BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES Senator McGuire, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: SB 1154 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Liu | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |----------+-----------------------+-----------+-----------------| |Version: |February 18, 2016 |Hearing | April 12, 2016 | | | |Date: | | |----------+-----------------------+-----------+-----------------| |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Taryn Smith | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Child care and development services: R&R programs SUMMARY This bill modernizes, clarifies and codifies the duties and responsibilities of child care resource and referral (R&R) programs. It names the bill the Patricia Siegel Child Care Resource and Referral Memorial Act of 2016. Among other things, this bill requires an R&R program to provide specified additional services, including training and workshops relating to child care services, providing community resource assistance, and collaborating with and assisting other community agencies in planning, coordinating, and improving child care. ABSTRACT Existing law: 1) Defines "resource and referral (R&R) programs" as programs that provide information to parents, including referrals and coordination of community resources for parents and public or private providers of care. Services frequently include, but are not limited to: technical assistance for providers, toy- and equipment-lending libraries, staff development programs, health and nutrition education, and referrals to social services. (EDC 8208(x)) 2) States that funds appropriated may be used for child SB 1154 (Liu) Page 2 of ? care R&R programs, which may be operated by public or private nonprofit entities. (EDC 8210) 3) Establishes legislative intent that $180,000 be appropriated each fiscal year to child care and development R&R agencies. (EDC 8211) 4) Requires R&R programs to provide certain information and services to parents and child care providers relating to child care services in a defined geographic area (EDC 8212) 5) Permits R&R programs to provide short-term respite child care under specified conditions. (EDC 8212.13) 6) Requires R&R programs to provide resources and referrals to all persons requesting services and to all types of child care providers, regardless of income level or other eligibility criteria. Permits R&R programs to provide a wide variety of parent and provider support and educational services. (EDC 8214) 7) Establishes the California Child Care Initiative Project and states Legislative intent to promote and foster the project in cooperation with private corporations and local governments in order to increase the availability of quality child care programs in the state. (EDC 8215) 8) Requires every agency operating both as a direct service program and a R&R program to provide at least four referrals, at least one of which shall be a provider over which the agency has no fiscal or operational control, as well as information to a family on the family's ability to choose a license exempt provider. (EDC 8216) This bill: 1) Names this bill the Patricia Siegel Child Care Resource and Referral Memorial Act of 2016. 2) States that funds appropriated for the purpose of the article shall be used for child care R&R programs. 3) Repeals obsolete language that identified a fixed amount of funding for R&R programs, and instead makes a general SB 1154 (Liu) Page 3 of ? funding allocation statement with regard to R&Rs. Additionally, repeals a code section regarding funding that was provided for R&Rs to serve families under stress who needed short term assistance to avoid the Child Protective Service system as this service is no longer under the auspice of R&R services. 4) Requires that the child care referral process must be described in writing, made available to parents and providers upon request, and must respond to parental need for information to make the most informed child care choice for the family. 5) Makes numerous additional changes to the services R&R programs are required to provide to parents seeking child care, and to providers and prospective providers of child care as described: a. States that child care R&R programs are unique in their provision of services to all parents regardless of income and all types of child care providers. b. Requires that child care referrals shall be available to all persons requesting information regardless of income level or other eligibility requirements. c. Clarifies that R&R programs shall make referrals to licensed child day care facilities, and that they may make referrals to programs that are legally exempt from licensing. d. Adds email and other appropriate technology to the list of methods R&R programs may use to inform parents of child care referrals. e. Clarifies that basic child care referrals shall be provided at no cost to all persons requesting services, regardless of income level or other eligibility criteria. f. Requires that a basic child care referral shall include the names and telephone numbers of child care providers that meet the requested need of the parent or guardian seeking referrals. g. Clarifies that a fee may be charged for an enhanced referral that includes information in addition to basic child care referral information. h. Requires that, when making referrals, if there are SB 1154 (Liu) Page 4 of ? fewer than four providers that meet the request of the parent, an agent operating as both direct service provider and an R&R program shall provide all of the referrals that meet the parent's request. i. Requires a child care R&R program to maximize parental choice and supports for parents in locating child care resources in their community by providing all of the following: 1) Information regarding how to select child care services that meet the needs of the parent and child; 2) A range of possible child care alternatives from which a parent may choose; 3) Information on licensing requirements and procedures; 4) Information on available child care subsidies and eligibility requirements 1) Expands the technical assistance provided to existing and potential providers of all types of child care services to improve access to, increase the supply of, and improve the quality of child care available in every community in California to include: 1) Providing training and workshops on health and safety, child development, special needs, and other topics related to professional development; 2) Providing information about community resources, child care statistics, and opening a child care business to parents, child care providers, community organizations, and government entities; 3) Collaborating with community partners to increase awareness of child care issues; 4) Assisting community and public agencies in planning, coordinating, and improving child care in the defined geographic area; 5) Partnering with local county welfare agencies in meeting the child care needs of CalWORKs families; 6) Facilitating efforts to expand child care services in the local community based on demonstrated demand for services. SB 1154 (Liu) Page 5 of ? 1) Expands the services an R&R program may provide to include training, technical assistance, and other appropriate support that improves the quality of child care available in the community. 2) Requires that child care R&R programs shall provide a range of professional development services to all types of child care providers, including, but not limited to, license-exempt child care providers, licensed family day care homes, and center-based child care and development programs, to support the development of new child care services and to improve the quality of services available in the state. 3) Makes a number of administrative changes to R&R program operations. Specifically, this bill: a) Clarifies that an R&R program shall, within two business days of receiving notice from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Community Care Licensing Division, remove from the program's referral list a licensed child day care facility with a revocation, temporary suspension order, or probation. b) Expands the information required for documentation of requests for service to include requests for child care supply information, including the number of licensed child care programs, and, if available, the number of license-exempt child care providers and other child care information. c) Requires that an R&R program shall develop and implement written complaint procedures, as specified. d) Protects confidentiality of information maintained by R&R programs by requiring R&Rs to limit the distribution of certain information. 1) Clarifies and defines two distinct projects known as the California Child Care Initiative Project - State Program and the California Child Care Initiative Project - Quality Plan Program. Establishes legislative intent to promote and foster the California Child Care Initiative Project - State Program in cooperation with private corporations and local governments. Establishes that the objective of both projects is to increase the availability of quality child SB 1154 (Liu) Page 6 of ? care in the state. 2) Deletes provisions that the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall allocate all state funds appropriated for the California Child Care Initiative Project for the purpose of making grants to those child care R&R agencies that have been selected as pilot sites for the project. Instead requires the Superintendent to allocate all state funds appropriated for the California Child Care Initiative Project - State Program and shall ensure that each dollar of state funds allocated is matched to two dollars statewide from other sources, including private corporations, and the federal or local governments. 3) Repeals the requirement that the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop a data base for the project. 4) Outlines the R&Rs role in the implementation of the Trustline registry program for license-exempt providers and provides a cross-reference to the Health & Safety Code. FISCAL IMPACT This bill has not yet been analyzed by fiscal committee. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION Purpose of the bill: According to the author, SB 1154 clarifies and updates statute related to R&R programs. The author states that current code is outdated and in places does not adequately represent the responsibilities of and services offered by R&Rs. According to the author, state-regulated services have become even more important in recent years with the rise of online private care "clearinghouses" which are not state regulated and follow varying protocols for providing referrals. Additionally, the bill will help ensure standardization of services offered across the state. This will help guarantee that families in all of the state's regions receive the same basic referral and child care services. SB 1154 (Liu) Page 7 of ? R&R Programs R&R programs provide information to parents, regardless of income, about their child care options within the local community. R&Rs also offer information about licensed and unlicensed child care providers. In addition to informational services, R&R programs also provide supportive services to child care providers and potential providers. Such services include, but are not limited to: technical assistance with the licensing process; staff development programs; and referrals to social services. At least one R&R program operates in every county in California. Licensing of Child Care Providers CDSS is responsible for licensing child care providers, which fall into two general categories: commercial child care centers and family child care homes. Not all child care providers are required to be licensed. Examples of some license-exempt child care providers are: Relatives of a child being cared for (i.e., spouses, parents, adult siblings, aunts, uncles, first cousins, step-relatives and grandparents) Any arrangement providing care for children of only one family in addition to the operator's own children Before-and-after school programs and extended day care programs operated by public or private schools Some of these license-exempt child care providers have completed a criminal background screening and clearance process. CDSS contracts with a vendor to process applications for background check and clearances and to maintain an online registry of these providers. The registry is used for purpose of tracking background clearance, not to seek out or identify child care providers. CalWORKs Child Care Program CDSS also oversees the CalWORKs Child Care Program, which provides subsidized child care services for CalWORKs participants and low-income families. Eligibility is based on the total income, size and need of families. In order to be SB 1154 (Liu) Page 8 of ? reimbursed for child care services under the CalWORKs Child Care Program, most categories of license-exempt child care providers must complete the criminal background screening and clearance process. Only certain family members are not required to obtain the background clearance under the CalWORKs Child Care Program. Limited / Shortage of Child Care Providers In many areas of the state, there is limited or no space available in licensed child care centers or family child care homes. Additionally, there is a shortage of licensed slots for infants and toddlers. As a result, families in some communities may struggle to secure child care. R&R programs use census data and requests from families in the community to perform regular assessments and reporting of supply and demand for child care and to identify gaps in available service. Through the Child Care Initiative Project and other programs they conduct recruitment and training. This bill will codify the existing practice in which R&R programs work to identify and fill the need for child care providers. Related legislation: AB 2463 (Brownley, Statutes of 2010) proposed to update and make clean up changes to the child care and R&R statutes. AB 2463 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee. COMMENTS The committee suggests the following edits to clarify and simply the codes. Amendment #1 8212. (a) (2) (A) (i) Establishment of a referral process that is described in writing and is available to parents ,andproviders, and potential providers upon request, that responds to parental need for information to make the most informed child care choice for the family. Referrals shall be available to all persons requesting the information regardless of income level or other eligibility requirements. A child care resource and referral program shall limit the distribution of lists of small family day care homes as required pursuant to Section 1596.86 of SB 1154 (Liu) Page 9 of ? the Health and Safety Code except when necessary to collaborate with federal, state, and local emergency response organizations for emergency preparedness and response efforts. Referrals shall be provided with full recognition of the confidentiality rights of parents. Resource and referral programs shall make referrals to licensed child day care facilities, and may make referrals to programs that are legally exempt from licensing. The referral process shall afford parents maximum access to all referral information. This access shall include, but is not limited to, telephone referrals to be made available for at least 30 hours per week as part of a full week of contracted operation. Every effort shall be made to make child care referrals accessible to all parents within the defined geographic area by using methods including, but not limited to, any of the following: Amendment #2: 8215. (a) There arehereby establishedtwo projects, known as the California Child Care Initiative Project - State Program and the California Child Care Initiative Project - Quality Plan Program, respectively.It is the intent of the Legislature to promote and foster the California Child Care Initiative Project - State Program in cooperation with private corporations and local governments.The objective of both projects is to increase the availability of quality child care in the state. (b) For purposes of this section,theCalifornia Child Care InitiativeProjectProjects means a project to clarify the role and functions of resource and referral programs in activities, including needs assessment, recruitment and screening of providers, technical assistance, and staff development and training, in order to aid communities to increase the number of child care spaces available and improve the quality of child care services offered. (c) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote and foster the California Child Care Initiative Project - State Program in cooperation with private corporations and local governments. The Superintendent shall allocate all state funds appropriated for the California Child Care Initiative Project - State Program and shall ensure that each dollar of state funds allocated pursuant to this subdivision is matched by two dollars ($2) statewide from other sources, including private corporations, the federal government, or local governments. SB 1154 (Liu) Page 10 of ? POSITIONS Support: California Child Care Resource & Referral Network (Sponsor) Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles Child Care Resource Center Community Child Care of Sonoma County Northern Director's Group Resource Connection Siskiyou Child Care Council Oppose: None received. -- END -