Wisconsin 2023-2024 Regular Session

Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB1196 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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3	3	2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
4	4	2023 ASSEMBLY BILL 1196
5	5	April 9, 2024 - Introduced by Representative STUBBS, cosponsored by Senator
6	6	LARSON. Referred to Committee on Children and Families.
7	7	*AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*
8	8	AN ACT to create 15.207 (20), 48.47 (20) and 48.6595 of the statutes; relating
9	9	to: creation of the council on child care availability and reporting on the cost of
10	10	child care.
11	11	Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
12	12	This bill creates a council on child care availability, to be housed in the
13	13	Department of Children and Families. The council is charged with studying various
14	14	issues related to the establishment of a free and universal child care system within
15	15	the state and with making an annual report to the legislature and governor with
16	16	recommendations for how to establish and pay for the free and universal child care
17	17	system.
18	18	Under the bill, DCF is required to create a biennial report detailing the actual
19	19	cost of child care, broken out by the type of care provided and compared to the child
20	20	care rates established by DCF under current law.
21	21	For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
22	22	an appendix to this bill.
23	23	The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
24	24	enact as follows:
25	25	SECTION 1. 15.207 (20) of the statutes is created to read:
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31	31	SECTION 1 ASSEMBLY BILL 1196
32	32	15.207 (20) COUNCIL ON CHILD CARE AVAILABILITY. There is created in the
33	33	department of children and families a council on child care availability. The council
34	34	shall consist of the following members:
35	35	(a) The secretary of children and families and the secretary of workforce
36	36	development, or their designees, and a representative from the office of the governor
37	37	who shall serve as cochairpersons of the council.
38	38	(b) Three individuals appointed by the speaker of the assembly, at least one of
39	39	whom is a parent who has participated in the Wisconsin Shares program.
40	40	(c) Three individuals appointed by the assembly minority leader, at least one
41	41	of whom is a parent who has participated in the Wisconsin Shares program.
42	42	(d) Three individuals appointed by the president of the senate, at least one of
43	43	whom is a parent who has participated in the Wisconsin Shares program.
44	44	(e) Three individuals appointed by the senate minority leader, at least one of
45	45	whom is a parent who has participated in the Wisconsin Shares program.
46	46	(f) Two representatives of a child care resource and referral agency.
47	47	(g) Two representatives of home-based child care providers.
48	48	(h) Two representatives of center-based child care providers.
49	49	(i) Two representatives from the business community.
50	50	(j) Two representatives from unions that represent child care providers.
51	51	(k) At least one representative from each of the following entities:
52	52	1. The department of children and families.
53	53	2. The department of revenue.
54	54	3. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
55	55	4. The University of Wisconsin System.
56	56	5. The technical college system.
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84	84	SECTION 1
85	85	ASSEMBLY BILL 1196
86	86	6. The department of public instruction.
87	87	7. A county social services agency or an entity that advocates on behalf of social
88	88	services or county governments.
89	89	8. A nonprofit child care advocacy organization.
90	90	SECTION 2. 48.47 (20) of the statutes is created to read:
91	91	48.47 (20) REPORT ON THE COST OF CHILD CARE. Biennially, prepare a report
92	92	detailing the actual cost providers incur when providing child care. The department
93	93	shall report its findings and recommendations to the governor and to the appropriate
94	94	standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3) no later than July 1, 2024
95	95	and by July 1 of each even-numbered year thereafter, and shall post the report on
96	96	its publicly available website. The report shall include:
97	97	(a) Detailed cost data for each setting, age group, care provided to children with
98	98	special needs, and any other grouping for which a separate cost estimation is
99	99	appropriate.
100	100	(b) The level of quality care available for each setting, as determined by the
101	101	quality rating system under s. 48.659.
102	102	(c) A description of the major cost drivers for providing care.
103	103	(d) A comparison of the costs of child care for each grouping to the child care
104	104	rates established under s. 49.155 (6).
105	105	SECTION 3. 48.6595 of the statutes is created to read:
106	106	48.6595 Council on child care availability. (1) The council on child care
107	107	availability shall advise the state in developing a system of free and universal child
108	108	care using existing state and federal resources and shall make recommendations
109	109	based on its study of all of the following:
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135	135	SECTION 3 ASSEMBLY BILL 1196
136	136	(a) How to implement a universal child care system that is free at the point of
137	137	service for all families and that delivers high-quality child care to all residents of this
138	138	state, with a 4-year phase-in, taking into account the following priorities and
139	139	principles:
140	140	1. Expansions of subsidized care are targeted to first cover low-income
141	141	families, historically underserved communities, and families facing complex needs,
142	142	including children with disabilities and child welfare involvement.
143	143	2. Work requirements, activities tests, and immigration status requirements
144	144	for low-income families are all eliminated.
145	145	3. The phase-in takes all reasonable steps to avoid benefit cliffs.
146	146	4. Reasonable steps are taken to guard against increases in costs for
147	147	middle-income families.
148	148	5. Roll-out of universal child care is coordinated with expansions of universal
149	149	preschool programs so that such programs do not cause unintentional harm to child
150	150	care providers.
151	151	(b) How to eliminate the barriers that eligible families face in obtaining or
152	152	utilizing child care subsidies.
153	153	(c) How to ensure the availability of child care for nontraditional work hours,
154	154	and identification of the funding that would be needed to expand facilities that cover
155	155	nontraditional work hours.
156	156	(d) Whether parents are voluntarily leaving the workforce due to lack of child
157	157	care, and the demographic information of such parents, if known.
158	158	(e) Whether employers have identified a lack of child care as a reason for a
159	159	shortage of a qualified workforce.
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188	188	(f) The impact of child care, or lack thereof, on economic development
189	189	throughout the state.
190	190	(g) Availability of quality child care by region, including identification of
191	191	underserved communities and recommendations for making available free,
192	192	high-quality child care in such communities.
193	193	(h) Whether regulatory or statutory changes could promote free and universal
194	194	access to high-quality child care and improve health and safety standards in child
195	195	care programs.
196	196	(i) Incentives to institutions that offer child care to increase universal and free
197	197	child care.
198	198	(j) The existence of unlicensed or unregulated child care providers, the labor
199	199	conditions of employees at such facilities, and regulatory recommendations for
200	200	approaching such providers.
201	201	(k) Disparities in the quality of child care provided to families of different
202	202	economic backgrounds, different geographic regions, and the funding needed to
203	203	provide high-quality child care for all.
204	204	(L) The factors contributing to the success of expanding universal preschool
205	205	programs in the state and the potential unintended consequences impacting child
206	206	care providers, particularly family-based providers.
207	207	(m) The availability of a searchable database of child care providers, and
208	208	recommendations for improvement of the database.
209	209	(n) The availability of funds for child care infrastructure development.
210	210	(o) The creation of an office of early education within the department.
211	211	(p) Ways to address concerns identified by the council.
212	212	(q) Anything else the council deems necessary.
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239	239	SECTION 3 ASSEMBLY BILL 1196
240	240	(2) Beginning 2 years after the effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts
241	241	date], the council shall report its findings and recommendations annually to the
242	242	governor and to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s.
243	243	13.172 (3). The council shall include the following in its report:
244	244	(a) Specific recommendations to develop and implement a free and universal
245	245	child care system with a 4-year phase-in.
246	246	(b) Recommendations for budget allocations to fund the free and universal
247	247	child care system, including wage increases for child care workers that allow them
248	248	to achieve pay parity with public school teachers, capital expenditures to allow for
249	249	the expansion of child care infrastructure into communities most in need, and
250	250	startup funds to allow for the creation of new child care programs in child care
251	251	deserts.
252	252	(c) Recommendations for maximizing the allocation of federal funds, as well as
253	253	supplemental funding from the state that would allow for a free and universal child
254	254	care system.
255	255	(d) Recommendations for the integration of child care programs into existing
256	256	public programs, such as public schools, public universities, and public housing, to
257	257	deliver high-quality child care to all residents.
258	258	(3) Each year, the taskforce shall provide a score card stating how close the
259	259	state is to achieving a high-quality universal child care system. Council members
260	260	who are members of the legislature or who are employees of the governor's office or
261	261	the legislature shall recuse themselves from the rating process.
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