BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
627 (Brownley)
Hearing Date: 08/27/2009 Amended: 06/24/2009
Consultant: Dan Troy Policy Vote: ED 6-2, Health 7-3
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 627 would require all licensed child care
providers to adhere to specific nutrition requirements beginning
January 1, 2011. The bill would also establish a pilot program
that provides a higher meal reimbursement rate to providers that
meet specific nutrition and physical activity standards.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
DSS $431 $635 $635 General
Pilot $2,900 over three years Federal/
Private
Meal Reimbursement Pressure in the millions to
increaseGeneral*
meal reimbursement rate
*Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
Federal law establishes the Child and Adult Care Food Program
(CACFP) for the purpose of subsidizing meals and snacks for
child care centers and other programs to ensure adequate
nutrition is provided while under care. In California, CACFP is
administered by the Department of Education. Also, under state
law, the Department of Social Services is authorized to license
and regulate child care centers and ensure that the centers meet
specified requirements.
This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to establish a pilot program in child care centers and day care
homes to implement enhanced nutrition and physical activity
standards in exchange for a higher state meal reimbursement.
The California Department of Education (CDE) would be authorized
to convene a stakeholder group to advise the design,
implementation, and evaluation of the program. The pilot would
be implemented only to the extent that non-General Fund funding
sources are available. The CDE would contract with an
independent agency to evaluate the implementation and outcomes
of the pilot and submit a report to the Legislature. The
evaluation would consider the health outcomes, changes in food
and beverages provided, and the fiscal impact of implementation.
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AB 627 (Brownley)
Additionally, this bill would require, as of January of 2011,
licensed child care facilities to meet the following
requirements for food and beverages served to children while in
their care:
Meals and snacks would need to include the minimum
standards required under CACFP;
Eliminate the offering of whole milk from children aged
2 or older;
Eliminate juices that are not deemed 100 percent juice
and restrict servings to one per day;
Require at least one vegetable to be served at lunch and
dinner;
Prohibit the deep fat frying of foods onsite;
Limit the amount of sugar to six grams per serving for
cereals; and
Require water to be available throughout the day.
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 for child care. The nutrition
standards established by this bill are consistent with the
recommendations of this group.
According to information provided by CDE, total costs for the
pilot would be approximately $2.9 million. CDE's assumptions
include an increase in the meal reimbursement rate of $0.12 for
13,500 preschoolers over an 18-month period, and additional
costs related to training, administration, and the evaluation.
The bill specifies this pilot will only be implemented when the
SPI determines there are sufficient non-General Fund sources
available. Discussions with CDE indicate that several funding
sources have already been identified.
The Department of Social Services (DSS) indicates a need for
$431,000 in the current year and $635,000 ongoing to fund 8.5
positions to ensure that the state's 57,000 providers are
meeting the new criteria. Staff notes that these estimates may
be somewhat overstated as this bill's requirements are not a
condition of licensure, though it is reasonable to assume the
bill will drive some new costs for DSS given the volume of
centers that are inspected. These costs are likely in the low
hundreds of thousands.
Currently, the state reimbursement rate per meal is $0.16. To
the extent new requirements are added as a result of this bill
(particularly due to the results of the pilot
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AB 627 (Brownley)
evaluation), there would be cost pressures, likely in the
millions, to increase the reimbursement rate.