BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 627
AUTHOR: Brownley
AMENDED: June 24, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: July 1, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
NOTE: This bill has been referred to the Committees on
Education and Health. A "do pass" motion should include
referral to the Committee on Health.
SUBJECT : Licensed child care providers: nutritional
requirements.
SUMMARY
This bill requires all licensed child care providers to
adhere to specific nutrition requirements beginning January
1, 2011, and establishes a pilot program that provides a
higher meal reimbursement rate to providers that meet
specific nutrition and physical activity standards.
BACKGROUND
The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program provides a
combination of federal and state funds to, among others,
licensed care centers and homes to improve the diets of
children under 13 years of age by providing the children
with nutritious well-balanced meals. Care providers
participating in this program are required to observe the
USDA nutrition standards for children age one through 12,
as follows (serving size depends on the age of the child
and which meal is served):
Breakfast
Fluid milk.
Vegetable, fruit, or 100% juice.
Bread, or rolls/muffins, or cold dry cereal, or cooked
cereal/pasta/noodle products (whole grain or enriched).
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Lunch or Dinner
Fluid milk.
Vegetable and/or fruit (two or more).
Bread, or rolls/muffins, or cold dry cereal, or cooked
cereal/pasta/noodle products (whole grain or enriched).
Lean meat/fish/poultry, or cheese, or cottage
cheese/cheese spread substitute, or large egg, or cooked
dried beans/peas, or peanut butter/other nut or seed
butter, or peanuts/tree nuts/roasted seeds, or yogurt,
or an equivalent quantity of any combination of the
above meat/meat alternatives.
Snack
Fluid milk.
Vegetable, fruit, or 100% juice.
Bread, or rolls/muffins, or cold dry cereal, or cooked
cereal/pasta/noodle products (whole grain or enriched).
Lean meat/fish/poultry, or cheese, or cottage
cheese/cheese spread substitute, or large egg, or
yogurt, or cooked dried beans/peas, or peanut
butter/other nut or seed butter, or peanuts/tree
nuts/roasted seeds, or an equivalent quantity of any
combination of the above meat/meat alternatives.
Juice cannot be served when milk is served as the only
other component.
The federal government provides a maximum of $1.17 for
breakfast, $2.18 for lunch, and $0.65 for snacks.
California provides $0.16 for breakfast and $0.16 for lunch
to licensed child care centers, and $0.16 for 75% of the
breakfast and lunches served to children enrolled in
licensed child care homes.
There are currently fifteen, 150 licensed center-based
sites and 38,867 licensed child care homes in California,
with capacity for 1.2 million children from birth to 12
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years of age. The federal Child and Adult Care Food
Program serves over 350,000 children in California.
In August 2007, the California Department of Education
(CDE) and the Health and Human Services Agency convened a
stakeholder group to make key recommendations for reducing
childhood overweight/obesity in child care settings. One
recommendation was to establish nutrition standards for
licensed child care providers. In August 2008, the CDE, in
coordination with the Department of Public Health, convened
an advisory committee to develop nutrition standards in
child care. The nutrition standards established by this
bill are consistent with the recommendations of this group.
ANALYSIS
This bill requires all licensed child care providers to
adhere to specific nutrition requirements beginning January
1, 1011, and establishes a pilot program that provides a
higher meal reimbursement rate to providers that meet
certain nutrition and physical activity standards.
Specifically, this bill:
Nutrition requirements :
1) Beginning January 1, 2011, requires all licensed child
care facilities to comply with all of the following,
for food and beverages served by the child care
provider to children while in care:
a) Meals and snacks must include, at a minimum,
the amount of food and the components that are
specified in the Child and Adult Care Food
Program (CACFP) requirements for meals.
b) Only lowfat or nonfat milk shall be served
to children over two years of age. CACFP does
not specify what type of milk may be served.
c) Juice shall be limited to a maximum of one
serving per day, and only 100% juice shall be
served. CACFP allows 100% juice to be served at
breakfast and the two snacks per day.
d) At least one vegetable shall be served at
lunch and dinner. CACFP requires two vegetables
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and/or fruit to be served at lunch and dinner,
which could allow for two servings of fruit and
no vegetables.
e) Deep fat frying, as currently defined
relative to K-12 schools, is prohibited onsite.
f) Sugar shall be limited to 6 grams per
serving for both hot and cold cereals.
g) Water shall be accessible and available for
consumption throughout the day, including meal
times.
2) Exempts from these nutritional requirements a child
who has a medical necessity, documented by a
physician, that prevents a child day care facility
from complying with these requirements.
3) Requires licensed child care providers to annually
self-certify to the California Department of Education
(CDE) compliance with these requirements.
4) Prohibits failure to comply with these requirements
from resulting in, or being considered in, the loss of
licensure, or resulting in any civil or criminal
penalties.
Pilot program :
1) Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to establish an
18-month pilot program in which licensed child care
providers selected by
the SPI implement specified nutrition and physical
activity standards in exchange for a higher state meal
reimbursement rate.
2) Requires the CDE to design and implement the pilot
program, and authorizes the CDE to convene a
stakeholder group for advice on the design,
implementation and evaluation.
3) Requires the CDE to contract with an independent
agency to evaluate the implementation and outcomes of
the pilot program. The evaluation must be completed
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and submitted to both the Senate and Assembly
Education Committees within one year of the conclusion
of the pilot program (it is unknown when the pilot
program will conclude because this bill is contingent
upon a determination by the SPI that non-General Fund
moneys are available for the purposes of this bill).
This bill specifies information that must be included
in the evaluation.
4) Requires the pilot program to be established only if
the SPI determines that non-General Fund funding
sources, including but not limited to, federal funding
or grant sources, are available to implement the pilot
program. The SPI is required to post a declaration of
the availability of such funds on the California
Department of Education's website.
5) Sunsets the pilot program on January 1, 2015.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Nutrition requirements for K-12 . Current law
establishes nutrition requirements for meals and
snacks served in K-12 schools, and encourages child
development programs to comply with those
requirements. Those requirements prohibit the serving
of food containing artificial trans fat, while the
nutrition requirements proposed by this bill do not.
2) Fiscal impact . According to the Assembly Floor
analysis, the Assembly Appropriations Committee has
determined that any costs associated with this bill
would be minor and absorbable within existing
resources.
SUPPORT
American Academy of Pediatrics
California Association for the Education of Young Children
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California Food Policy Advocates
California Hunger Action Coalition
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
California WIC Association
Child Care Food Program Roundtable
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Child Nutrition Program of Southern California
Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
FRAMAX
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Public Health Foundation Enterprise WIC Program
Public Health Institute
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
University of California, Center for Weight and Health
Urban & Environmental Policy Institute, Center for Food &
Justice
An individual
OPPOSITION
Department of Finance