BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Senator McGuire, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 762
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|Author: |Mullin |
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|Version: |June 1, 2015 |Hearing |July 14, 2015 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Mareva Brown |
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Subject: Day care centers: integrated licensing
SUMMARY
This bill requires a day care center with a toddler component to
extend the toddler component to serve children 18 months to 3
years, and requires that the California Department of Social
Services (CDSS) issue conforming guidelines.
ABSTRACT
Existing law:
1) Establishes the California Child Day Care Facilities
Act, with stated Legislative intent to provide a
comprehensive quality system for licensing child day care
facilities separate from other facility types within the
existing licensing system at CDSS because this system of
licensure requires a special understanding of the unique
characteristics and needs of child served by child day care
facilities. (HSC 1596.70)
2) Defines a child day care facility to mean a facility
that provides nonmedical care to children under 18 years
of age including day care centers, employer-sponsored
child care centers, and family day care homes; Defines a
day care center to include any child day care facility
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other than a family day care home, including infant
centers, preschools, extended day care facilities, and
school age child care centers. (HSC 1596.750, HSC
1596.76)
3) Defines an infant as a child under two years of age
(22 CCR § 101152 (i))
4) Requires CDSS to develop guidelines and procedures to
authorize licensed child day care centers serving infants
to create a special program component for children
between the ages of 18 months and 30 months, as
specified. (HSC 1596.956)
5) Requires CDSS to develop guidelines and procedures to
permit licensed child day care centers serving preschool
age children to create a special program component for
children between the ages of 18 months and 30 months, as
specified. (HSC 1596.955)
6) Establishes in regulation separate staff-to-child
ratios, the requirement to provide a toddler program
separate from the infant program and other requirements
for the optional toddler program in a child day care
facility (CCR Title 22, Section 101417)
7) Permits a child whose developmental needs require
continuation in an infant care center to remain in an
infant care center up to a maximum age of three years.
(CCR Title 22, Section 101361)
This bill:
1) Requires a day care center with a toddler component to
extend the toddler component to serve children between 18
months and three years of age commencing January 1, 2016,
and states Legislative intent to provide continuity of care
to California's children and parents.
2) Requires CDSS to modify guidelines and procedures for
authorizing the optional toddler component of an infant day
care program from the existing 18- to 30-months to 18
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months to three years.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to an Assembly analysis, this bill will result in
one-time costs to DSS of likely less than $100,000 for
regulatory and policy changes.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill:
According to the author, AB 762 bridges the gap in care for some
children between the age of 30 and 36 months by extending the
toddler option for infant child care licenses to three years.
Community Care Licensing (CCL) provides and administers licenses
for infants (birth to two yrs.) and Preschoolers (two years to
entering first grade). The "Toddler Component" means the
component of an infant or preschool care program license
designed for children between the ages of 18 months and 30
months. Programs may apply for a waiver for each individual
child to allow them to stay in the Toddler classroom until 30
months.
According to the author, this is a time-consuming process and
ultimately is up to the discretion and time available to process
the multiple requests of local licensing analysts. However, the
waiver still doesn't resolve the potential for a child to lose
care from 30 to 36 months as most preschool classrooms serve
children from three years old until they enter kindergarten. In
this situation children lose the benefits of continuity of care
and developmental gains, and their parents must often leave jobs
or school to care for them, the author states.
Infant and toddler development
The ages between birth and age three are critical in a child's
life, a time of the most rapid brain development, including
learning gross- and fine-motor activities, the development of
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language, synaptic development and dynamic changes.<1> One
especially critical growth stage during this time is the
development of attachment to parents and caretakers which,
according to researchers, takes place most substantially between
birth and age five. If an attachment does not develop in this
period then a child may suffer from irreversible developmental
consequences, including an inability to bond with peers or
adults through the lifetime, reduced intelligence and increased
aggression.<2> In that context, researchers also found that when
children are in safe, nurturing, and high-quality settings,
maintaining the primary caregiving relationship until the child
is at least three years old is an important effort to support
continuity for the child and family.<3>
Another milestone of development for toddlers is the ability to
toilet. According to the National Institutes of Health,<4> most
children in Western countries achieve bladder and bowel control
between 24 and 48 months of age, although the question of when
to toilet train is highly individualized and "reaching this
developmental milestone may be difficult for both the child and
parents." Advancement in child care settings may be tied to the
achievement of potty training.
Day Care Centers
As of May, CDSS licensed 1,972 infant centers with a total
capacity of 45,071 children and an additional 10,480 day care
centers with a capacity for 591,745 toddlers and preschoolers.
Current regulations allow child care centers with an infant
license to serve children between 0 and 24 months, unless they
apply to DSS for the toddler option, allowing them to continue
caring for children up to 30 months of age. A waiver must be
---------------------------
<1> ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and
Families,
http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/early-development/
<2> McLeod, S. A. (2009). Attachment Theory. Retrieved from
www.simplypsychology.org/attachment.html
<3> Promoting Continuity of Care in Infant/Toddler Settings:
What Can State/Territory Leaders Do?," Infant/Toddler Community
Practice group, funded by the U.S. Administration for Children
and Families, July 2012
<4> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2819951/
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filed for each child pursuing the toddler option. CDSS does not
have records of how many toddler option waivers have been filed,
Preschool licenses may begin at either 24 or 36 months, leaving
a potential gap for children who exit infant care at 24 months
and enter preschool care at 36 months. This bill seeks to
address that gap by extending the ability of an infant center to
use the existing toddler permit process up to 36 months, rather
than ending it at 30 months, as is current law.
Related legislation:
SB 629 (Morgan, Chapter 1079, Statutes of 1989) established this
optional license category for day care programs
SB 434 (Morgan, Chapter 246, Statutes of 1993) refined and made
the optional program permanent.
COMMENTS
Current statute permits a toddler waiver for an infant center up
to 30 months. This bill additionally would give centers that
have both infant and preschool licenses the flexibility to
transition children into the preschool portion of the program
later in order to accommodate kindergarten departure schedules,
and children who need additional time to reach developmental
milestones, potty train or adjust socially to the transition.
In order for waiver to conform to all types of child education
programs, staff recommends the following amendment:
HSC 1596.955. (a) The department shall develop guidelines and
procedures to permit licensed child day care centers serving
preschool age children to create a special program component for
children between the ages of 18 months and 30 months. 18 and 36
months of age. This optional toddler program shall be subject to
the following basic conditions:
(1) An amended application is submitted to and approved
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by the department.
(2) No child shall be placed in the preschool program
before the age of 30 months without parental permission.
A child who is more than 30 months of age may participate
in the toddler program with parental permission.
(3) Parents give permission for the placement of their
children in the toddler program.
(4) A ratio of six children to each teacher is
maintained for all children in attendance at the toddler
program. An aide who is participating in on-the-job
training may be substituted for a teacher when directly
supervised by a fully qualified teacher.
(5) The maximum group size, with two teachers, or one
fully qualified teacher and one aide, does not exceed 12
toddlers.
(6) The toddler program is conducted in areas separate
from those used by older or younger children. Plans to
alternate use of outdoor play space may be approved to
achieve separation.
(7) All other preschool regulations are complied with.
(b) The toddler program shall be considered an extension of the
preschool license, without the need for a separate license.
(c) The department shall immediately prepare proposed
regulations for public hearing which would consider the
foregoing basic conditions as well as any additional health and
safety safeguards deemed necessary for this age group.
(d) The guidelines in subdivision (a) shall remain in force and
effect only until regulations implementing this section are
adopted by the department.
(e) Commencing January 1, 2016, a day care center with a toddler
component pursuant to this section shall extend the toddler
component to serve children between 18 months to three years of
age. It is the intent of the Legislature to provide continuity
of care to California's children and parents in the
implementation of this subdivision.
PRIOR VOTES
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|Assembly Floor: |78 - |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |14 - |
| |0 |
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|Assembly Human Services Committee: |7 - |
| |0 |
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POSITIONS
Support:
Advancement Project
Alameda County Developmental Disabilities Planning and
Advisory Council
Association of California School Administrators
California Association for the Education of Young Children
California Child Care Coordinators Association
California Child Care Resource & Referral Network
California Child Development Administrators Association
California Head Start Association
Californians for Quality Early Learning
California State PTA
Child Care Partnership Council
Child Care Resource Center
Children Now
Contra Costa County
County of San Mateo
Early Edge California
East Bay Developmental Disabilities Legislative Coalition
Easter Seals
Footsteps Child Care
Institute for Human and Social Development
Kidango
Los Angeles County Office of Education
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MAAC
Pacific Clinics
Peninsula family Service
Professional Association for Childhood Education
San Francisco Child Care Planning and Advocacy Council
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Oppose:
None received.
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