78R10445 KKA-D
By: Villarreal H.B. No. 1017
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1017:
By: McCall C.S.H.B. No. 1017
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to subsidized child-care services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading of Chapter 72, Human Resources Code,
is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 72. HEAD START, PREKINDERGARTEN, AND OTHER SIMILAR
PROGRAMS
SECTION 2. Section 72.003, Human Resources Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 72.003. COORDINATION OF SERVICES. (a) In a manner
consistent with federal law and regulations, each Head Start and
Early Head Start program provider, prekindergarten program
provider, and provider of an after-school child-care program
provided at a school shall coordinate with the Texas Workforce
Commission, Texas Education Agency, and local workforce
development boards regarding subsidized child-care services.
(b) The coordination required by this section must include:
(1) providing to an applicant for a child-care service
information regarding:
(A) child-care resource and referral agencies
serving the applicant's community;
(B) information and referral providers serving
the applicant's community; or
(C) the local child-care and development fund
contractor, Head Start program administrator, or public school
prekindergarten program serving the applicant's community; and
(2) coordinating to ensure, to the extent practicable,
that full-day, full-year child-care services are available to meet
the needs of low-income parents who are working or participating in
workforce training or workforce education.
(c) The coordination required by this section may also
include:
(1) cooperating with the Texas Workforce Commission
regarding studies conducted by the commission;
(2) collecting data necessary to determine a child's
eligibility for subsidized child-care services or a Head Start or
Early Head Start, prekindergarten, or after-school child-care
program, when permissible;
(3) cooperating to provide for staff training and
professional development activities;
(4) identifying and developing methods for the
collaborative provision of subsidized child-care services and Head
Start or Early Head Start, prekindergarten, or after-school
child-care program services, including:
(A) operating a combined system for eligibility
determination or registration processes so that an applicant may
apply for all services available in an applicant's community
through a single point of access;
(B) sharing facilities or staff; and
(C) [(B)] increasing the enrollment capacity of
those programs;
(5) identifying child-care facilities located in
close proximity to Head Start or Early Head Start, prekindergarten,
or after-school child-care programs; and
(6) coordinating transportation between child-care
facilities identified under Subdivision (5) and a Head Start or
Early Head Start, prekindergarten, or after-school child-care
program.
(d) In coordinating child-care services under this section
and in making any related decision to contract with another
provider for child-care services, the Texas Workforce Commission,
the Texas Education Agency, local workforce development boards, and
each Head Start and Early Head Start program provider,
prekindergarten program provider, and provider of an after-school
child-care program provided at a school shall consider the quality
of the services involved in the proposed coordination or
contracting decision, and shall give preference to services of the
highest quality. Any appropriate indicator of quality services may
be considered under this subsection, including whether the provider
of the services:
(1) meets the Texas Rising Star Provider criteria
described by Section 809.15(b), Title 40, Texas Administrative
Code;
(2) is accredited by the National Association for the
Education of Young Children; or
(3) has achieved any other measurable target relevant
to improving the quality of child care in this state.
SECTION 3. Chapter 72, Human Resources Code, is amended by
adding Sections 72.004 and 72.005 to read as follows:
Sec. 72.004. PROVISION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION. (a) Except
as otherwise provided by this section, each provider of
government-funded child-care services shall, at the time that a
child is enrolled with the provider, furnish to the child's parent
information regarding:
(1) ideal early education settings; and
(2) indicators that a child is ready for kindergarten.
(b) If a provider does not have sufficient resources to
provide the information specified by Subsection (a), the provider
shall:
(1) furnish the parent with the appropriate telephone
numbers or Internet sites through which the parent may obtain the
information; or
(2) refer the parent to a local child-care resource
and referral agency.
Sec. 72.005. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. (a) A local
government, local workforce development board, independent school
district, regional education service center, institution of higher
education, or community organization may develop one or more of the
following:
(1) a quality rating system demonstration project
under which licensed child-care facilities, Head Start and Early
Head Start program providers, or prekindergarten program providers
are assessed under a quality rating system; or
(2) a coordination of resources demonstration project
under which government-funded child-care services are operated in a
coordinated manner.
(b) An entity that develops a proposed demonstration
project under this section must obtain approval of the project from
the state agency or agencies with regulatory jurisdiction over the
subject matter involved in the project.
(c) An entity that obtains approval of a quality rating
system demonstration project is entitled to:
(1) reasonable access to the sites at which the
programs to be rated are operated, which may include sites under the
authority of the Texas Workforce Commission, the Department of
Protective and Regulatory Services, and the independent school
districts of this state; and
(2) technical assistance and support from the Texas
Workforce Commission, the Department of Protective and Regulatory
Services, and the Texas Education Agency, to the extent that those
agencies have the ability to provide assistance and support using
existing agency resources.
(d) An entity that obtains approval of a coordination of
resources demonstration project is entitled to a waiver or
modification of any existing rule, policy, or procedure of the
Texas Workforce Commission, the Department of Protective and
Regulatory Services, or the Texas Education Agency that impairs the
coordinated provision of government-funded child-care services,
provided that the waiver or modification does not adversely affect
the health, safety, or welfare of the children receiving services
under the project. In addition, if applicable, the appropriate
state agency must seek on behalf of the entity any available federal
waiver from a federal rule, policy, or procedure imposed in
connection with a Head Start program that impairs the coordinated
provision of government-funded child-care services.
(e) An entity that implements a demonstration project under
this section must provide a report to the legislature and to the
state agency or agencies with regulatory jurisdiction over the
subject matter involved in the project. The report must include:
(1) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the project;
and
(2) recommendations on statewide implementation of
the project.
(f) The report required by Subsection (e) must be provided
at the time specified jointly by the state agency or agencies with
regulatory jurisdiction over the subject matter involved in the
demonstration project.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 302.0042 to read as follows:
Sec. 302.0042. NOTICE REGARDING TERMINATION OF CERTAIN
CHILD-CARE SERVICES. (a) The commission shall direct each local
workforce development board to notify a working poor subsidy
recipient who resides in that board's local workforce development
area and who receives child-care services from a child-care
services program financed through state or federal funds of any
termination of the program.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the
local workforce development board shall provide the notice in
writing to the recipient not later than the 30th day before the
scheduled date of termination of the affected child-care services
program. The notice must include information regarding other
child-care services programs under which the recipient may be
eligible for services. If providing notice on or before the
deadline specified by this subsection would interfere with the
ability of the local workforce development board to comply with its
duties regarding the number of children to be served or would
require the expenditure of funds in excess of the amount
appropriated to the board, the board may provide the notice on the
earliest date on which it is practicable for the board to provide
notice.
SECTION 5. Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.1533 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.1533. ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW PREKINDERGARTEN
PROGRAM. Before establishing a new prekindergarten program, a
school district shall investigate the possibility of:
(1) sharing use of an existing Head Start or other
child-care program site as a prekindergarten site; and
(2) obtaining before-school and after-school care for
children attending the prekindergarten program from Head Start or
other child-care program providers.
SECTION 6. (a) The commissioner of health and human
services shall establish an advisory committee on child-care
coordination to evaluate the feasibility of coordinating
government-funded child-care programs in a manner that promotes
access to child-care programs and results in improved school
readiness. The advisory committee must include representatives of:
(1) the Office of Early Childhood Coordination
established under Subchapter H, Chapter 531, Government Code;
(2) the Texas Workforce Commission;
(3) the Texas Education Agency;
(4) the Department of Protective and Regulatory
Services;
(5) independent school districts;
(6) local workforce development boards;
(7) child-care development fund contractors;
(8) Head Start program providers;
(9) the Head Start Association;
(10) the Head Start Collaboration Office;
(11) nonprofit child-care providers;
(12) for-profit child-care providers;
(13) administrators of government-funded child-care
programs; and
(14) any other appropriate group, as determined by the
commissioner of health and human services.
(b) The advisory committee is not subject to Chapter 2110,
Government Code.
(c) The commissioner of health and human services shall
designate a member of the advisory committee to serve as presiding
officer of the committee.
(d) The advisory committee shall meet at the call of the
presiding officer of the committee.
(e) A member of the advisory committee serves at the will of
the commissioner of health and human services.
(f) The advisory committee may coordinate its activities
with the activities of the Office of Early Childhood Coordination
Advisory Committee established under Section 531.286, Government
Code.
(g) Not later than January 1, 2005, the advisory committee
shall prepare and deliver a report to the governor, lieutenant
governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and clerks of
the standing committees of the senate and house of representatives
with primary jurisdiction over state-subsidized child-care
services. The report must include recommendations for:
(1) ideal models of child-care coordination;
(2) ideal administrative structure at the state and
local level to facilitate coordination of child-care resources;
(3) revision of statutes and policies to facilitate
child-care coordination; and
(4) promotion of school readiness through early
child-care and education programs.
(h) On September 1, 2005, the advisory committee is
abolished and this section expires.
SECTION 7. The Texas Education Agency, using existing
resources available to the agency, shall:
(1) identify the types of data collected and
maintained by government-funded child-care providers, including
Head Start program providers and providers under contract with
local workforce development boards;
(2) develop recommendations for methods of including
the data identified under Subdivision (1) of this section in the
public school information maintained by the agency through the
Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS); and
(3) not later than January 1, 2005, submit a report to
the legislature containing the agency's recommendations developed
under Subdivision (2) of this section.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.