HB0092

HB0092 Bill Summary 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.