79R2420 CLG-D

By:  Villarreal                                                   H.B. No. 1356



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a software system for providing a single point of access 
to government-funded child-care and education programs.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 301, Labor Code, is 
amended by adding Section 301.070 to read as follows:
	Sec. 301.070.  SINGLE POINT OF ACCESS TO CHILD-CARE AND 
EDUCATION SERVICES.  (a)  In this section, "child-care and 
education services" means:
		(1)  subsidized child-care and education services 
administered by the commission and local workforce development 
boards and funded wholly or partly by federal child-care 
development funds;
		(2)  child-care and education services provided by a 
Head Start or Early Head Start program provider;
		(3)  child-care and education services provided by a 
school district through a prekindergarten or after-school program; 
and
		(4)  any other government-funded child-care and 
education services, other than education and services provided by a 
school district as part of the general program of public and 
secondary education, designed to educate or provide care for 
children under the age of 12 in middle-income or low-income 
families.
	(b)  The commission by rule shall develop and implement a 
program to award grants to entities providing child-care and 
education services, including local workforce development boards, 
school districts, Head Start and Early Head Start program 
providers, and political subdivisions of this state, for the 
purchase and use of a computer software tool or package that:
		(1)  provides for a single point of access through 
which a person may apply for all child-care and education services 
available in the person's community;
		(2)  facilitates collaboration in the provision, 
delivery, and funding of child-care and education services; and
		(3)  is approved by the commission.                                    
	(c)  The commission by rule shall prescribe eligibility 
criteria to receive a grant under the program and the manner in 
which an entity must use the software program purchased with the 
grant to provide for the effective administration of child-care and 
education services.
	(d)  To the extent allowed by federal law, the commission may 
allocate federal child-care development funds for the purposes of 
the program.
	(e)  The commission shall submit to the legislature an annual 
report regarding the administration of the program during the 
preceding year.  At a minimum, the report must:
		(1)  include the number and total amount of grants 
awarded during the period covered by the report; and
		(2)  describe the effectiveness of the use of the 
software system described by Subsection (b) in the provision and 
delivery of child-care and education services.
	SECTION 2.  If before implementing any provision of this Act 
a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a 
federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision, 
the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or 
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the 
waiver or authorization is granted.
	SECTION 3.  As soon as practicable after the effective date 
of this Act, the Texas Workforce Commission shall adopt rules 
necessary for the implementation of Section 301.070, Labor Code, as 
added by this Act.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.