Bill No.: HB0092 Drafter: JWL

LSO No.: 06LSO-0212 Effective Date: Immediate; 7/1/2006

Enrolled Act No.: HEA 53

Chapter No.: 64

Prime Sponsor: Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee

Catch Title: Quality child care.

Subject: Creates child care rating system and provides for payments for quality child care.

Summary/Major Elements:

· Creates a program in the Department of Workforce Services ("DWS") to rate the quality of child care facilities;

· Provides criteria for rating child care facilities and requirements for contracts with participating child care facilities;

· Authorizes incentive payments to participating facilities based on their quality rating, number of children served and percentage of at-risk children served;

· Authorizes scholarship payments to participating facilities for professional staff development;

· Requires facilities seeking incentive or staff development payments to enter into a contract with the state, agreeing to serve low income children and to submit required reports;

· Creates a task force of DWS and Department of Family Services employees to perform a statewide child care needs assessment;

· Creates a legislative oversight committee to oversee DWS's implementation of the quality child care system and to research alternative quality child care systems;

· Directs DWS to conduct quality child care education and public awareness campaigns;

· Appropriates:

o $1,381,473 from general fund for development of the quality child care rating system.

• $16,000 from general fund for operations of the oversight committee.
• $6,000,000 from general fund to DWS for incentive and staff development payments to facilities, but not to be expended or committed before additional action by the 2007 Legislature.

Comments:

· Creates/amends major program: Quality child care program.

· Reports required:

o From the legislative oversight committee to the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee by November 15, 2006;

o From DWS to the oversight committee quarterly;

o From DWS to the Joint Labor and Joint Appropriations Interim Committees by October 1, 2006.