California Assembly Bill AB273 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: AB 273AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2013 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2013 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Rendon FEBRUARY 7, 2013 An act to add Section 8242 to the Education Code, relating to child care and development services, and making an appropriation therefor. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 273, as amended, Rendon. Child care and development services: California Partnership for Infants and Toddlers Act of 2013. The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, establishes a system of child care and development services for children from infancy to 13 years of age and their parents, including a full range of supervision, health, and support services through full- and part-time programs. Existing law requires the Superintendent to administer general child care and development programs, as specified. This bill would enact the California Partnership for Infants and Toddlers Act of 2013, and would require the Superintendent, by March 1, 2014, to apply to the California Children and Families Commission for funding from the  funds   moneys  received by the commission  from   pursuant to  the  federal Quality Early Learning for Our Youngest Children program   California Children and Families Program  . The bill would  continuously  appropriate these  funds   moneys  to the Superintendent, who would be required to expend those moneys by making supplemental grants available to qualifying general child care and development infant and toddler contracting agencies  that serve infants and toddlers from birth to 3 years of age for purposes of offering to enrolled children and families support services, as specified  . The Superintendent, in consultation  from   with  the California Children and Families Commission, would be required to determine the agencies  and support services  that qualify for funding and establish standards to ensure quality  child care  . The bill would require the Superintendent, by  January 1, 2018   March 1, 2017  , to submit a report to the Legislature evaluating the act. Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The first three years of life are a period of dynamic and unparalleled brain development in which children acquire the ability to think, speak, learn, and reason. During these first 36 months, children need good health, strong families, and positive early learning experiences to lay the foundation for later school success. Low-income infants and toddlers are at greater risk for a variety of poorer outcomes and vulnerabilities, such as later school failure, learning disabilities,  behavior   behavioral  problems, developmental delay, and health impairments. (b) Existing state law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer  child care and development   early learning and care programs, including  the General Child Care and Development program   general child care and development programs  that  provides   provide  services to eligible low-income children from birth to 12 years of age  , inclusive  . For children from birth to three years  old   of age  , the  General Child Care and Development program funds   general child care and development programs fund  centers and family child care home networks to provide full-day, full-year  child care and development   early learning and care  services that meet the State Department of Education's California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations. (c) The federal Early Head Start program serves low-income infants and toddlers with a  flexible   comprehensive  program model intended to meet the varied needs of families, including  child care and development   early learning and care  services, home visitation services, health services, and family engagement. Research shows that children who participated in Early Head Start had  a  significantly larger  vocabularies  vocabulary  and scored higher on standardized measures of cognitive development, that  those  children and  their  parents had more positive interactions, and  that the  parents provided more support for learning. Many different home visitation programs have been shown to significantly reduce the occurrence of child maltreatment and abuse  ,  and improve children's health and school success. (d) President Barack Obama, in his 2013 State of the Union address, announced a major new initiative to increase federal funding for early childhood education. This initiative includes a competitive federal grant for states and local communities to establish partnerships between Early Head Start and quality child care. (e) To improve the healthy development and school readiness of California's most vulnerable children and to increase California's competitiveness for federal funding, it is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to establish the California Partnership for Infants and Toddlers supplemental grant. The Partnership for Infants and Toddlers supplemental grant will provide voluntary funding for the contracting agencies of  the General Child Care and Development program   general child care and development programs  who serve infants and toddlers.  (f) The funds authorized by this act will be used to offer enrolled children and families with support services, including, but not limited to, health and nutrition, home visitation, early childhood mental health, family engagement, and supplemental early learning services.   (g) This act will provide local contractors with flexibility to tailor which support services to offer based on the unique needs of their community, families, and children.   (h) By having the Superintendent of Public Instruction administer the grant, administrative and reporting requirements by contracting agencies will be both minimized and simplified.  SEC. 2. Section 8242 is added to the Education Code, to read: 8242. (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Partnership for Infants and Toddlers Act of 2013. (b)  On or before March 1, 2014, the   The  Superintendent shall apply to the California Children and Families Commission  from   for  the  funding  moneys  received by the commission  from the federal Quality Early Learning for Our Youngest Children program, as authorized pursuant to Section 9840a of Title 42 of the United States Code   pursuant to the California Children and Families Program (Division 108 (commencing with Section 130100) of the Health and Safety Code)  , to provide  funds   moneys  to eligible agencies for purposes of the California Partnership for Infants and Toddlers Act of 2013. The Superintendent shall apply for funding  on or before March 1, 2014, with the option of renewing the grant funding on an annual basis,  that would implement the  supplemental  grant program authorized by this section  for a period of not less than three years  . (c)  The funds   (1)     Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the moneys  received by the Superintendent pursuant to subdivision (b) are hereby  continuou   sly  appropriated to the Superintendent, who shall expend those moneys by making supplemental grants available to qualifying general child care and development infant and toddler contracting  agencies, as determined by the Superintendent,   agencies that serve infants and toddlers from birth to three years of age  at an amount of not less than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500)  annually  per child.  (2) The moneys received pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be used to offer to enrolled children and families support services, including, but not limited to, health and nutrition, home visitation, early childhood mental health, parental involvement, and supplemental early learning services.  (d) The Superintendent, in consultation  from   with  the California Children and Families Commission, shall determine which general child care and development infant and toddler contracting agencies  and support services  qualify for funding pursuant to this section, and shall establish standards to ensure quality  child care  , based on the federal Early Head Start program model, and other  evidence based   evidence-based  services provided to infants and toddlers.  (e) (1) Contracting agencies shall have the flexibility to tailor which support services to offer based on the unique needs of their community, families, and children.   (2) The Superintendent shall minimize and simplify the administrative and reporting requirements for contracting agencies.   (e)   (f)  (1) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, on or before  January 1, 2018   March 1, 2017  , the Superintendent shall submit a report to the Legislature evaluating the effectiveness of the supplemental grants provided by the California Partnership for Infants and Toddlers Act of 2013 with regard to supporting the healthy development and school readiness of children. (2) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.