Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1844 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R4697 MM-F
2	2	By: Blanco S.B. No. 1844
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the powers and duties of the Texas Workforce Commission
8	8	and local workforce development boards regarding the provision of
9	9	child care.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 2308.256(a), Government Code, is amended
12	12	to read as follows:
13	13	(a) A board is composed as follows:
14	14	(1) representatives of the private sector, who:
15	15	(A) constitute a majority of the membership of
16	16	the board; and
17	17	(B) are owners of business concerns, chief
18	18	executives or chief operating officers of nongovernmental
19	19	employers, or other private sector executives who have substantial
20	20	management or policy responsibilities;
21	21	(2) representatives of organized labor and
22	22	community-based organizations, who constitute not less than 15
23	23	percent of the membership of the board; [and]
24	24	(3) representatives of the child-care workforce, who
25	25	constitute not less than 25 percent of the membership of the board
26	26	and who have:
27	27	(A) at least five years of experience working in
28	28	child-care, early childhood, or out-of-school programs, including
29	29	organizations providing care and education services to children
30	30	from birth until age 12 and organizations supporting quality or
31	31	credentialing for the care and education of children from birth
32	32	until age 12; or
33	33	(B) expertise in child care or early childhood
34	34	education; and
35	35	(4) representatives of each of the following:
36	36	(A) educational agencies, including community
37	37	colleges and secondary and postsecondary practitioners
38	38	representing vocational education, that are representative of all
39	39	educational agencies in the service delivery area;
40	40	(B) vocational rehabilitation agencies;
41	41	(C) public assistance agencies;
42	42	(D) economic development agencies;
43	43	(E) the public employment service;
44	44	(F) local literacy councils; and
45	45	(G) adult basic and continuing education
46	46	organizations.
47	47	SECTION 2. Section 2308.3171, Government Code, is amended
48	48	by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
49	49	follows:
50	50	(c) Each board shall post in a prominent place on the
51	51	board's Internet website home page and at any physical location
52	52	where the board provides services:
53	53	(1) a list of local designated vendors that are
54	54	child-care providers and have a quality child-care indicator listed
55	55	in Subsection (a)(1), (2), (3), or (4); [and]
56	56	(2) a list of local parenting classes;
57	57	(3) information for parents regarding finding quality
58	58	child-care providers;
59	59	(4) information regarding the value of quality child
60	60	care and the Texas Rising Star Program;
61	61	(5) information for parents regarding:
62	62	(A) eligibility for child-care assistance,
63	63	including subsidized child-care services and other child-care
64	64	scholarships;
65	65	(B) the application process for child-care
66	66	assistance; and
67	67	(C) determining the status of a financial
68	68	assistance application;
69	69	(6) information for child-care providers regarding:
70	70	(A) the process for accepting children whose
71	71	parents receive child-care assistance; and
72	72	(B) the Texas Rising Star Program certification
73	73	process; and
74	74	(7) contact information, including a telephone number
75	75	and an e-mail address, where a provider may receive assistance with
76	76	questions or bring a grievance.
77	77	(c-1) Each local workforce development board shall make the
78	78	following information available to the public on a quarterly basis:
79	79	(1) data regarding child-care waitlists, including
80	80	the number of children in the board's workforce development area
81	81	who are:
82	82	(A) on a waitlist, disaggregated by age and zip
83	83	code based on the child's home address;
84	84	(B) taken off a waitlist and enrolled with a
85	85	child-care provider under the subsidized child-care program; and
86	86	(C) added to a waitlist during the quarter;
87	87	(2) the number of children in the board's workforce
88	88	development area receiving subsidized child care, disaggregated by
89	89	zip code based on the child's home address;
90	90	(3) data regarding child-care providers, including
91	91	the number of providers in the board's workforce development area
92	92	who during the quarter:
93	93	(A) improved the provider's Texas Rising Star
94	94	Program rating level;
95	95	(B) had the provider's Texas Rising Star Program
96	96	rating level decrease; and
97	97	(C) received quality dollars from the board; and
98	98	(4) data regarding the outcomes related to quality
99	99	dollars provided by the board to child-care providers in the
100	100	board's workforce development area.
101	101	SECTION 3. Section 302.0042(d), Labor Code, is amended to
102	102	read as follows:
103	103	(d) In this section, "quality child care provider" means a
104	104	child care provider that:
105	105	(1) participates in the commission's Texas Rising Star
106	106	Program as a three-star or four-star provider; or
107	107	(2) is accredited by the National Early Childhood
108	108	Program Accreditation Commission or the National Association for
109	109	the Education of Young Children, or holds any other accreditation
110	110	the commission determines meets the quality standards of the Texas
111	111	Rising Star Program.
112	112	SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
113	113	amended by adding Section 302.00434 to read as follows:
114	114	Sec. 302.00434. SUBSIDIZED CHILD-CARE PROGRAM; RULE CHANGE
115	115	POLICY. The commission shall develop appropriate written training
116	116	and a reasonable timeline for implementing each change the
117	117	commission makes to rules regarding the subsidized child-care
118	118	program.
119	119	SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
120	120	amended by adding Section 302.0063 to read as follows:
121	121	Sec. 302.0063. CHILD CARE PERFORMANCE TARGETS. (a) The
122	122	commission shall structure performance targets for child-care
123	123	services to allow local workforce development boards to address the
124	124	needs in the workforce development area identified by the board
125	125	through a community needs assessment.
126	126	(b) The commission may establish alternative performance
127	127	targets that are set by different metrics including:
128	128	(1) the total number of children served by child-care
129	129	providers in the board's workforce development area;
130	130	(2) the number of children served by Texas Rising Star
131	131	Program providers in the board's workforce development area with a
132	132	three-star or four-star rating;
133	133	(3) the number of infants and toddlers served by
134	134	child-care providers in the board's workforce development area;
135	135	(4) the number of children served by child-care
136	136	providers in the board's workforce development area if the area is
137	137	located in:
138	138	(A) an area where the number of children younger
139	139	than six years of age who have working parents is at least three
140	140	times greater than the capacity of licensed child-care providers in
141	141	the area; or
142	142	(B) an area determined by the commission to be
143	143	underserved with respect to child-care providers; and
144	144	(5) the number of children served by providers in the
145	145	board's workforce development area who provide care during
146	146	non-traditional hours.
147	147	(c) The commission by rule shall:
148	148	(1) define the approval process for the alternative
149	149	performance targets described by Subsection (b);
150	150	(2) develop the components of and procedures for
151	151	administering a community needs assessment in local workforce
152	152	development areas; and
153	153	(3) determine the allocation of funds to meet
154	154	alternative performance targets.
155	155	SECTION 6. Section 2308.256(g), Government Code, is
156	156	repealed.
157	157	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.