PRINTER'S NO. 784
No. 737 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY WILLIAMS, DeWEESE, TRELLO, ORIE, MUNDY, STABACK,
LAUGHLIN, SAINATO, CAWLEY, BEBKO-JONES, FREEMAN, MICHLOVIC,
HARHAI, SURRA, TIGUE, ROONEY, STURLA, MANDERINO, BLAUM,
SEYFERT, BELFANTI, CURRY, MELIO AND JOSEPHS, MARCH 8, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGING AND YOUTH, MARCH 8, 1999
AN ACT
1 Providing for subsidized child care for qualifying families; and
2 providing for additional duties of the Department of Public
3 Welfare.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Child Care
8 Works Act.
9 Section 2. Statement of purpose.
10 The purposes of this act are to:
11 (1) Provide affordable, quality day care for children
12 from low-income families with working parents or parents who
13 are attending postsecondary educational or vocational
14 training institutions.
15 (2) Provide a minimum level of subsidized safe quality
16 child care to all our low-income citizens. The Department of
17 Public Welfare must seek annual budgetary appropriations and
1 promulgate necessary regulations to make available to all our
2 Commonwealth's citizens at 185% of the Federal Income Poverty
3 Guideline, the entitlement to subsidized child care without
4 unnecessary delay. Each budget request shall include a three-
5 year need projection as to the number of families that will
6 be eligible at 185% of the Federal Income Poverty Guideline
7 for each succeeding year.
8 (3) Enable parents to achieve dignity and personal
9 fulfillment from being both responsible parents and
10 contributing members of the work force of this Commonwealth.
11 Section 3. Funding of program.
12 The Department of Public Welfare shall request appropriations
13 annually to ensure that adequate funding is available for the
14 Child Care Works program in order to provide affordable quality
15 child care to low-income families and to fulfill the purposes of
16 this act set forth under section 1. The department shall request
17 appropriations sufficient to eliminate any waiting list which
18 exists on February 1, 1999, for subsidized child care under the
19 Child Care Works program and to ensure that eligible persons who
20 apply for subsidized child care after that date will not be on a
21 waiting list longer than two months.
22 Section 4. Eligible families.
23 The department shall offer subsidized child care to all
24 families that have income equal to or less than 185% of the
25 Federal Poverty Income Guideline, consistent with the
26 subsidization and copayment factors which are currently in force
27 under the Child Care Works program of the department.
28 Section 5. Postsecondary facilities.
29 The Department of Public Welfare shall award grants to any
30 postsecondary educational or vocational training institution
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1 which seeks funding to provide a child-care site for its
2 students with children. To qualify for such a grant, the
3 institution shall meet the Federal guidelines established for
4 this purpose under the Federal Department of Education program
5 entitled Child Care Access Means Parents in School.
6 Section 6. Criminal history requirements.
7 The department shall investigate the criminal history
8 background reports of all prospective providers of child-care
9 services which provide subsidized child-care services under the
10 Child Care Works program and shall disqualify any person deemed
11 inappropriate in accordance with the standards set forth under
12 23 Pa.C.S. § 6344 (relating to information relating to
13 prospective child-care personnel).
14 Section 7. Regulations.
15 The Department of Public Welfare shall promulgate regulations
16 to carry out the provisions of this act and to further implement
17 the Child Care Works program of the department.
18 Section 8. Effective date.
19 This act shall take effect in 120 days.
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