Section 1516.

(a) For purposes of this chapter, "crisis nursery" means a facility licensed by the department to provide short-term, 24-hour nonmedical residential care and supervision for children under six years of age, who are voluntarily placed for temporary care by a parent or legal guardian due to a family crisis or stressful situation for no more than 30 days.

(b) A crisis nursery shall be organized and operated on a nonprofit basis by either a private nonprofit corporation or a nonprofit public benefit corporation.

(c) "Voluntary placement," for purposes of this section, means a child, who is not receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care, placed by a parent or legal guardian who retains physical custody of, and remains responsible for, the care of his or her children who are placed for temporary emergency care, as described in subdivision (a). Voluntary placement does not include placement of a child who has been removed from the care and custody of his or her parent or legal guardian and placed in foster care by a child welfare services agency.

(d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the maximum licensed capacity for a crisis nursery program shall be 14 children.

(2) A facility licensed on or before January 1, 2004, as a group home for children under the age of six years with a licensed capacity greater than 14 children, but less than 21 children, that provides crisis nursery services shall be allowed to retain its capacity if issued a crisis nursery license until there is a change in the licensee's program, location, or client population.

(e) Each crisis nursery shall collect and maintain information, in a format specified by the department, indicating the total number of children placed in the program, the length of stay for each child, the reasons given for the use of the crisis nursery, and the age of each child. This information shall be made available to the department upon request.

(f) Notwithstanding Section 1596.80, a crisis nursery may provide child day care services for children under the age of six years at the same site as the crisis nursery. A child may not receive child day care services at a crisis nursery for more than 30 calendar days in a six-month period unless the department issues an exception. A child who is receiving child day care services shall be counted in the licensed capacity.

(g) Exceptions to group home licensing regulations pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 84200 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, in effect on August 1, 2004, for county-operated or county-contracted emergency shelter care facilities that care for children under the age of six years for no more than 30 days, shall be contained in regulations for crisis nurseries.

(h) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2012.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 663, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2013.)