Important News from the Bureau of Certification
Regarding the Provisional Hire Waiver
Based on changes to the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) in July 2019, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is revising the requirements for the provisional hire process for new employees and those hired under the 90-day provisional hire period.
Effective December 31, 2019, the 90-day provisional hire period was obsolete and has been replaced by a 45-day provisional hire period. The new 45-day provisional hire period is only permitted once the certified child care facility applies for a provisional hire waiver and it is granted by OCDEL. Applications for the waiver can be completed by the Legal Entity (LE) or person responsible for the LE. The waiver approval from OCDEL remains valid if the LE maintains the same location and the same Master Provider Index (MPI) number.
All waivers will be processed in the order in which they are received by OCDEL. Providers who anticipate needing a waiver are advised to apply for the waiver as soon as possible due to an anticipated high volume of requests that may cause a backlog. The effective date of the waiver approval will be the date that OCDEL receives a complete application. OCDEL will notify the provider when the waiver is approved, or the application is being returned because it is incomplete or inaccurate.
Effective December 31, 2019, providers who receive a waiver approval, can implement the 45-day provisional hire with the following two major requirements:
- Any applicant must have the results of 1) either the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) clearance or the FBI clearance required by the Department of Human Services (DHS) to be considered as a provisional hire employee; 2) show proof of application for the remaining clearances; and, 3) sign a disclosure statement.
- If any provisionally hired employee has time remaining in the 90-day provisional hire period, the time remaining cannot exceed 45 days beginning December 31, 2019.
Examples (permitted so long as a waiver is granted)
Hired on 10/15/19- The applicant has until 1/13/20 to complete all other requirements. They are eligible for the full 90 days. They are using 76 of their 90 days for the dates 10/15/19 - 12/30/19. Since they still do not exceed 45 days when the new requirements start, they are eligible for the remaining 14 days from 12/31/19 - 1/13/20.
Hired on 12/30/19- The applicant will reach their allowable 45 days on 2/13/20. This is how the time frame is computed; 45 days from 12/31/19 through 2/13/20.
Hired on 12/1/19- The applicant has until 2/14/20 to complete all other requirements. This is how the time frame is computed; 29 days for 12/1/19 through 12/30/19 (part of the 90-provisional hire) plus 45 days from 12/31/19 To 2/14/20.
Contact the appropriate Regional Office with questions or concerns. Central Region 800-222-2117; Northeast Region 800-222-2108; Southeast Region 800-346-2929; and Western Region 800-222-2149.
