to consider six factors when assessing penalties: seriousness of violation, violation history, correction efforts, culpability, misrepresentations, and matters affecting child health and safety.

Specifies lower daily penalty caps: maximum $25 per day for imminent danger violations and $12.50 per day for non-imminent danger violations beyond the initial day.

Creates waiver provision allowing the Office of Child Care Licensing to waive first-time violation penalties if violations are corrected within 30 days and do not threaten child health or safety.

Provides penalty escalation if corrected violations are not maintained, allowing assessment of up to 3 times the original penalty if correction fails to be maintained for at least one year.