New legislation coming up related to child care
2012 is starting out as a busy year for us in Sacramento. There are several proposals currently on the table that relate to child care services. Some could significantly improve things for providers, and a few others have issues that need to be addressed. Here is a recap of the major bills currently on the table:
AB 2573 (Furitani)—SUPPORT We (Child Care Providers United) sponsored this bill which would give us a voice in our work and make improvements to our broken child care system. This bill is similar to AB 101 (Perez/Steinberg) which we fought for last year and the Legislature passed, but was vetoed by Governor Brown. The bill just made it past the first step and was passed by the Assembly’s Labor Committee on April 18th.
AB 1673 (Mitchell)—SUPPORT. This bill will adopt 12 month eligibility for parents receiving child care subsidies and streamline reporting requirements. Changes should promote better stability and continuity of care and allow providers to build longer-lasting relationships with children. Additionally, Assemblymember Mitchell may consider other improvements to the child care system that providers have long advocated for, including simplified attendance sheets, a standardized policy on notifying providers of changes in families’ eligibility for subsidies, and a set pay date for providers. We (CCPU) are working to try to strengthen this bill, stay tuned for how you can support our efforts!
AB 1872 (Alejo)—NEUTRAL. This bill focuses on nutrition in family child care homes. Specifically, the bill would require family providers to meet the nutrition standards of the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and self-certify compliance, would add this to licensing reviews, and licensing would be required to provide information on CACFP nutrition standards. Initially, this bill had serious issues; the bill’s author and sponsors wanted additional provisions, including criminal penalties for lack of compliance. We (CCPU) met with the authors to express our concerns, causing those parts to be taken out of the bill, allowing us to be neutral.
AB 2137 (Bradford)—OPPOSE. This bill would have given cities the right to deny the establishment of a large family child care home. We (CCPU) expressed opposition to the bill; because we and others weighed in, Bradford’s office has said they will not move the bill! Stopping a bad bill like this is an example of how we have more power together as providers.
