BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HEALTH
COMMITTEE ANALYSIS
Senator Elaine K. Alquist, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2084
A
AUTHOR: Brownley
B
AMENDED: June 15, 2010
HEARING DATE: June 23, 2010
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CONSULTANT:
0
Orr/cjt
8
4
SUBJECT
Child day care facilities: nutrition
SUMMARY
Requires a licensed child day care facility to follow
specified requirements relating to the provision of
beverages, with specified exceptions.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing federal law:
Establishes the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP),
authorized by the National School Lunch Act which
subsidizes meals and snacks for specified populations with
the purpose of ensuring adequate nutrition while in care.
Existing state law:
Authorizes the state Department of Education to administer
the federal Child Care and Adult Food Program in
California.
Bans the sale of soda in schools and imposes caloric
restrictions on entr?e items sold to pupils in elementary,
Continued---
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middle, junior, or high schools, except for food served as
part of a United States Department of Agriculture meal
program.
Under the California Child Day Care Facilities Act (Act),
authorizes the state Department of Social Services to
license and regulate child day care facilities, including
child care centers and homes, as defined, and requires that
persons or organizations offering child day care must
comply with specified licensure requirements.
This bill:
Places the following requirements on beverages served by
providers to children in licensed child day care
facilities:
Only low fat (1 percent) or nonfat milk to children 2
years of age or older.
No more than one serving per day of 100 percent juice.
No beverages with added sweeteners, either natural or
artificial, excluding infant formula or children's
complete balanced nutrition products.
Clean and safe drinking water must be readily available
throughout the day.
Specifies that beverages provided by parents or legal
guardians, and medical foods when documented by a
physician, are exempt from complying with these
requirements.
Makes findings and declarations about unhealthy taste
preferences in early childhood and obesity.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee
analysis, one-time General Fund (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, and ongoing annual workload costs
of approximately $100,000 GF for increased workload
associated with DSS including the requirements of this bill
in their annual inspections.
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BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The purpose of this bill is to create standards for
beverages served in licensed child care settings in an
effort to help prevent childhood obesity. According to the
author, this bill would encourage healthy beverages in
child care settings by establishing modest, no-cost,
easy-to-implement nutrition standards in child care
licensing. With over 4 million children between birth and
12 years of age in California having one or two working
parents who rely on child care services, child care
settings, including center and home-based care, play an
important role in influencing good eating habits and
teaching the importance of physical activities. Research
increasingly points to sugary beverages, such as soda,
sports drinks, and juice drinks as a major factor in rising
rates of obesity. With recommendations supported by the
scientific community and consistent with the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of
Pediatrics, this bill will ensure that only the healthiest
beverages are served in licensed child care settings.
Impact of beverage consumption on obesity
In a September 2009 report titled, "Bubbling Over: Soda
Consumption and its Link to Obesity in California," the
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that 24
percent of California adults, 62 percent of adolescents
ages 12 to17, and 41 percent of children ages 2 to11 drink
at least one soda or other sugar-sweetened beverage every
day. The report cites findings that between 1977 and 2002,
Americans have increased their calorie intake from soft
drinks by 228 percent. Also, according to the report, over
the past three decades the prevalence rate for overweight
and obesity nationwide has nearly doubled for adults, has
tripled among 12 to19 year olds and has more than
quadrupled among 6 to11 year olds. In California, 21
percent of adults and 14 percent of adolescents are obese,
according to the report. Thirty-five percent of adults and
16 percent of adolescents are overweight. Most importantly,
the report concludes that the rates of overweight and
obesity are 18 percent higher among those who drink soda
daily compared to those who do not.
On November 5, 2009, the Senate convened a joint hearing
with the Committee on Health the Select Committee on
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Obesity and Diabetes titled, "Exploring the Link Between
Sugar Sweetened Drinks and Obesity." At the hearing,
leading nutrition and obesity researchers from across the
nation gave testimony that sweetened beverage consumption:
1) adds unnecessary calories to an individual's daily
intake due to lack of nutritional value; and, 2) parallels
the rise in obesity in the nation. Researchers affirmed
that reducing the consumption of sweetened beverages is an
important strategy to reverse obesity trends in the United
States.
Obesity trends and scholastic achievement
According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, approximately one out of every four children
between the ages of two and five has a high body mass
index, putting these children at risk for obesity.
According to data from the 2007 California Health Interview
Survey, 11.2 percent of children in California are
classified as overweight for their age. Being overweight or
obese can lead to developing type II diabetes,
hypertension, sleep apnea, and several other adverse health
conditions. These conditions can translate into millions of
dollars in health care costs down the road, further
burdening an already overstretched health care system.
Research supports the assertion that healthy eating and
physical activity play an important role in learning and
cognitive development. Poor diet and physical inactivity
have been found to adversely influence the ability to learn
and decrease motivation and attentiveness. Such findings
indicate that young people will not be ready to learn and
achieve their full potential unless they are well nourished
and healthy.
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
CACFP serves meals and snacks to 2.9 million eligible
children and 86,000 adults who are enrolled for care at
participating child care centers, day care homes, and
nonresidential adult day care centers. CACFP also provides
meals to children residing in emergency shelters, and
snacks to youths participating in afterschool care
programs. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
administers CACFP through grants to states.
In California, CACFP is administered by the Department of
Education. Independent centers and sponsoring
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organizations receive cash reimbursement for serving meals
to enrolled children and adults that meet federal
nutritional guidelines. Care providers participating in
this program are required to observe the USDA nutrition
standards for children ages one through twelve by providing
meals as follows:
Breakfast
Fluid milk;
Vegetable, fruit, or 100 percent juice; and,
Bread, or rolls/muffins, or cold dry cereal, or cooked
cereal/pasta/noodle products (whole grain or enriched).
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);
and,
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 percent juice;
Bread, or rolls/muffins, or cold dry cereal, or cooked
cereal/pasta/noodle products (whole grain or enriched);
and
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.
The CACFP serving size varies according to age and types of
meal served. Juice cannot be served when milk is served as
the only other component.
Under the CACF, the federal government provides $1.7
billion to California for licensed child care centers,
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adult day care centers, and organizations that sponsor day
care homes to provide nutritionally adequate meals and
snacks. The federal government provides a maximum of $1.17
for breakfast, $2.18 for lunch, and $0.65 for snacks, under
the Act. California provides $0.16 for breakfast and $0.16
for lunch to licensed child care centers, and $0.16 for 75
percent of the breakfast and lunches served to children
enrolled in licensed child care homes. Centers and day
care homes may be approved to claim up to two reimbursable
meals (breakfast, lunch or supper) and one snack, or two
snacks and one meal, to each eligible participant, each
day.
Child care facilities
There are currently 15,140 licensed center-based sites and
42,907 family home sites in California. Collectively, these
sites have the capacity to care for 1.2 million children
from birth to 12 years of age. Day care homes must be
licensed or approved to provide day care services to
participate in CACFP. Reimbursement for meals served in day
care homes is based upon eligibility for tier I rates
(which targets higher levels of reimbursement to low-income
areas, providers, or children) or lower tier II rates. Tier
I day care homes are those that are located in low-income
areas, or those in which the provider's household income is
at or below 185 percent of the federal income poverty
guidelines. Tier II homes are those family day care homes
which do not meet the location or provider income criteria
for a tier I home.
Eligible public or private nonprofit child care centers,
outside-school-hours care centers, Head Start programs, and
other institutions which are licensed or approved to
provide day care services may also participate in CACFP,
independently or as sponsored centers. For-profit centers
must receive specified federal funding for at least 25
percent of enrolled children or licensed capacity
(whichever is less) or at least 25 percent of the children
in care must be eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
Meals served to children are reimbursed at rates that are
based upon a child's eligibility for free, reduced price,
or paid meals.
Related bills
SB 1210 (Florez) would impose a tax upon every sweetened
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beverage manufacturer, concentrate manufacturer, or other
person who makes the first sale in this state of a
sweetened beverage or concentrate of a rate of one cent per
teaspoon of sugar placed into the sweetened beverage or
equivalent amount of concentrate. The revenues collected
from this tax would be deposited in the Childhood Obesity
Fund, which the bill
would create, for appropriation by the Legislature. Pending
in Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee.
SB 1413 (Leno) would require a school district to provide
access to free, fresh drinking water in school food service
areas by January 1, 2012. Pending in Assembly Education
Committee.
AB 2100 (Coto) would impose a tax on every distributor or
retailer at the rate of one cent per teaspoon of added
caloric sweetener in a bottled beverage or concentrate
offered for sale in this state. The bill would require all
taxes be deposited into the Pediatric Obesity Fund, created
by this bill. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the
Fund would be allocated to the Department of Education for
distribution of grants to school districts for the purpose
of employing school nurses or for other health-related
needs at schools. Pending in Assembly Revenue and Taxation
Committee.
Prior legislation
AB 95 (Torlakson) would have specified that, if the
Superintendent of Public Instruction determines that the
appropriation set forth in the Budget Act of 2008-09 is
insufficient to fully fund all free and reduced price meal
reimbursement claims, the state Department of Education to
notify the Legislature of the statutory funding amount
necessary to reimburse school districts at the prescribed
rate. The bill would have appropriated $19,500,000 to
reimburse claims pursuant to those provisions. Held in the
Assembly Education Committee.
AB 627 (Brownley) of 2009 would have required the
Superintendent of Public Instruction
to establish a pilot program under which licensed child
care centers and child day care homes selected by the
department that participate in the federal Child and Adult
Care Food Program would implement certain nutrition and
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physical activity standards in exchange for a higher state
meal reimbursement. Vetoed.
SB 20 (Torlakson) of 2007 would have required schools, and
encouraged child development programs, to follow specified
nutritional guidelines and prohibit the sale or serving of
food that is deep fried, par fried, or flash fried, or food
that contains trans fat, as specified, beginning with
fiscal year 2007-08, in order to get reimbursement for
meals and food items sold as part of the free- and
reduced-price meal program. These provisions were amended
out of the bill.
SB 490 (Alquist) Chapter 648, Statutes of 2007, prohibits
beginning July 1, 2009, a school district from making
available to pupils enrolled in kindergarten or grades 1
through 12 a food containing artificial trans fat, and
prohibits the use of artificial trans fat in the
preparation of a food item served to those pupils. Exempts
from these requirements food provided as part of a USDA
meal program.
SB 965 (Escutia) Chapter 237, Statues of 2005, modified the
list of beverages that may be sold to pupils at an
elementary, middle or junior high school, in effect banning
the sale of sodas in schools.
SB 677 (Ortiz) Chapter 415, Statutes of 2003, prohibited
the sale of certain beverages to pupils in elementary,
middle, or junior high schools commencing July 1, 2004. In
addition, the bill exempted the sale of certain beverages
at specified school events from those prohibitions.
SB 56 (Escutia) Chapter 361, Statutes of 2002, required
schools that are selected to participate in the pilot
program prescribed by the Pupil Nutrition, Health and
Achievement Act of 2001 to comply with specified food sale
requirements, and made various technical and clarifying
changes in related provisions.
SB 19 (Escutia) Chapter 913, Statutes of 2001, established
the Pupil Nutrition, Health and Achievement Act of 2001. It
established, as of January 1, 2004, various prohibitions on
the sale of beverages in elementary and middle schools and
placed nutritional standards on the type of foods that may
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be sold to pupils during school breaks and through vending
machines. The bill increased the reimbursement a school
receives for free and reduced-price meals, permits school
districts to convene a Child
Nutrition and Physical Activity Advisory Committee, and
required the Department of Education to establish a pilot
program in which high schools voluntarily adopt food sale
requirements, in exchange for eligibility for an increased
reimbursement rate for free and reduced price meals served.
Arguments in support
California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA) is co-sponsoring
this bill, and supports policies that improve the health
and well-being of Californians through increasing
consumption of nutritious foods and beverages. Child care
represents a great, and largely untapped, opportunity for
improving nutrition and shaping lifelong, healthy habits.
AB 2084 would take California's successful school nutrition
changes and bring these to child care. Given the
increasingly important role child care plays for millions
of working families in California and the significant
amount of time children spend in child care, CFPA believes
California must ensure that these children enjoy healthy
nutrition environments while in care.
PRIOR ACTIONS
Assembly Floor: 44-26
Assembly Appropriations: 11-5
Assembly Human Services: 4-2
POSITIONS
Support: California Food Policy Advocates (co-sponsor)
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
(co-sponsor)
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Cancer Society
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
American Heart Association
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California Alternative Payment Program Association
California Chiropractic Association
California Dental Association (CDA)
California Medical Association
California Park & Recreation Society
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
California WIC Association
Central Coast Hunger Coalition
Dental Health Foundation
First 5 LA
Fresno Metro Ministry
Grupo de la Comida
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Plowshares
Second Harvest Food Bank, Santa Cruz
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
An individual
Oppose: None received
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