BILL ANALYSIS
AB 529
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Date of Hearing: April 8, 2003
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Lois Wolk, Chair
AB 529 (Mullin) - As Amended: March 27, 2003
SUBJECT : Family Day Care Homes
SUMMARY : Treats children enrolled in kindergarten the same as
children aged six or older for purposes of allowing additional
children to be cared for by family day care homes.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows a small family day care home to provide care for up to
eight children instead of six if at least two children are
enrolled in kindergarten or are six years or older.
2)Allows a large family day care home to provide care for up to
14 children instead of 12 if at least two children are
enrolled in kindergarten or are six years or older.
3)Makes findings that cities and counties should work with
businesses to identify and develop potential child day care
sites and create a task force to develop high amenity areas
with child day care facilities.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for the licensure of family day care homes, and
limits the number of children for whom family day care
providers can provide care.
2)Limits to six the number of children for whom small family day
care homes can provide care, and to 12 the number of children
for whom large family day care homes can provide care.
3)Allows two additional children beyond the limit of six or 12
children to be cared for by family day care homes if at least
two children are aged six or older.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : As stated by the author, "There is a critical
shortage of child care for school-age children in California."
This bill is designed to address the shortage by adding to the
AB 529
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number of children for whom family day care homes can provide
care. It will allow these providers to care for an additional
two children who are in kindergarten but not yet six years old,
increasing the total allowable to eight for small family day
care homes and 14 for large family day care homes.
Kindergartners are treated for purposes of the numerical
limitation as if they required full-time care, even though they
demand less. While 5-year olds in kindergarten may on average
spend less time in school than first graders, their situation
appears more comparable to 6-year olds than it does to preschool
children who require full-day care.
The author contends that "[i]n-home day care providers cannot
afford to serve part-day kindergarten age children under the
current statutory scheme until the child turns six because he or
she would be counted towards the maximum number of children that
a licensed home can serve." Providers' payments are less for
kindergartners because the hours of care are fewer.
The author also notes that many kindergartners turn six while
they are in kindergarten, at which time they could be counted
toward the additional two slots even though there is no
difference in the time required to care for them.
SUGGESTED AMENDMENT
Page 3, lines 1-25: Section 3, containing the legislative
findings on task forces to develop high amenity areas, is
unrelated to the principal purpose of the bill, and should be
deleted.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Janette Stokley, Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo
(Sponsor)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Casey McKeever / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
AB 529
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