PRINTER'S NO. 557
No. 502 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY SANTONI, BENNINGTON, BIANCUCCI, BOYD, CALTAGIRONE,
COHEN, FABRIZIO, FREEMAN, GEORGE, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, KOTIK,
MANDERINO, MUNDY, PALLONE, STURLA, J. TAYLOR, WALKO,
YOUNGBLOOD AND KIRKLAND, FEBRUARY 26, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH, FEBRUARY 26, 2007
AN ACT
1 Providing for a Statewide Child Day-Care Resource and Referral
2 System; and imposing additional responsibilities upon the
3 Department of Public 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 Day-
8 Care Resource and Referral Act.
9 Section 2. Legislative findings.
10 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
11 (1) The demand for high quality, affordable, accessible
12 child day care has increased dramatically in the last decade
13 in correlation with a dramatic increase in the labor force
14 participation rate of parents with young children.
15 (2) According to the United States Census, in the decade
16 from 1990 to 2000, the rate of families in which all parents
17 in the household work rose to 62%, a 10% increase over the
1 decade. In this Commonwealth, about two-thirds of mothers
2 with children under the age of six are in the work force,
3 compared to 25% in 1970.
4 (3) There are more than 884,000 children under the age
5 of six living in this Commonwealth, and a majority of these
6 children spend on average 27 hours a week in some form of
7 child day care.
8 (4) As of January 2001, close to 300,000 children were
9 served in regulated child care settings in this Commonwealth.
10 (5) A comprehensive, coordinated effort is needed to
11 ensure that accurate, up-to-date child day-care information
12 is readily available and easy to access.
13 (6) Local child day-care resource and referral services
14 are beneficial to:
15 (i) working parents of all economic means by
16 enabling them to make informed choices in selecting and
17 purchasing the child day care that best meets their
18 family's unique needs;
19 (ii) existing and prospective child day-care
20 providers in their efforts to develop and maintain safe,
21 high-quality child day-care services;
22 (iii) businesses by providing them with information
23 to use in responding to child day-care needs of their
24 employees; and
25 (iv) the community-at-large by contributing directly
26 to the health, safety and well-being of this
27 Commonwealth's children and their families.
28 Section 3. Definitions.
29 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
30 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
20070H0502B0557 - 2 -
1 context clearly indicates otherwise:
2 "Child day care." Care in lieu of parental care, given for
3 part of the 24-hour day to children under 16 years of age, away
4 from their own homes. The term does not include child day care
5 furnished in places of worship during religious services.
6 "Child day-care resource and referral agency." A public or
7 private nonprofit entity that performs functions related to
8 child day-care resource and referral services. The term includes
9 an association or a corporation.
10 "Child day-care resource and referral services." The term
11 includes the following:
12 (1) The provision of updated information to the parents,
13 employers and individuals in a community regarding the
14 availability, cost and quality of child day-care services in
15 a defined geographic area.
16 (2) Assistance to parents so they can make informed
17 decisions regarding appropriate, affordable child day-care
18 services for their children.
19 (3) Information to employers on programs designed to
20 meet the child day-care needs of employees.
21 (4) Provision of start-up information to potential child
22 day-care providers to increase the supply of providers.
23 "Department." The Department of Public Welfare of the
24 Commonwealth.
25 Section 4. Resource and referral services.
26 The department shall arrange for child day-care resource and
27 referral services across this Commonwealth through contracts
28 with public or private entities that can fulfill the
29 responsibility of a child day-care resource and referral agency,
30 which shall provide, at a minimum, the following services:
20070H0502B0557 - 3 -
1 (1) Identification of all State-approved child day-care
2 providers in their specific geographic area and a profile of
3 each provider to indicate the types of services they provide
4 and the costs of such services.
5 (2) Maintenance of a regularly updated resource file
6 that demonstrates supply and demand of services.
7 (3) Maintenance of a resource and referral service for
8 child day-care users and assistance, if requested, in
9 evaluating child day-care needs and appropriateness of types
10 of child day care.
11 (4) Establishment of a public education program to
12 inform consumers and provide referral counseling about child
13 day-care options, including information on types of child day
14 care, availability, cost and standards, through such means as
15 printed materials, telephone contacts, education sessions or
16 workshops and resource libraries.
17 (5) Provision of information and technical assistance to
18 providers and prospective providers, as requested. Types of
19 information to be made available shall include, but not be
20 limited to, information regarding career opportunities in the
21 field, continuing education, training opportunities,
22 accreditation programs, regulatory requirements, food
23 programs and demographic information to determine the
24 existence of markets for services and to help stimulate the
25 supply of child day-care services needed in the area.
26 (6) Provision of information to employers who are trying
27 to meet the child day-care needs of their employees.
28 (7) Collection and maintenance of data, as may be useful
29 in State and local planning efforts, on the number and usage
30 of different child day-care providers, the type, availability
20070H0502B0557 - 4 -
1 and cost of child day care in a particular geographic area
2 and demographic information to determine whether the supply
3 meets the demand for child day-care services in a given area.
4 (8) Provision of information to low-income parents about
5 child day-care services for which they may be eligible and
6 referral to a local entity responsible for administering
7 Federal and State child day-care funds. The child day-care
8 resource and referral agency shall also provide to parents
9 receiving public assistance information about child day-care
10 services for which they may be eligible, and how they can
11 access those funds. The child day-care resource and referral
12 agency shall avoid duplicating services and shall develop
13 procedures to streamline services for all low-income parents
14 needing child day-care services.
15 Section 5. Standard operating procedures.
16 Child day-care resource and referral agencies shall:
17 (1) Conduct business during hours convenient to working
18 parents, including some evening and weekend hours, if deemed
19 necessary.
20 (2) Have the authority to establish a reasonable range
21 of fees for services, with the approval of the department.
22 (3) Advertise their services. All recipients of services
23 shall be informed of applicable fees prior to the provision
24 of such services, as designated in this act.
25 (4) Tailor services provided for in this act to the
26 geographically defined area in which they are located.
27 (5) Seek opportunities to provide educational and
28 consumer awareness programs.
29 (6) Utilize, to the maximum extent, the most cost-
30 effective means of providing child day-care resource and
20070H0502B0557 - 5 -
1 referral services in accordance with this act, including, but
2 not limited to, public-private partnerships, where deemed
3 appropriate, and contractual arrangements with existing
4 providers of resource and referral services.
5 (7) Maintain confidentiality of records. Information
6 contained in the records shall not be publicly disclosed in
7 such a manner so as to identify individuals. Certain
8 nonidentifying information may, however, be collected in
9 aggregate form for the purposes of data collection.
10 (8) Report to the department on a regular basis
11 information regarding:
12 (i) The number of parents and children served.
13 (ii) The extent of assistance given to providers,
14 parents, businesses and others.
15 (iii) Fees charged for resource and referral
16 services provided for in this act.
17 (iv) The impact of the resource and referral
18 services on quality and availability of child day care in
19 their particular geographically defined area.
20 (v) Any recommendations that may contribute to the
21 improvement of the provision of child day-care resource
22 and referral services.
23 Section 6. Annual report.
24 The department shall submit an annual report to the General
25 Assembly which shall reflect the information collected by the
26 child day-care resource and referral agencies designated by the
27 department. The report shall describe how the child day-care
28 resource and referral agencies further the department's goal to
29 improve the quality, availability and affordability of child
30 day-care services. This report shall also include any
20070H0502B0557 - 6 -
1 recommendations of the department for improvements to the
2 Statewide resource and referral system, as well as the
3 availability of private, corporate and government funding for
4 resource and referral services.
5 Section 7. Regulations.
6 The department shall, in the manner provided by law,
7 promulgate the regulations necessary to establish child day-care
8 resource and referral services to be offered in accordance with
9 this chapter.
10 Section 8. Resource and referral services implementation.
11 The department shall establish a three-year implementation
12 schedule for phasing in child day-care resource and referral
13 services throughout this Commonwealth.
14 Section 20. Effective date.
15 This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
A22L67JS/20070H0502B0557 - 7 -