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Disagreeing with/Refuting Licensing Visit Citations

Bright from the Start: Georgia 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 provider to provider. 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 provider 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 provider 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 provider 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 provider should complete the following steps within 10 business days of the completion date:

  1. Complete the Refutation Submission form, which serves as a statement of disagreement/ refutation, located in the Documents List on this page.
    1. All sections of the form must be completed to include:
      1. Facility/Visit Information
      2. Contact Information
      3. Detailed information regarding rules being refuted. Please include information on how you feel the rule was met and not out of compliance, or specific reason(s) for your disagreement with the citation.
  2. E-mail the completed statement of disagreement/refutation to CCSRefutations@decal.ga.gov.
  3. The provider’s completed statement of disagreement will be sent to the Regional Director for the region where the provider is located. You will receive a confirmation e-mail notifying you of the manager reviewing your concerns.
  4. The Regional Director may contact the provider for additional information, if necessary, before determining if the citation(s) will stand or be removed. The review will be conducted within 10 business days of receipt.
  5. Following review of all the information compiled from the statement of disagreement and discussions with the provider and consultant, the Regional Director will contact the provider with the determination of whether the citation will be removed, modified or will stand 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.

Documents List