BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SB 1154 (Liu) - Child care and development services: resource and referral programs ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: April 14, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 8 - 0, HUMAN | | | S. 5 - 0 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: No | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: May 2, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: This bill updates, clarifies, and codifies duties and responsibilities of child care resource and referral programs (R&R). Fiscal Impact: Unknown cost pressures, potentially in the millions, to codify activities required by state regulations and that constitute existing practices of R&R programs. See staff comments. (General Fund) SB 1154 (Liu) Page 1 of ? Background: R&R Programs R&R programs provide information to parents, regardless of income, about their child care options with the local community and about licensed and unlicensed child care providers. They also provide supportive services to child care providers and potential providers. These include, but are not limited to: technical assistance with the licensing process; staff development programs; and referrals to social services. Every county in California is served by at least one R&R program. The California Department of Education (CDE) administers the R&Rs' state contracts. The roles, responsibilities, and requirements that R&Rs are required to meet, are contained in the Education Code, Health & Safety Code, regulations, and in the Funding Terms and Conditions developed by the CDE. Licensing of Child Care Providers The California Department of Social Services (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, such as relatives of a child being cared for or before and after school programs and extended day care programs operated by public or private schools. 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 SB 1154 (Liu) Page 2 of ? and to identify gaps in available service. Through the Child Care Initiative Project and other programs recruitment and training is conducted. Existing law provides 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. This bill would codify the existing practice in which R&R programs work to identify and fill the need for child care providers. Proposed Law: This bill would codify roles and responsibilities of R&Rs in the Education Code. Specifically, this bill: Deletes obsolete language, including a reference to a fixed amount of funding for R&R programs and replaces it with a general funding allocation statement. Requires that the child care referral process be described in writing, made available to parents, providers, and potential providers upon request, and respond to parental need for information to make the most informed child care choice for the family. Requires that referrals be available to all persons requesting the information regardless of income level or eligibility requirements. Requires R&Rs to limit the distribution of lists of small family day care homes as required by the Health and Safety Code, except as specified. Expands required documentation of requests to include child care supply information, including the number of licensed child care programs, and the number of license-exempt child care providers, if available, and requests for other child care information. Specifies that the technical assistance provided to existing SB 1154 (Liu) Page 3 of ? and potential providers of all types of child care services is to improve access to, increase supply of, and improve the quality of child care available in every community in California. It also expands assistance to include: o Providing training and workshops on health and safety, child development, special needs, and other topics related to professional development. o Providing information about community resources, child care statistics, and opening a child care business to parents, child care providers, community organizations, and government entities. o Collaborating with community partners to increase awareness of child care issues. o Assisting community and public agencies in planning, coordinating, and improving child care in the defined geographic area. o Partnering with local county welfare agencies in meeting the child care needs of CalWORKS families. o Facilitating efforts to expand child care services in the local community based on demonstrated demand for services. Requires that R&Rs develop and implement written complaint procedures, as specified. Clarifies that basic child care referrals are to be provided at no cost to all persons requesting services, regardless of income level or eligibility criteria. Requires a basic child care referral to include the names and telephone numbers of child care providers that meet the requested need of the parent or guardian seeking referrals. SB 1154 (Liu) Page 4 of ? Clarifies that a fee may be charged for an enhanced referral that includes information in addition to basic child care referral information. 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 that the objective of both projects is to increase the availability of quality child care in the state. Deletes the requirement that the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) develop a database for the project. Requires R&Rs to provide a range of professional development services to all types of child care providers, as specified, to support the development of new child care services and to improve the quality of services available in the state. Requires R&Rs to maximize parental choice and supports for parents in locating child care resources in their community by providing specified information regarding how to select services, a range of possible alternatives, licensing requirements, and available child care subsidies and eligibility requirements. Provides additional responsibilities in implementing the trustline registry program. (TrustLine is a program of the CDSS and is administered jointly by CDSS and the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network (Network). The Network aims to promote accessible, affordable, quality child care. Its membership consists of R&Rs from across the state.) Related Legislation: AB 2463 (Brownley, 2010), substantially similar to this bill, was held in this committee. SB 1154 (Liu) Page 5 of ? Staff Comments: According to the author, current law related to child care resource and referral programs is outdated and does not adequately represent the responsibilities of R&Rs or services offered. The author asserts that the updated language will standardize services statewide while ensuring that families from each region receive the same basic referral and child care services. While most of these activities appear to be authorized through regulations or other means, their codification creates a cost pressure for the specified activities. Codifying activities in statute makes activities an ongoing obligation whereas regulations can be more easily amended or deleted. These activities include, but are not limited to: developing and implementing written complaint procedures; providing a range of professional development services to providers; required activities to maximize parental choice and supports for parents in locating child care resources; and additional requirements related to implementing the trustline registry program for license-exempt child care providers. Actual costs associated with these activities are unknown. According to the CDE, this bill codifies existing practices of the R&Rs. The Budget Act of 2015 provides $18.9 million General Fund for R&Rs activities. To the extent these activities make up 10 percent of the funds allocated, costs pressures associated with this bill could be in the millions to continue funding these activities. However, it could be possible that not every R&R is currently implementing every activity proposed in this bill. In this case, this bill would result in pressure to increase funding for R&Rs. Staff notes that the authorization to charge a fee for an enhanced referral will generate unknown revenue which will likely remain at the local level with agencies generating the referrals. -- END -- SB 1154 (Liu) Page 6 of ?