| TO: | Honorable Carlos Uresti, Chair, House Committee on Human Services |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB1017 by Villarreal (Relating to subsidized child-care services.), As Introduced |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2004 | ($63,511,548) |
| 2005 | ($63,168,931) |
| 2006 | ($63,092,785) |
| 2007 | ($63,080,185) |
| 2008 | ($63,080,185) |
| Fiscal Year | Probable (Cost) fromGENERAL REVENUE FUND 1 |
Probable (Cost) fromFOUNDATION SCHOOL FUND 193 |
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | ($511,548) | ($63,000,000) | 4.0 |
| 2005 | ($168,931) | ($63,000,000) | 3.2 |
| 2006 | ($92,785) | ($63,000,000) | 1.0 |
| 2007 | ($80,185) | ($63,000,000) | 1.0 |
| 2008 | ($80,185) | ($63,000,000) | 1.0 |
The bill would require a school district that does not serve all children eligible for prekindergarten in district facilities to make all reasonable efforts to contract to provide the services through child care facilities and Head Start programs. Districts that expand the number of children served in prekindergarten programs through such means would earn Foundation School Program funds for those children. The bill would require the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to develop a plan to establish prekindergarten programs within the subsidized childcare service industry, including consulting with a variety of outside sources.
The bill would require that all Head Start, Early Head Start and prekindergarten providers coordinate with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), TEA, and local workforce development boards (LWDBs) to ensure full-day, full-year childcare services are available to meet the needs of low-income parents who are working or in workforce training or education. The bill would require TWC and the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (PRS) to implement a pilot program that assesses providers under a multi-tiered quality rating system, and to complete a report by January 1, 2005. The bill would take effect September 1, 2003.
Data indicates the 157,498 students enrolled statewide in prekindergarten programs represent about 76 percent of eligible children, suggesting 50,000 eligible students are currently not served. It is assumed 30,000 additional students would be served under the requirements of the bill, because kindergarten is not a compulsory grade and all eligible children may not be accounted for and directed to contracted child care or Head Start facilities, . The Foundation School Program cost for the average daily attendance represented by 30,000 additional students in half-day prekindergarten would be approximately $63,000,000 per year. TEA reported it would need to contract with an outside entity to meet the January 1, 2004 deadline, a one-time cost of $200,000.
PRS and TWC estimate two full-time staff members would be required at each agency in 2004 to plan the pilot and to compile the report. The staff would be required to train agency and local workforce development board (LWDB) staff and monitor the centers in the pilot program. Personnel costs, including associated travel, are estimated to total $275,548 in 2004 and $156,331 in 2005. TWC assumes its personnel costs would continue through 2008, in order to coordinate with LWDB staff and other child care providers. TWC assumes it would be required to host an annual conference and coordinate the efforts of TWC, TEA, and LWDBs. It is assumed that a three-day conference would cost $36,000 in 2004, and that two-day conferences would cost $12,600 in both 2005 and 2006.
The net increase in local costs to comply with the provisions of this bill are estimated to total about $6,900,000 annually. It is estimated that the coordination efforts under this bill would require an average of at least 10 hours per campus offering prekindergarten services statewide per year and cost approximately $700,000, assuming that an administrator at least at the level of an assistant principal would likely be the person responsible for the coordination efforts. Single-point eligibility determination & registration would be required of school districts in several areas. If school district employees are required to provide eligibility determination for other services at the time of enrollment, there would be workload implications for school staff at campuses where prekindergarten program enrollment is provided. If campus auxiliary/clerical staff were to spend on average an additional 5 minutes per prekindergarten student to provide eligibility determination services, the cost statewide beginning in 2003-04 to comply would be approximately $200,000.
Every district in the state with at least 15 children who are eligible for prekindergarten will need to make some effort to contract to provide prekindergarten programs at child-care or Head Start facilities. While school districts experiencing high growth in prekindergarten populations combined with limited capacity for additional facilities may already be investigating the potential to co-locate with child care and Head Start programs, the contracting mandate imposed by this bill would add workload for the vast majority of school districts. It is estimated that the contracting effort would require an average of 80 hours per campus offering prekindergarten programs statewide per year. The cost would be approximately $6,000,000, assuming that an administrator at least at the level of an assistant principal would likely be the person responsible for the contracting efforts.
| Source Agencies: | 320 Texas Workforce Commission, 530 Department Of Protective And Regulatory Services, 701 Central Education Agency
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| LBB Staff: | JK, JO, EB, RT, JC, KG
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