BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 244
AUTHOR: Wright
AMENDED: March 31, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 22, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Child Care: priority enrollment for high-risk
children.
SUMMARY
This bill expands eligibility for, and priority enrollment
in, child care and development program to children who are
in relative care, formerly in foster care and recently
adopted, or who have a parent in the foster system, on
probation or parole, or in a correctional or residential
treatment facility.
BACKGROUND
Current law provides that, in order to be eligible for
federal and state subsidized child development services,
families must meet, among other requirements, at least one
the following:
1) A current aid recipient.
2) Income eligible.
3) Homeless.
4) One whose children are recipients of protective
services or whose children have been identified as
being abused, neglected, or exploited; or at risk of
being abused, neglected, or exploited.
Current law establishes priorities for enrollment in
federal or state subsidized child development services as
follows:
1) First priority is for neglected or abused children who
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are recipients of child protective services, or
children who are at risk of being neglected or abused.
2) Second priority shall be given equally to eligible
families regardless of the number of parents in the
home, who are income eligible. Within this priority,
families with the lowest gross monthly income in
relation to family size must be admitted first.
Current law establishes priorities for enrollment in state
preschool programs as follows:
1) First priority is for three- or four-year old
neglected or abused children who are recipients of
child protective services or who are at risk of being
neglected, abused or exploited.
2) Second priority if for eligible four-year old children
prior to enrolling eligible three-year old children.
ANALYSIS
This bill expands eligibility for, and priority enrollment
in, child care and development programs to children who are
in relative care, formerly in foster care and recently
adopted, or who have a parent in the foster system, on
probation or parole, or in a correctional or residential
treatment facility. Specifically, this bill:
1) Expands eligibility for federal or state subsidized
child development services to:
a) Families whose children are in relative
care, formerly in the foster system and recently
adopted.
b) Families who have a parent in the foster
system, on probation, on parole, or in a
correctional or residential treatment facility.
2) Expands first priority for enrollment in a federal or
state subsidized child development program to include:
a) Children who are in relative care, formerly
in the foster system and recently adopted, or
homeless.
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b) Children who have a parent in the foster
system, on probation, on parole, or in a
correctional or residential treatment facility.
3) Expands first priority for enrollment in a state
preschool program to include three- or four-year old
children who are in relative care, formerly in the
foster system and recently adopted, homeless, or have
a parent in the foster system, on probation, on
parole, or in a correctional or residential treatment
facility.
4) Expands the listed components of a general child care
and development program to include priority enrollment
for the children described in #1.
5) Expands the factors that local planning councils are
required to consider as part of the county needs
assessment to include:
a) Children who are in relative care, formerly
in the foster system and recently adopted, or
homeless.
b) Children who have a parent in the foster
system, on probation, on parole, or in a
correctional or residential treatment facility.
6) Specifies what activities a resource and referral
program must undertake to publicize its services to
include a statement regarding the state's special
interest in enrolling the following children in
programs that are operated by licensed child car
providers or local educational agencies:
a) Children who are in the foster system, in
relative care, formerly in the foster system and
recently adopted, or homeless.
b) Children who have a parent who is in the
foster care system, on probation, parole, or in a
correctional or residential treatment facility.
7) Adds information to be included on all centralized
eligibility lists to include whether the child is in
the foster system, in relative care, formerly in the
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foster system and recently adopted, homeless, or has a
parent who is in the foster care system, on probation,
on parole, or in a correctional or residential
treatment facility.
8) Expands the authority of the Early Learning Quality
Improvement System Advisory Committee to consider
features of high-quality programs to include the
availability and adequacy of services for children in
the foster system, at risk of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation, in relative care, formerly in the foster
system and recently adopted, homeless, or who have a
parent in the foster system, on probation or parole,
or in a correctional or residential treatment
facility.
9) Expands the duties of educational advocates for foster
youth to include enrollment in school or a program
operated by a licensed child care provider or local
educational agency.
10) Expands the list of rights afforded to foster youth to
include the right to attend a high-quality child care
and development program.
11) Provides that specified children have the right to
continuous enrollment in specified child care programs
even if the residence in which they are placed
changes, if continued enrollment is considered to be
in the best interest of the child.
12) States legislative intent that, when Head Start
programs determine local priorities, they seriously
consider giving first priority for open slots to
children who meet the following criteria:
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a) Children who are in the foster system, at
risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, relative
care, were in the foster care system and have
recently been adopted, or are homeless.
b) Children who have a parent in the foster
system, on probation, on parole, or in a
correctional or residential treatment facility.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Birth to five . Staff understands that it is the
author's intent for this bill to extend eligibility
for, and priority enrollment in, child care and
development program to children that meet specified
criteria who are age birth to five. However, this
bill does not limit the expanded eligibility and
enrollment to children in that age range. Staff
recommends an amendment to limit the scope of this
bill to apply to children who are age birth to five
and who meet the specified criteria.
2) Priorities for care . Current law establishes
priorities for which children receive child care and
development services, and families are placed on
waiting lists according to where they fall within the
priorities. This bill gives priority to children that
meet specified criteria for a state or federally
funded "slot" over any children on the waiting list.
There are an estimated 200,000 children on the
Centralized Eligibility List.
3) No displacement . Staff understands that it is the
author's intent to ensure that children currently
receiving care are not displaced by a child given
first priority by this bill. The receiving program
would have to have an available "slot" or funding for
the incoming child. Currently, if the receiving
program has an available "slot," it could be filled by
a child on the waiting list. This bill does not
clearly prohibit the displacement of a child currently
receiving care. Therefore, staff recommends an
amendment to specify that priority enrollment shall be
granted pursuant to this bill when slots become
available.
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4) Custodial parent . This bill expands eligibility and
enrollment for children who have a parent on
probation, parole, or in a correctional or residential
treatment facility. Staff recommends an amendment to
specify that the parent must be the custodial parent
of the child.
5) Related legislation . AB 769 (Torres, 2009) extends
priority for enrollment in a state preschool program
to children who have a biological parent who is, or
who has been within the previous six months, under the
jurisdiction of the delinquency or dependency court.
AB 769 is scheduled for hearing in the Assembly
Education Committee on May 6, 2009.
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6) Prior legislation . AB 659 (Ma, 2008) would have
extended to specified locally funded child care
programs in San Francisco existing continuity of care
provisions for families receiving subsidized child
care from state and federally funded programs. AB 659
was vetoed by the Governor, whose veto message read:
The continuity of services in child care settings
is a laudable goal. However, this bill would
create a negative incentive for the county to
rely on the availability of state and federally
funded programs to alleviate their local program
needs, rather than maximizing their local funds
to create a comprehensive child care delivery
system.
The bill would also create significant
Proposition 98 General Fund cost pressure to
expand state child care programs at a time of
fiscal challenge.
SUPPORT
Alameda County Office of Education
Association of California School Administrators
City of Compton, Office of the City Manager
Compton Unified School District
Maria's Italian Kitchen
Los Angeles County Education Foundation
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Santa Clara County Office of Education
The Sally & Dick Roberts Coyote Foundation
Toberman Neighborhood Center
Individuals
OPPOSITION
None received.