BILL NUMBER: SB 1897	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 29, 2004
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 24, 2004
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 27, 2004
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 12, 2004

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Burton

                        MARCH 3, 2004

   An act to add Sections 8203.1 and 8203.6 to the Education Code,
relating to child care.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1897, as amended, Burton.  Child care reform.
   Existing law authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to develop standards for the implementation of quality child care
programs and to contract for the provision of child care and
development services.
   This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to reform
the reimbursement system for child care based on specified criteria,
and to establish quality provider pools to employ family child care
providers.
   The bill would require the Child Development Division of the State
Department of Education, on or before July 1, 2006, to provide to
the Superintendent of Public Instruction a baseline assessment of the
supply and demand for subsidized and unsubsidized child care.  The
bill would require the  superintendent  
Superintendent  to make recommendations to the Legislature on or
before March 1, 2007, based on that assessment.  The recommendations
would be required to include a recommendation on the most effective
means for the state to collect from child care provider employers
specified information about their employees.  The bill would require
the assessment and recommendations to be updated every 2 years.
   The bill would require the Child Development Division to convene a
task force, consisting of specified members, to develop and submit
to the Legislature a Child Care and Development Workforce Development
Plan.  The bill would require the plan to include, among other
things, detailed expectations and a career ladder for staff of child
care and development providers.  The bill would require the task
force to submit the report to the Legislature on or before January 1,
2006.  The provisions relating to the task force would not be
operative if legislation is enacted during the 2003-04 Regular
Session that creates a task force charged with addressing the
elements required to be included in the plan.
   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  yes.
State-mandated local program:  no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to attain all
of the following goals:
   (1) Improve the overall provision of child care, so that the
system is administered efficiently and maximum resources are spent on
care for children and families.
   (2) Ensure that families eligible for subsidized child care under
the CalWORKs program and other child development programs, and
working families outside the subsidized child care system, retain
access to child care, and that access to high quality child care is
incrementally increased.
   (3) Affirm and strengthen parental choice of child care and the
infrastructure to support those choices.
   (4) Guarantee due process protections for families and child care
providers.
   (5) Consider the impact of any reforms on both unsubsidized and
subsidized child care.
   (6) Ensure that public reimbursements for child care are linked to
quality criteria.
   (7) Ensure that child care providers have access to employment
supports that provide for the improvement of quality standards in
child care.
   (b) To attain the goals expressed in subdivision (a), it is the
intent of the Legislature to do all of the following:
   (1) Require the State Department of Education to reform the
reimbursement system for child care by establishing a unified rate
system for child care centers and family day care providers that care
for children of parents who receive public subsidies.  The new rate
structure would be designed for implementation during the 2005-06
fiscal year and consistent with the following principles:
   (A) The basic rate would be linked to fees charged in the private
child care market and adjusted annually to reflect changes in the
private child care market.
   (B) The need for special rates for certain children, based on the
age of the child, the time in care, and demonstrated special needs of
the child.
   (C) Incentives would be provided for providers that meet
measurable standards to improve child care and maintain high quality.

   (2) Establish, by July 1, 2006, regional quality provider pools
that would employ family child care providers who meet minimum
quality and health and safety standards and who voluntarily choose to
join the pool.  Each quality provider pool would be authorized to
operate a substitute provider pool for family child care providers.
Each quality provider pool would be authorized to join together in a
consortium, along with child care centers, regarding the more
efficient and cost-effective administration and purchasing of
benefits for family child care providers and child care employees.
  SEC. 2.  Section 8203.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   8203.1.  (a) (1) On or before July 1, 2006, the Child Development
Division of the State Department of Education shall collect the
information identified in subparagraphs (A) to (G), inclusive,
aggregate the information and provide to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction a baseline assessment of the supply and demand for
subsidized and unsubsidized child care.  The assessment shall be
based on extant data and utilize information gathered by resource and
referral agencies, local child care planning councils, alternative
payment providers, the University of California, and other entities.
The assessment shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following information:
   (A) The types of child care available from different types of
providers.
   (B) The cost of available child care, according to the most recent
regional market rate analysis.
   (C) The needs of low-income, working families eligible for child
care subsidies who remain on eligibility lists.
   (D) The needs of working families not eligible for child care
subsidies.
   (E) The availability and types of child care for those facing
barriers, including, but not limited to, infants, toddlers, children
with disabilities, and families who require nontraditional hours of
care.
   (F) The availability and types of child care for families that may
want or need linguistically appropriate child care.
   (G) Data on the diverse access challenges in rural and urban
communities.
   (2) The assessment shall identify gaps in information currently
collected and include recommendations on the most effective manner of
collecting ongoing information to ensure that the required
assessments are provided efficiently and consistently and the manner
of obtaining this information.
   (b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall provide to the
Legislature, on or before March 1, 2007, and every two years
thereafter, an assessment of the supply and demand for child care and
recommendations based upon the assessment required pursuant to
subdivision (a).
   (1) The recommendations shall include multiyear options to
incrementally do all of the following:
   (A) Address the needs of families receiving child care subsidies.

   (B) Address the needs of low-income, working families eligible for
child care subsidies that remain on eligibility lists.
   (C) Address the needs of working families not eligible for child
care subsidies.
   (D) Increase access to high-quality care for families facing child
care barriers.
   (E) Increase access to linguistically appropriate child care.
   (F) Increase access to families in urban and rural areas,
including farmworker and agricultural communities.
   (2) (A) The recommendations shall include a recommendation on the
most effective means for the department to collect from all employers
of center or family provider child care employees that operate
programs licensed by the state or programs that receive funding from
the state the following information:
   (i) Sufficient information for the division to track and report on
the tenure and retention of each child care worker employed by the
provider.
   (ii) The qualifications of each child care worker employed by the
provider, including, but not limited to,  cultural and
linguistic characteristics of the employee   educational
and training attainment, and linguistic capabilities of employees
 .
   (B) The information provided pursuant to this section shall be
used to inform the required assessments and shall be made available
to the public.
   (3) The recommendations shall be developed in consultation with an
advisory group that shall assist the Superintendent of Public
Instruction in developing the recommendations.  The advisory group
shall include members representing all of the following:
   (A) The State Department of Social Services.
   (B) Parents of children receiving subsidized and unsubsidized
child care.
   (C) Various types of child care providers, including
representatives of public and private subsidized and unsubsidized
child care, part-day and full-day preschool programs, Head Start, the
state preschool program, and center-based and family-based child
care.
   (D) Experts in early child care and education, including, but not
limited to, administrators, teachers, and academics with expertise in
early childhood development and research.
   (E) Representatives of child care support entities, including
resource and referral agencies, alternative payment programs, local
child care planning councils, and child care advocacy groups.
  SEC. 3.  Section 8203.6 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   8203.6.  (a) (1)  To the extent resources are available, the Child
Development Division of the State Department of Education shall
convene a task force consisting of representatives from all of the
following entities:
   (A) The California Children and Families Commission.
   (B) The office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges.
   (C) The University of California.
   (D) The California State University.
   (E) The Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
   (F) The Child Development Division of the State Department of
Education.
   (G) The California Child Care Resource and Referral Network.
   (H) Representatives of the following:
   (i) Parents of children in subsidized and unsubsidized child care
center and family child care settings.
   (ii) Community-based programs that provide child care and
development training.
   (iii) Private colleges providing child care and development
training.
   (iv) Employee organizations that represent child care workers and
operate staff training programs.
   (v) Providers of family child care services and center-based
teachers who are consumers of training and development programs.
   (vi) Early child care and education experts.
   (vii) Child care center administrators, including part-day
programs, Head Start, and the state preschool program.
   (viii) Local child care planning councils.
   (ix) Local First Five commissions.
   (2) Task force participants shall serve without pay or
compensation.
   (b) The task force shall operate in a manner that encourages input
and participation from the public.
   (c) The task force shall conduct at least one public hearing prior
to submitting the report required pursuant to subdivision (d).
   (d) (1) The task force shall develop and submit to the Legislature
on or before January 1, 2006, a Child Care and Development Workforce
Development Plan.
   (2) The plan shall include all of the following information:
   (A) Clear expectations for staff competencies and requirements for
each level of regulation for subsidized and unsubsidized child care
and development center- and home-based services.
   (B) Career ladders with links to teacher certification and
credentialing.
   (C) A means for accreditation of training offered by public and
private entities, so that enrollees can meet the requirements of the
career ladder.
   (D) Strategies for recruiting and retaining instructional staff
who reflect the ethnic, racial, linguistic, and cultural diversity of
California families.
   (E) A means for providing child care and development staff with
information regarding available training supports, including, but not
limited to, English-as-a-second-language training opportunities and
scholarship programs.
   (F) A method for assessing whether the available training supports
assure access to professional development opportunities for direct
care personnel in all settings and from a variety of ethnic and
linguistic backgrounds.
   (G) Determination of how  to develop  a prudent and
efficient registry of child care and development workers  and
their training levels can be developed.   , to be the
repository of information for parents and others about staff
stability and professional development, and to be used, in the
determination of qualification for enhanced reimbursement. 
   (H) Goals for qualifications of child care and development
providers, and a method to report to policymakers the status of
meeting those goals.
   (I) A procedure for assessing the impact of the plan, and updating
the plan, every five years.
   (e) This section shall not be operative if, during the 2003-04
Regular Session, legislation is enacted that creates a workforce
development task force and the task force is charged with addressing
the elements required to be included in the plan developed pursuant
to subdivision (d).