78R3710 KKA-D
By: Villarreal 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) streamlining the eligibility determination or
registration processes for subsidized child-care services and a
Head Start or Early Head Start, prekindergarten, or after-school
child-care program;
(2) providing to an applicant for a child-care service
the following information regarding all subsidized child-care
services and services provided by a Head Start, Early Head Start,
prekindergarten, or after-school child-care program that are
available from any source in the applicant's community:
(A) the types of services available and the hours
and locations of availability;
(B) eligibility criteria and application
procedures for receipt of services; and
(C) the number of people on the current waiting
list for services; and
(3) 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. 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) The local workforce development board shall provide the
notice in writing to the recipient not later than the 45th 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.
SECTION 4. Section 29.153(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) If a district cannot provide prekindergarten classes to
all children in the district who are eligible under Subsection (b)
using district facilities, the district shall make all reasonable
efforts to contract with a private entity, including a
community-based child-care facility or Head Start program
provider, for provision of services to eligible children. On
application of a district, the commissioner may exempt a district
from the application of this section if:
(1) the district cannot contract with a private entity
as described by this subsection; and
(2) the district would be required to construct
classroom facilities in order to provide sufficient
prekindergarten classes.
SECTION 5. (a) Not later than January 1, 2004, the Texas
Education Agency shall develop a plan to establish prekindergarten
programs within the subsidized child-care service industry. In
developing the plan, the agency shall seek input from:
(1) parents eligible to receive subsidized child-care
services;
(2) parents of children eligible for enrollment in a
prekindergarten program;
(3) school districts;
(4) the Texas Workforce Commission;
(5) local workforce development boards;
(6) the child-care resource and referral network; and
(7) the Texas Head Start Collaboration Project.
(b) The plan must provide that programs to be established
under the plan be funded using money used for prekindergarten
programs under Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, and
federal child-care development funds to the extent permitted by
federal law.
(c) Not later than January 1, 2005, the Texas Education
Agency shall prepare and deliver the plan 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 prekindergarten
programs and state-subsidized child-care services for low-income
families.
SECTION 6. (a) The Texas Workforce Commission and the
Department of Protective and Regulatory Services shall jointly
develop and implement a pilot program in one urban region of this
state under which licensed child-care facilities, Head Start and
Early Head Start program providers, and prekindergarten program
providers, including school districts, are assessed under a
multitiered, quality rating system.
(b) To the extent practicable, the Department of Protective
and Regulatory Services shall consider the rating under the quality
rating system of a child-care facility located in the pilot program
region in making licensing decisions regarding the facility.
(c) Not later than January 1, 2005, the Texas Workforce
Commission and the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services
shall prepare and deliver a joint report regarding the pilot
program 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 for low-income families and
licensing of child-care facilities. The report must include
recommendations for:
(1) implementing the quality rating system statewide;
(2) incorporating the quality rating system in the
licensing process for child-care facilities under Chapter 42, Human
Resources Code; and
(3) using the quality rating system in a manner that
promotes informed decisions about coordination of child-care
services in this state.
(d) This section expires September 1, 2005.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.