C.S.H.B. 1017 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1017 By: Villarreal Human Services Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The state spends nearly $1.2 billion a year on child care and early education via three programs: Head Start, prekindergarten, and Child Care Development Fund. While each program serves a similar population, low-income parents, the programs remain uncoordinated. The lack of coordination leads to inefficiency, unnecessary expense, and inconsistent outcomes. Both the state and the federal government require some degree of coordination, but cooperation between programs at the local level remains ineffective. CSHB 1017 would revise state policy to allow for more effective coordination of resources. The bill would instruct the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Education Agency and Head Start administrators to coordinate services at the local level. The bill would also encourage local areas to develop demonstration projects testing various models of coordination. In order to promote coordination, the bill would encourage local areas to develop demonstration projects to test childcare rating systems. Ratings systems would allow early care and education program administrators to make appropriate decisions related to providers. They would also provide valuable information to parents that help them to locate quality child care that promotes school readiness. Finally, the bill would establish an advisory committee within the Health and Human Services Commission. The advisory committee would be composed of leaders in early care and education. The purpose would be to develop recommendations on funds coordination and effective use of early care and education dollars. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS CSHB 1017 amends the Human Resources Code to redefine "coordination." The bill requires program administrators at the local level to make appropriate referrals to other publicly-funded child care resources in the community. CSHB 1017 requires local administrators of publicly-funded early care and education programs to provide parents with information regarding ideal early education settings and indicators of school readiness, tying early education programs more closely with the Texas' State Center for Early Childhood Development. The bill provides that if, the cost of providing this information is too costly to the local provider, the program administrator may refer the parent to the nearest Child Care Resource and Referral provider. CSHB 1017 authorizes local communities to conduct two types of demonstration projects in collaboration with the state and institutions of higher education. The bill provides that the first is a quality rating system under which licensed child-care facilities, Head Start and Early Head Start providers, and prekindergarten programs are assessed under a quality rating system. The bill provides that local communities that attempt to develop such a system may receive technical guidance from the appropriate state agency, but the project must not be funded with state dollars. The bill authorizes local communities to develop child-care coordination demonstration projects. The bill provides that communities that develop such projects will be authorized to waive certain state policies that may hinder effective coordination of resources. Rather than require a 45 day notice if a child care subsidy is to be terminated, CSHB 1017 provides for a 30 days notice. The bill provides that if the local workforce development board determines that this notices will negatively impact available revenue or performance measures, the notice period does not apply. CSHB 1017 instructs independent school districts, before establishing new prekindergarten programs, to make an effort to share program sites with existing Head Start and child-care providers. The bill authorizes the district to investigate the possibility of operating a full-day, full-year program within the public school by coordinating resources with other publicly-funded child care resources. CSHB 1017 requires that the Health and Human Services Commission establish an advisory committee on child-care coordination. The bill provides that the advisory committee will be facilitated in collaboration with the Texas Education Agency. The bill requires that the committee will be responsible for developing recommendations on the coordination of early care and education resources within the state and will also serve as a technical assistance resources for local demonstration projects. CSHB 1017 requires the Texas Education Agency to develop recommendations on linking the data gathered within publicly-funded child care and early education programs in Texas. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2003. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE CSHB 1017 varies from the original bill by redefining "coordination." Rather than requiring the streamlining of eligibility determination, the bill simply requires program administrators at the local level to make appropriate referrals to other publicly-funded child care resources in the community. CSHB 1017 requires local administrators of publicly-funded early care and education programs to provide parents with information regarding ideal early education settings and indicators of school readiness, tying early education programs more closely with the Texas' State Center for Early Childhood Development. The bill provides that if, the cost of providing this information is too costly to the local provider, the program administrator may refer the parent to the nearest Child Care Resource and Referral provider. CSHB 1017 authorizes local communities to conduct two types of demonstration projects in collaboration with the state and institutions of higher education. The bill provides that the first is a quality rating system under which licensed child-care facilities, Head Start and Early Head Start providers, and prekindergarten programs are assessed under a quality rating system. The bill provides that local communities that attempt to develop such a system may receive technical guidance from the appropriate state agency, but the project must not be funded with state dollars. The bill authorizes local communities to develop child-care coordination demonstration projects. The bill provides that communities that develop such projects will be authorized to waive certain state policies that may hinder effective coordination of resources. Rather than require a 45 day notice if a child care subsidy is to be terminated, CSHB 1017 provides for a 30 days notice. The bill provides that if the local workforce development board determines that this notices will negatively impact available revenue or performance measures, the notice period does not apply. CSHB 1017 replaces language that required independent school districts to make every effort to serve all eligible children in the prekindergarten program through contracts with local providers. The bill changes the language to instruct independent school districts, before establishing new prekindergarten programs, to make an effort to share program sites with existing Head Start and child-care providers. The bill authorizes the district to investigate the possibility of operating a fullday, full-year program within the public school by coordinating resources with other publicly-funded child care resources. CSHB 1017 replaces language, which required the Texas Education Agency (agency) to develop a comprehensive plan to promote coordination of resources between the Child Care and Development Funds, Head Start and prekindergarten, with language which requires that the Health and Human Services Commission establish an advisory committee on child-care coordination. The bill provides that the advisory committee will be facilitated in collaboration with the agency. The bill requires that the committee will be responsible for developing recommendations on the coordination of early care and education resources within the state and will also serve as a technical assistance resources for local demonstration projects. CSHB 1017 requires the agency to develop recommendations on linking the data gathered within publicly-funded child care and early education programs in Texas.