Interpretation

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires“Act” means the Social Service Agencies Act; “adult” means a person who is of or above the age of eighteen years, and “child” shall be construed as anyone below the age of eighteen years; “applicant” means a prospective operator, person or entity who, or which, has duly submitted an application for the registration of a day care facility pursuant to these Regulations, and the word “application” shall be construed and applied accordingly; Social Service Agencies 7 “assistant” in relation to the operation of a day care facility, means any person who assists the provider of the day care facility in caring for the children at the day care facility; “authorized representative” means any person duly authorized by the Ministry to act, for the purposes of these Regulations, in its behalf; “business hours” in relation to the operation of a day care facility, means those hours in which the facility will be open for the purposes of taking care of children; “capacity of day care facility” means the number of children the day care facility is authorized under these Regulations or its licence to take care of at any one time; “day care facilities” means the entirety of the premises where the day care services are to be provided as identified in the licence; “day care” means the care and supervision of five or more children aged between one day to five years old for up to twelve or more business hours a day; “day care services” means those services provided at a day care facility that contribute to the health, education and welfare of children while under the care and supervision of the operator; “developmentally appropriate practices” means a framework for working with children which applies current knowledge about how children learn and develop based upon age and the individual needs of each child; “early childhood” means that period in a child’s life from the time of the child’s birth up to eight years of age; “licence” means a licence to operate as a day care facility issued to a successful applicant by the Registrar pursuant to section 9 of the Act; 8 Social Service Agencies “Minister” has the meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Act, and “Ministry” shall be construed accordingly; “operator” in relation to a day care facility, means any person, group of persons, partnership, association, organization, unincorporated entity, corporate entity, institution, or agency, whether public or private, who or which has been issued a licence to operate a day care facility pursuant to the Act and these Regulations; “parent” in relation to a child receiving services from a day care facility, means the biological, or adoptive or foster parent of the child, and includes any person for the time being with custody rights over such child; “provider” in relation to a day care agency’s operator, means the operator’s primary person responsible for the day-to-day operation of the day care facility; “Registrar” means the Registrar of Social Service Agencies appointed under section 3 of the Act; “staff/child ratio” in relation to day care facilities, means the ratio of the maximum number of children under the direct supervision and control of one member of staff at any one time.