86R16041 EAS-F
By: Deshotel, Lopez H.B. No. 680
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the powers and duties of the Texas Workforce Commission
and local workforce development boards regarding the provision of
child care.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2308.317, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) Each board shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that
any professional development for child care providers, directors,
and employees funded under Subsection (a):
(1) can be used toward requirements for a credential,
certification, or degree program; and
(2) meets the professional development requirements
of the Texas Rising Star Program.
SECTION 2. Section 302.0042, Labor Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(b) The commission's evaluation must assess:
(1) the use of current federal child care funds by each
local workforce development board;
(2) the ability of each local workforce development
board to meet child care performance measures;
(3) the average cost of child care in each local
workforce development area;
(4) the average price charged by child care providers
for child care in each local workforce development area as stated in
the market rate survey conducted under 45 C.F.R. Section 98.45(c);
(5) the poverty rate of each local workforce
development area compared to the state's poverty rate;
(6) [(5)] the number of children on waiting lists for
child care in each local workforce development area; [and]
(7) [(6)] the number of places that are reserved for
participants in the child-care subsidy program out of the total
number of children enrolled with a provider on a full-time basis
categorized by age of the child for each provider [vacant slots
available for child care placement] in each local workforce
development area that is certified as a 2-star, 3-star, or 4-star
provider in the Texas Rising Star Program or that does not
participate in the Texas Rising Star Program;
(8) the total number of child care providers
participating in the Texas Rising Star Program in each local
workforce development area and the number of 2-star, 3-star, and
4-star rated child care providers in the local workforce
development area;
(9) the number of child care providers participating
in the Texas Rising Star Program in each local workforce
development area as a percentage of the total number of subsidized
child care providers in the local workforce development area and
the number of 2-star, 3-star, and 4-star rated child care providers
in the local workforce development area as a percentage of the total
number of subsidized child care providers in the local workforce
development area;
(10) the total number of children enrolled in
subsidized child care providers participating in the Texas Rising
Star Program in each local workforce development area and the
number of subsidized children enrolled in 2-star, 3-star, and
4-star rated child care providers in the local workforce
development area; and
(11) the number of subsidized children enrolled in
child care providers participating in the Texas Rising Star Program
in each local workforce development area as a percentage of the
total number of subsidized children enrolled in child care
providers in the local workforce development area and the number of
subsidized children enrolled in 2-star, 3-star, and 4-star rated
child care providers in the local workforce development area as a
percentage of the total number of subsidized children enrolled in
child care providers in the local workforce development area.
(c) For the purposes of evaluation under this section, the
commission shall annually update the information described by
Subsections (b)(6)-(11).
SECTION 3. Section 302.0043, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c-1) and amending Subsections (e) and (f) to
read as follows:
(c-1) The commission shall measure and evaluate the
progress of the commission's child care program regarding:
(1) coordination by the commission with the Texas
Education Agency to assign a Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS) number to children younger than six years
of age enrolled in the commission's child care program;
(2) coordination with the Texas Education Agency,
school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools on any
prekindergarten quality improvement efforts;
(3) efforts to increase coordination between
participating providers in the commission's child care program,
school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools;
(4) facilitation of child care provider enrollment in
the Texas Rising Star Program and progression of providers to the
highest rating level in the program; and
(5) development and implementation of rates and
payments, as determined by local workforce development boards, to:
(A) allow participating providers to provide
high-quality child care; and
(B) ensure that the commission meets performance
measures established by the legislature for the average number of
children served by the commission's child-care program per day.
(e) The commission shall make the information collected by
the commission and the commission's findings available to local
workforce development boards, school districts, open-enrollment
charter schools, and the public.
(f) Not later than January 15 of each odd-numbered year, the
commission shall report to the legislature regarding the
commission's findings regarding the effectiveness of the
commission's child care program. The report must:
(1) include employment outcome information,
disaggregated by local workforce development area, regarding
parents receiving subsidized care under the program; [and]
(2) identify multiyear trends in the information
collected and analyzed by the commission under this section,
including trends in the information for at least the five state
fiscal years preceding the date of the report; and
(3) include information described by Sections
302.0042(b)(8)-(11).
SECTION 4. Section 302.00435, Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 302.00435. SUBSIDIZED CHILD CARE PROGRAM; INPUT
POLICY. (a) The commission shall develop a policy for obtaining,
through appropriate methods, input from interested parties
regarding its subsidized child care program and for using that
input in administering that program.
(b) The policy developed under Subsection (a) must include
methods for obtaining input from the Texas Education Agency, school
districts, open-enrollment charter schools, subsidized child care
providers, relevant businesses, and the public, regarding:
(1) improving coordination between the subsidized
child care program and prekindergarten programs; and
(2) increasing the quality of and access to the
subsidized child care program.
SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 302.0461 to read as follows:
Sec. 302.0461. CHILD CARE PROVIDER CONTRACT AGREEMENTS.
(a) A local workforce development board may contract with child
care providers operating in the board's area to provide subsidized
child care services. The local workforce development board shall
determine the number of places that the board reserves in the
contract with a child care provider participating in the
commission's subsidized child care program.
(b) To be eligible for a contract under Subsection (a), a
child care provider must:
(1) be a Texas Rising Star Program provider with a
three-star rating or higher; and
(2) meet one of the following priorities of the
commission:
(A) be located in:
(i) an area where the number of children
younger than six years of age who have working parents is at least
three times greater than the capacity of licensed child care
providers in the area; or
(ii) an area determined by the commission
to be underserved with respect to child care providers;
(B) have a partnership with a school district to
provide a prekindergarten program;
(C) have a partnership with the Early Head Start
or Head Start Program;
(D) increase the number of places reserved for
infants and toddlers by high-quality child care providers; or
(E) satisfy a requirement in the local workforce
development board's strategic plan.
(c) Not later than six months after a local workforce
development board enters into a contract under Subsection (a), the
board shall submit a report to the commission evaluating the
contract to determine its effect on:
(1) the financial stability of the child care provider
participating in the contract;
(2) the availability of high-quality child care
options for participants in the commission's subsidized child care
program in the workforce development area;
(3) the number of high-quality child care providers in
any part of the workforce development area with a high
concentration of families with a need for child care; and
(4) the percentage of children participating in the
commission's subsidized child care program at each Texas Rising
Star Program provider in the local workforce development area.
(d) The commission shall determine the information that
must be included in the report required by Subsection (c). A local
workforce development board shall update the report required by
Subsection (c) every six months from the date the board submits its
initial report to the commission.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.