BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �






                                  SENATE HUMAN
                               SERVICES COMMITTEE
                          Senator Leland Y. Yee, Chair


          BILL NO:       SB 766                                       
          S
          AUTHOR:        Yee                                          
          B
          VERSION:       April 18, 2013
          HEARING DATE:  April 23, 2013                               
          7
          FISCAL:        Yes                                          
          6
                                                                      
          6
          CONSULTANT:    Sara Rogers                                 
                                        

                                     SUBJECT
                                         
                        Ancillary Child Care Facilities

                                     SUMMARY  

          This bill requires ancillary day care centers to maintain  
          ratios of no more than 10 children to each care provider  
          for children ages 0 to 6, and a ratio of no more than 15  
          children to each care provider for children ages 7 to 17.  
          This bill requires ancillary day care centers to ensure the  
          presence of at least one care provider who is 18 years or  
          older, to ensure that substitute care providers are cleared  
          through the state's fingerprinting registry, and to ensure  
          that at least one care provider present in the center has  
          received training in pediatric CPR and first aid.   
          Additionally, this bill requires ancillary day care centers  
          to establish health and safety protocols informing staff  
          and parents about facility policies related to medical  
          emergencies.

                                     ABSTRACT  

           Existing law:

              1)   Establishes the California Child Care Facilities  

                                                         Continued---




          STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 766 (Yee)                 
          PageB


          
               Act regulating child day care facilities. (HSC 1596.70  
               et seq.)  


              2)   Defines "day care center" to mean any child day  
               care facility other than a family day care home,  
               including infant centers, preschools, extended day  
               care facilities, and school-age child care centers.  
               (HSC 1596.76)  


              3)   Defines "ancillary day care centers" as a day care  
               center associated with an athletic club, grocery  
               store, or other business or group of businesses for  
               which the day care center is ancillary to its  
               principal business activity and which provides day  
               care services, with or without a fee, for the children  
               of the clients or customers while the clients or  
               customers are engaged in shopping for, or purchasing,  
               goods or services from that business or group of  
               businesses. (HSC 1596.60)


             4)   Exempts from licensure under the California Child  
               Care Facilities Act any child day care program that  
               offers temporary child care services to parents and  
               that satisfies both of the following:


                           The services are only provided to parents  
                    and guardians who are on the same premises as the  
                    site of the child day care program.


                           The child day care program is not  
                    operated on the site of a ski facility, shopping  
                    mall, department store, or any other similar site  
                    identified by the department by regulation. (HSC  
                    1596.792) 


             1)   Requires ancillary day care providers to be  
               registered under California's "TrustLine" fingerprint  
               registry administered by the Department of Social  
               Services (DSS). (HSC 1596.656)





          STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 766 (Yee)                 
          PageC


          


             2)   Requires DSS to establish and continuously update  
               the TrustLine registry. Before approving the registry,  
               the department must check the individual criminal  
               history, as specified, and against the Child Abuse  
               Central Index (CACI), as specified. (HSC 1596.605)


             3)   Requires DSS to deny an application if the  
               TrustLine applicant has been convicted of a crime,  
               other than a minor traffic violation, unless the  
               director grants an exemption, as specified. (HSC  
               1596.607) 
             
          This bill:
           
          1.Provides that any person who is responsible for engaging  
            with children cared for in an ancillary day care center  
            must be registered under TrustLine, as opposed to only  
            those persons who provide child care or child care  
            supervision.


          2.Requires ancillary child care centers to do the  
            following:


                 Maintain a ratio of no more than 10 children to  
               each care provider for children ages 0 to 6, and a  
               ratio of no more than 15 children to each care  
               provider for children ages 7 to 17.
                 Ensure the presence of at least one care provider  
               who is 18 years or older.

                 Ensure that substitute care providers are cleared  
               through the state's fingerprinting registry.

                 Ensure that at least one care provider present in  
               the center has received training in pediatric CPR and  
               first aid.

                 Establish health and safety protocols informing  
               staff and parents about facility policies related to  
               medical emergencies.





          STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 766 (Yee)                 
          PageD


          


                                  FISCAL IMPACT
                                         
          This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.

                            BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION  

          According to the author, parents often assume when leaving  
          their child in a day care center located in a gym or  
          department store that staff have received basic health and  
          safety training such as first aid, and that facilities have  
          clear protocol for what to do in case a child is injured or  
          if there is a medical emergency. 


          The author states that no such requirements exist and that  
          a recent incident in a local gym underscored the need for  
          such protocol to inform staff and parents on what is  
          expected of the facility in medical emergencies. In the  
          incident, the author states that a significant cut on the  
          forehead incurred by a 21 month old child highlighted the  
          importance of parents being informed of facility policies  
          for notifying paramedics and illustrated the need for staff  
          to have basic training in first aid and CPR.

          According to the author, this bill ensures that minimum  
          health and safety standards and protocol for medical  
          emergencies for staff are in place, and that parents  
          receive disclosure as to those standards and protocols.  
          Additionally, the author states that this bill will apply  
          some of the more basic staffing requirements that apply to  
          other child care facilities, which most ancillary  
          facilities already meet or exceed.


           Ancillary Day Care Centers
           
          Ancillary day care centers are located within an athletic  
          club, grocery store, or other business to provide child  
          care services while the clients or customers are shopping  
          or otherwise using the facilities on site.  These  
          facilities are exempt from licensure under the California  
          Child Care Facilities Act if the parents and guardians are  
          on the same premises as the day care program and if the  





          STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 766 (Yee)                 
          PageE


          
          child day care program is not operated on the site of a ski  
          facility, shopping mall, department store, or any other  
          similar site identified by the department by regulation.

          Though ancillary facilities are not licensed by DSS,  
          current law does require that individuals, over the age of  
          18, caring for children in an ancillary day care center  
          must be registered under the TrustLine fingerprint registry  
          database. Day care providers who are under age 18 cannot  
          register since the databases used by TrustLine do not  
          process fingerprints of minors. Facilities may nonetheless  
          employ minors as care providers.

          Common ancillary day care centers include those of gym or  
          recreational clubs that offer child care while parents are  
          present. Additionally, retailers such as IKEA and Fred  
          Meyer provide ancillary child care services while parents  
          are shopping.  

          Such services are not intended to be a regular, ongoing  
          source of child care for the parent, and are sometimes  
          time-limited.  IKEA's child care center cares for children  
          for one hour only and generally accepts children aged 4 to  
          10. 


           TrustLine Registry


           The TrustLine fingerprint registry database conducts  
          background checks on license-exempt child care providers  
          such as babysitters, nannies, transport escort services and  
          child care providers in license-exempt child care centers,  
          including ancillary day care centers. The registry is  
          maintained by DSS, which contracts certain administrative  
          functions to the California Child Care Resource and  
          Referral Network. 


          The registry is accessed by parents, nanny agencies,  
          ancillary day care centers and other employers to evaluate  
          the background of a prospective care provider while also  
          protecting his or her privacy. Prospective child care  
          providers register by completing an application and having  
          their fingerprints scanned at a Community Care Licensing  





          STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 766 (Yee)                 
          PageF


          
          Live Scan vendor, or at a Department of Justice (DOJ) Live  
          Scan site (generally a Police Department or Sheriff's  
          Office). Ancillary care providers are required to pay the  
          full cost of registration - about $170 dollars. This fee  
          covers the costs of background checks and processing fees.


          The TrustLine system uses several databases to make  
          determinations including the California Department of  
          Justice California Criminal History System, the Child Abuse  
          Central Index of California, the FBI Criminal History  
          System, the DSS licensing database, and the Commission on  
          Teacher Credentialing database. The system approves  
          registration if the applicant has no disqualifying criminal  
          convictions and no substantiated reports of child abuse.  
          Additionally, TrustLine continuously re-checks the database  
          for subsequent crimes that may have occurred since their  
          application.


          The registry reports that 280,754 individuals are  
          registered on TrustLine and that approximately 20% of  
          applicants are denied registration. Additionally, TrustLine  
          reports that, as of 2011, 8,035 applications have been  
          associated with ancillary care providers 7,618 of which  
          were accepted. All registrants associated with ancillary  
          day care centers were employees of health clubs, gyms or  
          yoga businesses.


           Title 22 Child Care Ratios


           The California Department of Social Service licenses child  
          care centers that are subject to licensure under Title 22,  
          Division 12 of the California Code of Regulations.  These  
          regulations provide for mandatory child to staff ratios as  
          follows:<1>


                 Toddlers and preschool aged children must have one  
               teacher for every 12 children, or one teacher for  
             -----------------------
          <1> 5 CCR � 101216, 5 CCR � 101416.5 and 5 CCR � 101417






          STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 766 (Yee)                 
          PageG


          
               every 15 children and one staff for every 12 children.
                 Infants must have one teacher for every four  
               children, or one teacher for every 12 children and one  
               staff for every four children.
                 Provides additional ratio, group size and separate  
               space requirements for programs servicing  
               preschool-age children to allow for some mixed-age  
               group settings.


          Comments


          1.Staff notes that DSS does not license ancillary child  
            care facilities or their staff. DSS reports that it does  
            not have authority to enforce requirements for  
            license-exempt child care providers unless it receives a  
            complaint that a facility is operating an unlicensed  
            child care facility. Thus, if an ancillary child care  
            facility is reported as violating one of the requirements  
            that designate it as license-exempt, DSS would have  
            authority to investigate.  


             The requirement that individuals providing child care  
            services in an ancillary child center be  
            TrustLine-certified are not conditions of their license  
            exempt status, and DSS states it does not have authority  
            to investigate or enforce the TrustLine requirements or  
            the new requirements provided under this bill. Anecdotal  
            reports indicate there is widespread non-compliance among  
            some ancillary child care centers, though large  
            recreational clubs are reported to be generally  
            compliant. 


            Should the Legislature determine that non-compliance and  
            lack of enforcement presents a substantial risk to the  
            safety of children, it may wish to explicitly provide  
            authority to DSS to investigate and enforce these  
            requirements. Such authority may incur costs to the  
            Department which may be mitigated by any fines collected.  








          STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 766 (Yee)                 
          PageH


          
          2.Ratio standards under Title 22 include a staff to infant  
            ratio. This bill would permit as many as 10 infants per  
            caregiver.  


             Staff recommends amending the bill to include a staff to  
            infant ratio as follows:  


             An ancillary day care center, as defined in Section  
            1596.60, shall comply with all of the following  
            requirements:
             (a)  Maintain a ratio of no more than  4 infants under 18  
               months old to each care provider, maintain a ratio of  
               no more than  10 children to each care provider for  
               children ages 18 months-6 years, inclusive, and  
               maintain a ratio of no more than 15 children to each  
               care provider for children ages 7-17, inclusive.  


           1.The current language of the bill contains a technical  
            drafting error on Page 2, line 21.


            Staff recommends amending the bill as follows:


            1596.69.     An ancillary day care center, as defined in  
            Section 1596.60  , shall comply with all of the following  
            requirements:


           Prior Legislation:


           AB 222 (Adams), Chapter 431, Statutes of 2010, allows  
          persons under 18 years of age to be employees of ancillary  
          day care centers without being registered for TrustLine,  
          and  allows employees whose clearance is pending to  
          continue to work until the Department of Social Services  
          denies their TrustLine application and any right to appeal  
          has been exhausted or expired. 


          SB 702 (DeSaulnier), Chapter 199, Statutes of 2009,  





          STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 766 (Yee)                 
          PageI


          
          established the definition of "ancillary day care center"  
          and required any person providing child care services in an  
          ancillary day care center to obtain a TrustLine clearance.  
          Additionally, it required the TrustLine fee to include the  
          full cost of processing the applications and maintaining  
          the registry not to exceed the actual cost of the  
          processing and maintenance activities. 


          AB 507 (Daucher) of 2005, would have provided that  
          employees and volunteers at the child care centers operated  
          within health studios be subject to a criminal records  
          check.  This bill failed passage in the Senate Public  
          Safety Committee.


          AB 1558 (Daucher) of 2003, would have provided that any  
          person providing child care or supervising a child in a  
          health fitness club, as specified, must clear a criminal  
          background check and be a registered TrustLine child care  
          provider.  This bill failed passage in the Senate  
          Appropriations Committee.






                                    POSITIONS  

          Support:  None received

          Oppose:None received



                                   -- END --
          












          STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 766 (Yee)                 
          PageJ