BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Senator McGuire, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1154
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|Author: |Liu |
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|Version: |February 18, 2016 |Hearing | April 12, 2016 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Taryn Smith |
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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 , and
providers, 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
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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 are hereby established two 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, the California Child Care
Initiative Project Projects 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.
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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.
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