210.211. License required--exceptions. - Missouri Statutes

License required--exceptions.

210.211. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to establish,maintain or operate a child-care facility for children, or to advertise orhold himself or herself out as being able to perform any of the services asdefined in section 210.201, without having in effect a written licensegranted by the department of health and senior services; except thatnothing in sections 210.203 to 210.245 shall apply to:

(1) Any person who is caring for four or fewer children. Forpurposes of this subdivision, children who are related by blood, marriageor adoption to such person within the third degree shall not be consideredin the total number of children being cared for;

(2) Any person who has been duly appointed by a court of competentjurisdiction the guardian of the person of the child or children, or theperson who has legal custody of the child or children;

(3) Any person who receives free of charge, and not as a business,for periods not exceeding ninety consecutive days, as bona fide, occasionaland personal guests the child or children of personal friends of suchperson, and who receives custody of no other unrelated child or children;

(4) Any graded boarding school, summer camp, hospital, sanitarium orhome which is conducted in good faith primarily to provide education,recreation, medical treatment, or nursing or convalescent care forchildren;

(5) Any child-care facility maintained or operated under theexclusive control of a religious organization. When a nonreligiousorganization, having as its principal purpose the provision of child-careservices, enters into an arrangement with a religious organization for themaintenance or operation of a child-care facility, the facility is notunder the exclusive control of the religious organization;

(6) Any residential facility or day program licensed by thedepartment of mental health pursuant to sections 630.705 to 630.760, RSMo,which provides care, treatment and habilitation exclusively to children whohave a primary diagnosis of mental disorder, mental illness, mentalretardation or developmental disability, as defined in section 630.005,RSMo; and

(7) Any nursery school.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section, nochild-care facility shall be exempt from licensure if such facilityreceives any state or federal funds for providing care for children, exceptfor federal funds for those programs which meet the requirements forparticipation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program pursuant to 42U.S.C. 1766. Grants to parents for child care pursuant to sections 210.201to 210.257 shall not be construed to be funds received by a person orfacility listed in subdivisions (1) and (5) of subsection 1 of thissection.

(RSMo 1949 § 210.230, A.L. 1955 p. 685 § 210.210, A.L. 1982 H.B. 1171, et al., A.L. 1989 S.B. 241, A.L. 1993 H.B. 376, A.L. 1999 H.B. 490 & H.B. 308, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1453)

(1976) Held, that a lawyer is not required to be licensed by the division of family services in order to render legal services in connection with adoptions. In re Schaeffer (Mo.), 530 S.W.2d 231.