BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1872
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1872 (Alejo)
As Amended May 25, 2012
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 4-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Beall, Ammiano, Hall, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Portantino | |Bradford, Charles |
| | | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Gatto, Ammiano, Hill, |
| | | |Lara, Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Jones, Wagner |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Amends nutrition standards for family day care homes.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS), for the
purpose of improving the provision of nutrition in child care
facilities and benefitting current and prospective child care
providers, to post on its Internet Web site information about
the United States Department of Agriculture's Child and Adult
Care Food Program (CACFP).
2)Requires that, as a condition of licensure, except as
provided, a family day care home ensure that meals and snacks
provided include, at a minimum, the amount of food and the
components that are specified in CACFP.
3)Requires DSS to explain, and update as needed, these
nutritional requirements on its Internet Web site, in
department outreach material, and during the orientation of
prospective family day care home providers.
4)Provides that the above CACFP standards do not apply:
a) If the child has a documented medical necessity that
includes the need for "medical food," to the extent
necessary to meet the child's medical needs; or,
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b) To meals or snacks provided by a parent or legal
guardian for his or her child at a family day care home.
5)Provides that DSS shall only review the status of compliance
with the requirements of this bill during regularly scheduled,
authorized monitoring inspections, and is not required to
conduct separate and independent visits.
6)Requires that DSS, if it determines a family day care home is
noncompliant with the requirements of this bill to recommend
to the family day care home relevant nutrition information and
training.
7)Provides that provisions under which willful or repeated
violations of the Child Day Care Facilities Act or
implementing rules and regulations constitute a misdemeanor
are not applicable to the provisions of this bill.
EXISTING LAW provides, under the Child Day Care Facilities Act,
for the licensing and regulation of family day care homes by
DSS, Community Care Licensing Division.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time General Fund (GF) costs in the range of $150,000 for
DSS to update licensing forms and materials to include new
nutrition requirements.
2)On-going annual workload costs of up to $25,000 GF for
increased workload associated with DSS including the
requirements of this bill in their inspections.
3)To the extent this requirement results in more family child
care homes (FCCH) providers participating in CACFP, it would
bring additional federal nutrition funding to the state. There
are currently over 75 million free and subsidized meals per
year served to children in FCCHs. If this bill increases that
number by 1%, it would result in an additional $1.5 million in
federal funding for CACFP. In addition, those meals would
cost approximately $42,000 in GF.
COMMENTS : According to DSS statistics, as of March 6, 2012,
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there are approximately 34,184 family day care homes in
California, with a capacity to serve 341,774 children.
Purpose . Current regulations require child care centers to
follow the CACFP meal pattern as a condition of licensure. This
means that all foods served in the licensed centers must draw
from the basic food groups (i.e., milk, fruits/vegetables,
grains/breads, and meat/meat alternatives). However, family day
care homes are not required to follow the CACFP meal pattern or
any other nutrition standards for meals and snacks served. This
bill would treat family child care homes the same as child care
centers by requiring them to follow the CACFP as a condition of
licensure.
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 15,075
licensed center-based sites and 34,640 licensed family child
care homes in California, with capacity for 1.1 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.
By establishing nutritional standards as a condition of
licensure and as a condition for receipt of increase of CACFP
funds, 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.
The USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program . CACFP is a federal
program that provides reimbursement for healthful meals and
snacks served to children and adults. CACFP facilities follow
the meal patterns established by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA):
1)Breakfast requires a serving of milk, fruit or vegetable and
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bread or grain product.
2)Lunch and dinner consist of milk, bread or grain product, meat
or meat alternate, and two different servings of fruits and/or
vegetables.
3)Snacks include servings of milk, fruits or vegetables, bread
or grain product, or meat or meat alternate.
The federal government will reimburse providers who participate
in the CACFP. The current reimbursement rate for child care
homes is $1.24 per child for breakfast, $2.32 for lunch, and
$0.69 for snacks for fully subsidized children. Currently, the
state supplements the federal reimbursement for CACFP with
approximately 16 cents per meal for 75% of the meals served.
In support of this bill, the Community Child Care Council of
Santa Clara County (4C) notes that currently "no nutrition
standards exist for foods served in licensed family day care
homes in California. By contrast, for decades, licensed child
care centers in California have been required to follow the
CACFP meal pattern." 4C says that "�i]nadequate information
about enrollment and eligibility and misconceptions about CACFP
administrative requirements are documented barriers to child
care providers' enrollment in the program." This bill, 4C says,
"supports the development of healthy taste preferences and
habits at an early age and helps to alleviate adverse health
consequences down the road.
Prior legislation : AB 2084 (Brownley), Chapter 593, Statutes of
2010, requires a licensed child day care facility, as of January
1, 2012, to follow specified requirements relating to the
provision of beverages.
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
FN: 0003979