BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 366
Author: Mullin (D)
Amended: 1/26/04 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE HEALTH & HUMAN SERV. COMMITTEE : 11-0, 6/25/03
AYES: Ortiz, Aanestad, Alarcon, Ashburn, Battin, Chesbro,
Escutia, Figueroa, Kuehl, Vasconcellos, Vincent
NO VOTE RECORDED: Florez, Romero
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-0, 8/29/03
AYES: Alpert, Battin, Aanestad, Ashburn, Bowen, Escutia,
Karnette, Machado, Murray, Poochigian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Burton, Johnson, Speier
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/8/03 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Child care: substitute employee registry
SOURCE : ChildCare Careers
DIGEST : This bill requires, rather than authorizes, the
State Department of Social Services (DSS) to operate, until
January 1, 2007, the substitute employee registry for child
care workers, and authorizes DSS to operate it after that.
Senate Floor Amendment of 1/26/04: Amendments on September
3, 2003 removed an appropriation from the bill. However,
the clause "making an appropriation therefor" continued to
appear in the title summary. This amendment strikes that
phrase to make the title summary accurate.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Establishes provisions for licensure of child care
facilities by DSS, including child care centers and
family child care homes.
2.Requires all employees, residents, owners, and operators
of a licensed child care facility to receive a criminal
records clearance from DSS.
3.Authorizes, but does not require, DSS to operate a
substitute child care employee registry pilot program in
11 California counties.
4.Permits a registry to submit fingerprint cards and child
abuse index information requests in order to secure a
clearance for substitute child care workers.
5.Authorizes DSS to charge registry providers an offsetting
administrative fee to cover the department's costs for
the program.
6.Prohibits a registry from hiring a child care worker for
placement at a child care facility if that worker
requires an exemption from the criminal background
clearance requirements of law.
7.Requires the registry to verify all other requirements of
law that a child care worker must meet (e.g., age, TB
clearance, education and training).
This bill:
1.Requires DSS to operate the program until January 1,
2007, and authorizes DSS, in its discretion, to operate
it after that.
2.Requires DSS to provide each registry with a facility
number.
3.Allows DSS to limit the program to seven specified
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counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Orange, Sacramento, San
Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara.
4.Authorizes DSS to charge participating registries a
reasonable annual licensing fee.
5.Provides that the child care worker shall be registered
with the registry, and not with an individual child care
facility that temporarily employs the child care worker.
Requires the registry to maintain all employee records
for a child care worker at its central office subject to
inspection or electronic transfer to DSS if requested.
6.Requires DSS to report to the Legislature, by March 31,
2004, whether state personnel are filling the authorized
positions for the substitute child care employee registry
pilot program, including the proportion of each person's
time allocated to the substitute employee registry
project, the number of counties and substitute employee
registries participating in the pilot program as of
February 28, 2004, and any barriers encountered in the
implementation of the pilot program. Requires a copy of
any emergency regulations adopted by DSS pursuant to the
bill to also be transmitted with the report.
Comments
SERs were initially authorized by SB 933 (Thompson),
Chapter 311, Statutes of 1998, to permit licensed child
care facilities to employ temporary workers whose criminal
background clearances and other information required by
licensing were already obtained and verified. SER
screening permits temporary employees to fill in on short
notice when staff absences and other emergencies occur. SB
933 allowed DSS to establish SERs on a pilot basis.
The registry gave each cleared employee a certificate
approved by DSS to show to the child care facility,
ensuring that all standards had been met. Child care
facilities therefore had a pool of substitute teachers and
workers, and the facilities could avoid the time and
expense of performing the screenings themselves.
The demonstration project covered eleven counties for three
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years. DSS ended the pilot program on September 1, 2002,
citing budgetary pressures. Last year, the Legislature
passed and the governor signed SB 646 (Ortiz) Chapter 669,
Statutes of 2002 to continue the SERs. It authorized DSS
to charge registry providers an offsetting administrative
fee.
To date, lack of funding has prevented DSS from renewing
the SER program. The governor is requesting that the
2003-04 Budget Act include $133,000 for 2.0 limited-term
staff to implement SB 646.
This bill clarifies that the employee records of
substitutes and temporary workers be kept at the SER,
rather than at the child care facilities where the employee
may be assigned.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, cost to
the General Fund of $103,000 in both fiscal year 2004-05
and 2005-06.
SUPPORT : (Verified 1/26/04)
ChildCare Careers (source)
Bright Horizons
Child Development Policy Institute
Contra Costa County, Community Services Department
Kidango
PALCARE
Professional Association for Childcare Education
RSR -- Relief Staff Registry
San Juan Bautista Child Development Center
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aghazarian, Bates, Benoit, Berg, Bermudez, Bogh,
Calderon, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cogdill, Cohn, Corbett,
Correa, Cox, Daucher, Diaz, Dutra, Dutton, Dymally,
Firebaugh, Frommer, Garcia, Goldberg, Hancock, Harman,
Haynes, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton, Jackson, Keene,
Kehoe, Koretz, La Malfa, La Suer, Laird, Leno, Lieber,
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Liu, Longville, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Matthews, Maze,
McCarthy, Montanez, Mountjoy, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nakano,
Nation, Negrete McLeod, Nunez, Oropeza, Pacheco, Parra,
Pavley, Plescia, Reyes, Richman, Ridley-Thomas, Salinas,
Samuelian, Simitian, Spitzer, Steinberg, Strickland,
Vargas, Wiggins, Wolk, Wyland, Yee, Wesson
CP:cm 1/26/04 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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