BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1368
A
AUTHOR: Adams
B
VERSION: April 16, 2009
HEARING DATE: June 23, 2009
1
FISCAL: To Appropriations
3
6
CONSULTANT:
8
Hailey
SUBJECT
Child day care: safety
SUMMARY
Requires small family child care homes to ensure that at
least one staff member present has completed a course in
pediatric first aid and pediatric cardiopulmonary
resuscitation.
ABSTRACT
Current law
1) Requires licensure for child care provided in the
residence of a care provider if he or she cares for the
children of more than one family other than her own.
2) Provides separate licenses for "small family day care"
and "large family day care," requiring a "large family day
care license" for the care of seven to 12 children and a
"small family day care license" when care is provided to
six or fewer children.
3) Requires that a small family child care operator have
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1368 (Adams) Page
2
completed a course in pediatric first aid and pediatric
cardiopulmonary resuscitation as a condition of licensure.
4) Requires that at least one person who has at least 15
hours of health and safety training and a current course
completion card in pediatric first aid and pediatric
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) be present at all times
when children are present in a facility licensed as a large
family day care home. Course completion cards can be
issued by the American Red Cross, the American Heart
Association, or by a training program approved by the
Emergency Medical Services Authority.
This bill
1) Extends to small family day care homes the requirement
that at least one person be present at all times who has 15
hours of health and safety training and a current course
completion card in pediatric first aid and CPR.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Assembly Appropriations Committee observes that
providers will be required to pay for the cost of training,
likely between $65 and $145 per staff member, depending on
the training venue, and that costs associated with DSS to
ensure that this requirement has been met during their
periodic inspections should be minor and absorbable.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Need for the bill
According to the author, a constituent's daughter choked to
death in a small family day care home where the caregiver
present was not trained in pediatric CPR and first aid.
Current law does not include small family child care homes
in the requirement that at least one caregiver present when
children are in care be trained in pediatric first aid and
CPR. This requirement is in place with large family child
care homes and child care centers. This bill would include
small family child care homes in the requirement.
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1368 (Adams) Page
3
Small family day care homes
There are approximately 30,000 small family day care homes
licensed in California.
When people use their own homes to care for more than one
family's children other than their own, the state requires
them to obtain a license. A small family day care license
entitles a person to care for up to six children. Caring
for six to 12 children requires a large family child care
license. When more than six children are present in a
large family child care home, a second adult must be
present. Small family child care homes require that one
adult be present.
To ensure that small family child care homes closely
resemble care in a child's own home, there are no
restrictions placed on which residences can be licensed.
Yards must be fenced, solvents and other harmful products
must be locked away, pools and spas must be behind fences
and locked gates, and all adults in the household are
subject to a criminal records clearance.
California makes few requirements of a provider other than
that they must be at least 18, pass a criminal background
check, and have completed a 15 hour course in pediatric
first aid and pediatric CPR. California makes no
requirements regarding a provider's higher education,
teaching or caregiving skill, knowledge of child
development, knowledge of language acquisition, or
knowledge of cultures and cultural diversity.
Each small family day care home is a small business that is
owner operated. Care must be provided by a resident of the
home that is licensed. Small family day care homes rarely
have more than the one adult present with the children,
although some spouses or adult children of the provider may
be present in the house.
Safety records for child care facilities
DSS reports that in 2008, records show that 24 children
died in child care facilities. Eleven deaths occurred in
small family child care homes, 11 cases were in large
family child care homes, and two deaths occurred in child
care centers. DSS also reports that the department found
negligence in three of the cases in small family homes,
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1368 (Adams) Page
4
three of the cases in large family homes, and one of the
child care center cases. Those seven were referred to
legal authorities. The majority of cases (17 of 24 in
2008) are the result of natural causes. DSS believes that
the higher number of deaths in family day care when
compared to centers is a reflection of the age of children
in care: infants and toddlers are more likely to receive
care in family day care homes. It should also be noted
that licensed capacity of family child care homes (large
and small combined) is 400,000, and the licensed capacity
of child care centers is 750,000.
Assembly votes
Floor 76-0
Appropriations16-0
Human Services 7-0
POSITIONS
Support: None received
Oppose: None received
-- END --