BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2386
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 2386 (Mullin) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Child care facilities: carbon monoxide detectors
SUMMARY : Requires all child day care facilities to have one or
more carbon monoxide detectors installed in the facility and
requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to account for
their presence upon inspection of the facility.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the California Child Care and Development Services
Act (CCDSA) to provide a comprehensive, community-based,
coordinated, and cost-effective system of child care and
development services for children from birth to age 13 with
the purpose of enhancing the social, emotional, physical, and
intellectual development of children. (EDC 8200 and 8201)
2)States the intent of the Legislature that all families have
access to child care and development services, regardless of
their demographic background, in order to help them attain
financial stability through employment, while maximizing
growth and development of their children, and enhancing their
parenting skills through participation in child care and
development programs. (EDC 8202)
3)Defines child care and development services as care and
services designed to meet a wide variety of needs of children
and their families, while their parents or guardians are
working, in training, seeking employment, incapacitated, or in
need of respite. (EDC 8208(i))
4)Requires child day care facilities, including small and large
family day care homes to have a fire extinguisher on the
premises and a functional smoke detector installed in the
facility, as specified. (H&S Codes 1597.45 and 1597.46)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill aligns existing CCDSA health and safety
requirements with the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act
AB 2386
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(CMPPA) of 2010 (Chapter 19, Statutes of 2010), which requires
all existing dwellings intended for human occupancy that have a
fossil fuel burning appliance, a fireplace, or an attached
garage to install a carbon monoxide detector on or before
January 1, 2013. Although already required for single family
homes, as well as schools, there is no specific requirement that
a carbon monoxide detector be installed in non-residential
facilities, such as a non-residential child care facility.
Child care providers that operate on school campuses are already
in compliance since school districts are required to have a
carbon monoxide detector installed. However, there is no
requirement for privately operated child care centers that
operate in a commercial facility to have installed a carbon
monoxide detector.
Dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning : Carbon monoxide is an
odorless, colorless, deadly gas. At lower levels of exposure it
can cause health problems such as headaches, fatigue, nausea,
dizzy spells, confusion and irritability. Later stages of
carbon monoxide poisoning can cause vomiting, loss of
consciousness and eventually brain damage or death. Carbon
monoxide is produced by furnaces, common household appliances,
vehicles, generators, fireplaces and other systems that are
powered by the burning of fuel such as natural gas propane,
gasoline, oil and wood.
The California Air Resources Board has determine that 30-40
"avoidable deaths" occur just in California each year, on
average, due to unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning.
Additionally, there are 175-700 "avoidable" emergency room
visits and hospitalizations in California alone. In 2001, 25%
of the carbon monoxide poisoning deaths from home-related
products were adults 65 years and older.
Background on licensed child care : Under current law, any
person who provides organized nonmedical and nonresidential care
for children other than his her own children that is not
arranged on a voluntary or otherwise uncompensated basis is
required to be licensed under the CCDSA. These types of
facilities are commonly referred to as a Title 22 program due to
its required compliance with Title to Division 2 of Title 22 of
the California Code of Regulations (CCR), which implements the
CCDSA and is governed by the Department of Social Services
(DSS), and can include both small and large family day care
homes and commercially based child care centers.
AB 2386
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Title 22 regulations establish general health and safety
requirements, staff to child ratios, and basic provider training
qualifications. In order for any person to operate a child
development program, the program must first become a licensed
provider under Title 22. Title 22 providers set their own rates
and may voluntarily accept child development subsidy vouchers,
along with statutorily established family fees, provided through
the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids
(CalWORKs) program or other state-funded child care subsidy
programs.
According to DSS, as of April 1, 2014, there are 47,069 licensed
child care facilities in the state, including licensed family
child care homes, with a licensed capacity to serve almost 1.1
million children.
Need for the bill : Stating the need for the bill, the author
writes:
While many child care homes in California have already
taken steps to ensure proper installation of carbon
monoxide detectors, there are a few who may simply be
unaware of the requirement and the dangers of carbon
monoxide poisoning. Since children are most susceptible to
carbon monoxide poisoning, we must ensure that all
childcare homes are meeting this standard to protect our
children.
Staff comments : This measure addresses a gap in state licensing
and inspection requirements for non-residential child care
facilities by aligning the CCDSA with the CMPPA. However, the
author touches on a requirement that should be applied to all
care facilities, specifically the requirement that DSS'
Community Care Licensing Division account for the presence of a
carbon monoxide detector during an inspection of a residential
care facility. Although the CMPPA requires all residential
units to have a carbon monoxide detector, it is not explicitly
included within existing residential care statutes.
AB 2386
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RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS:
Committee staff recommends that the bill be amended to apply to
all residential care facilities under the jurisdiction of DSS'
Community Care Licensing Division. The amendments would expand
the requirement to include all residential care facilities under
the jurisdiction of the Residential Care Facilities for the
Elderly Act and the Community Care Facilities Act.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089