BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2084
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2084 (Brownley) - As Amended: May 6, 2010
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:4 - 2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires that licensed child care facilities meet
specified health and nutritional requirements in regards to
beverages. Specifically, this bill:
1)Adds the following licensure requirements for licensed child
care homes and centers:
a) Water shall be available throughout the day.
b) Milk shall be limited to one percent or nonfat for
children over two years of age.
c) Juice shall be limited to one serving per day and must
be 100 percent juice.
2)Prohibits child care providers from serving beverages with
added sweeteners, whether natural or artificial, with the
exception of infant formula.
3)Exempts from these requirements "medical foods" when the child
has a medical necessity that is documented by a physician.
4)Exempts any beverage provided by a parent or legal guardian
for his or her child.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time GF costs, likely less than $75,000, for the
Department of Social Services (DSS) to update licensing forms
and materials to include new nutrition requirements.
2)On-going annual workload costs of approximately $100,000 GF
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for increased workload associated with DSS including the
requirements of this bill in their annual inspections.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . Two years ago, the California Department of Education
(CDE), in coordination with the Department of Public Health
(DPH), convened an advisory committee to develop nutrition
standards in child care. The provisions in AB 2084 are
consistent with the recommendations of this group.
By establishing nutritional standards as a condition of
licensure, the author believes this bill will put into
practice good eating habits that will decrease the likelihood
of childhood obesity and prevent adverse health conditions.
Limiting beverages in child care settings is a first step in
this process.
2)Background . Under the state Child Day Care Facilities Act,
child day care centers are required to provide safe and
healthy environments for children. Generally, these
facilities must comply with state mandated licensure
requirements in the following areas: Fire clearance, capacity
determination, teacher to child ratio, indoor/outdoor space
requirements, staffing for water activities, administrator
qualifications, director qualifications, teacher and teacher
aide qualifications, and food service. There are currently
15,150 licensed center-based sites and 38,867 licensed family
child care homes in California, with capacity for 1.2 million
children from birth to 12 years of age. Generally, these
licensed facilities are inspected by DSS' community care
licensing division (CCLD) once every five years, barring
complaints or annual inspection requirements attached to
certain types of federal funding.
3)Providing an Exception for Infant Formula . The May 6
amendments to the bill specifically exempted infant formula
from the prohibition against serving beverages with added
sweeteners, whether natural or artificial. The author and
Legislature may wish to consider whether or not some
limitations should be placed on infant formula.
Studies show that formula fed infants face a number of health
disadvantages, including a greater risk for childhood obesity,
tooth decay, asthma, and other chronic diseases. While it is
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critical to protect parental choice when it comes to the
feeding of children, it may be that allowing broad access to
infant formula in child care settings could easily result in a
breastfed infant receiving infant formula against the express
wishes of the parents. Health experts have noted that once an
infant receives infant formula, it can be difficult to return
that child to exclusive breastfeeding. The Legislature could
amend the bill to require signed parental consent before child
care centers can provide formula to infants. This approach
may provide the maximum amount of parental choice and protect
infants from the less nutritious alternative to breast milk.
4)Related Legislation . In 2009, AB 627 (Brownley), would have
established a 12-month pilot project in which a number of
licensed child care centers and child day care homes that
participate in the Child Care & Adult Food Program (CACFP)
would receive higher state meal reimbursement to implement
higher nutrition and physical activity standards. That bill
was vetoed by the governor due to concerns over the shortage
of GF/Proposition 98 funding. In his veto message he wrote,
"It is simply not possible to initiate a new program in a
fiscal environment such as this."
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081