Disagreeing with/Refuting Licensing Visit Citations

The Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) requires Child Care Services consultants to be fair, objective, and impartial in administering their regulatory duties. The Department works diligently to ensure that Consultants apply the rules consistently from child care program to child care program. DECAL wants the dedicated professionals who care for Georgia’s children every day to have a clear understanding of the state’s rules and regulations for child care, so they can provide safe and healthy environments for Georgia's youngest learners.

A child care program has the right to disagree with, ask questions about, and seek further review of a citation(s) issued by a Child Care Services Consultant. If circumstances allow, the Program Official should speak with the Consultant about the citation at the time of the visit, because the citation could be removed before the report has been finalized if there has been a misunderstanding or if the Consultant lacked the information needed to make the determination. If the Program Official decides that they disagree with a citation after the visit, they can contact the Consultant to discuss the matter. Citations are sometimes removed following further discussion or after additional information is provided, and a revised report is mailed back to the provider.

If, however, the disagreement about the citation(s) is not resolved by speaking with the Consultant, the Program Official should complete the following steps within 10 business days of the completion date:

1. Complete the refutation process in DECAL KOALA (decalkoala.com) and submit within 10 days of the completion of the visit.
   • Please ensure to explain your disagreement for the citation by typing details in the 1000 characters section.
2. Once the refutation has been submitted and the 10 days has expired, the Child Care Services (CCS) Regional Manager of the region where the child care program is located will be notified.
3. The CCS Regional Manager may contact the child care program for additional information, if necessary, before determining if the citation(s) will remain or be removed. The review will be conducted with 10 business days of receipt of the refutation.
4. Following review of all the information compiled from the refutation and discussions with the child care program and Consultant, the CCS Regional Manager will contact the child care program via email with the determination of whether the citation will be removed, modified or remain as issued.

Sometimes, citations are removed following review, and sometimes they are not. Providers are encouraged to ask questions and state disagreement with citations and may do so without fear of retaliation or negative consequence.

If a refutation is not received within 10 business days of the visit/completion date, then it is subject to not being accepted.

To submit a Refutation, please visit DECAL KOALA at www.decalkoala.com