Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

AUSTIN. TEXAS 78711 December 18, 1974 The Honorable Raymond Vowel1 Opinion No. H- 480 Commissioner State Dept. of Public Welfare Re: Licensing requiremt:nt for John H. Reagan Bldg. administrators of publicly owned Austin, Texas 78701 and operated chi,ld-care institu- tions. Dear Commissio~ner Vowell: You ask whether administrators of publicly owned and operated child-caring institutions must be licensed under article 695a-1, section 2, V. T. C. S., which provides: Beginning January 1, 1974, no person may serve as a child care administrator of a child-caring institution unless he holds a child care administrator’s license issued by the State Department of Public Welfare pursuant to this Act. “Child-caring institution” is defined in section 1 of article 695a-1 so as to specifically include public institutions. Thus, article 695a-1 plainly requires a child care administrator --the person who exercises adminis- trative control and supervision and is responsible for programming and personnel,-- of a public child-caring institution to obtain a license from the Department of Public Welfare. Article 695c, section 8(a), V. T. C. S., requires owners of child- caring institutions to obtain a license to operate. State owned and operated institutions~are exempted from this requirement. V. T. C. S. art. 695c, $10. But the exemption of slate owned institutions from the licensing requirements of article 695~ does not affect the licensing p. 2179 I. The Honorable Raymond Vowel1 page 2 (H-480) requirements for the administrators of all child-caring institutions established by article 695a-1. These two provisions operate independently of each other, and both can be effectuated at the same time. Under article 695a-1, then, administrators of publicly owned child-caring institutions must obtain a license from the Department of Public Welfare. SUMMARY Administrators of publicly owned and operated child-caring institutions must obtain a license from the State Department of Public Welfare. V. T. C. S. art. 695a-1, § 2. Very truly yours, Attorney General of Texas =:& DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant l?!iiiMd C. ROBERT HEATH, Chairman Opinion Committee lg pe 2180