By:  Ellis, et al.                                     S.B. No. 213

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the establishment of a child-care training center pilot

 1-2     program for certain recipients of public assistance.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is amended

 1-5     by adding Section 302.003 to read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 302.003.  CHILD-CARE TRAINING CENTER PILOT PROGRAM.

 1-7     (a)  The commission shall establish a pilot program in which the

 1-8     division shall certify day-care facilities licensed under Chapter

 1-9     42, Human Resources Code, in a county having a population of more

1-10     than 2.8 million as training centers that offer training and

1-11     certification for recipients of public assistance in basic skills,

1-12     child care, child-care vendor entrepreneurial training, and early

1-13     childhood education.

1-14           (b)  The commission shall cooperate with the Department of

1-15     Protective and Regulatory Services in the adoption of rules under

1-16     this section.  The commission may not adopt a rule under this

1-17     section that conflicts with a rule of the Department of Protective

1-18     and Regulatory Services.

1-19           (c)  The commission shall award a contract to a child-care

1-20     facility to act as a training center based on:

1-21                 (1)  the level of training of the facility's staff; and

1-22                 (2)  the history of the facility in delivering

1-23     high-quality care.

 2-1           (d)  The child-care subsidy for a person who participates in

 2-2     training through a pilot program and who qualifies for a subsidy

 2-3     for the person's child shall be paid directly to the facility.  The

 2-4     facility may not count such a person in the facility's

 2-5     child-to-staff ratio.

 2-6           (e)  A person who is a recipient of financial assistance

 2-7     under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, may qualify to participate

 2-8     in training through a pilot program by applying to the commission

 2-9     and:

2-10                 (1)  providing proof of possession of a high school

2-11     diploma or the equivalent;

2-12                 (2)  demonstrating possession of general skills and

2-13     competence, as determined by commission rule; and

2-14                 (3)  demonstrating, to the satisfaction of the

2-15     commission, a long-term commitment to the early childhood care

2-16     profession.

2-17           (f)  Funding for a person who participates in training

2-18     through a pilot program shall be provided through a work supplement

2-19     program for 12 months.  The commission may provide additional

2-20     funding for the person to participate in training through the pilot

2-21     program for an additional 12 months.

2-22           (g)  The commission may also provide funding for a person who

2-23     participates in training through a pilot program to:

2-24                 (1)  complete the person's Child Development Associate

2-25     national credential or other child-care certification, as

 3-1     determined by the commission;

 3-2                 (2)  participate in ongoing interactive training; and

 3-3                 (3)  provide start-up grants and loans to establish the

 3-4     person's own child-care business.

 3-5           (h)  A facility that provides training through a pilot

 3-6     program shall maintain a mentor relationship with each person who

 3-7     participates in training through the program at the facility.  A

 3-8     person who participates in training at a facility may be required

 3-9     to participate in additional training programs after the date the

3-10     person completes the pilot program.

3-11           (i)  The child of a person who participates in training

3-12     through a pilot program is entitled to the same discounted rate for

3-13     child-care services at the facility in which the person is

3-14     participating in training that the facility offers to the

3-15     facility's employees.  The child-care subsidy provided for the

3-16     person's child shall be paid to the facility in which the person is

3-17     participating in training at the rate that the facility offers to

3-18     the facility's employees.  The money saved by the commission under

3-19     this subsection may be used by the commission to administer the

3-20     pilot program established under this section.

3-21           (j)  The commission shall adopt rules that establish

3-22     eligibility criteria for a facility to participate in a pilot

3-23     program and provide requirements for implementation of the pilot

3-24     program.

3-25           (k)  The commission shall report not later than January 31,

 4-1     1999, to the presiding officer of each house of the 76th

 4-2     Legislature, Regular Session, regarding the results of the pilot

 4-3     programs created under this section.  The report must include

 4-4     recommendations to the legislature regarding the development of a

 4-5     statewide child-care training program for recipients of public

 4-6     assistance.

 4-7           (l)  In this section, "work supplement program" means a

 4-8     program under which the state reserves all or part of the amounts

 4-9     that would be payable as benefits to welfare recipients and uses

4-10     those amounts to provide and subsidize jobs for the recipients.

4-11           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

4-12           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

4-13     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

4-14     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

4-15     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

4-16     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.