PRINTER'S NO. 1676
No. 1388 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY BROWNE, BEBKO-JONES, BELARDI, BELFANTI,
CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, CRAHALLA, CREIGHTON, CURRY, DALLY,
FRANKEL, GEIST, GEORGE, GRUCELA, HARHART, JAMES, KILLION,
LEACH, LEDERER, MACKERETH, MANDERINO, MUNDY, PETRARCA,
PHILLIPS, PISTELLA, READSHAW, REICHLEY, ROEBUCK, ROSS,
RUBLEY, SAINATO, SHANER, STABACK, E. Z. TAYLOR, THOMAS,
TIGUE, WALKO, YOUNGBLOOD AND YUDICHAK, APRIL 14, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH, APRIL 14, 2005
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Keystone Quality Certificate program for
2 certain child-care providers; and providing for the powers
3 and duties of the Department of Public Welfare.
4 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
5 (1) The development of children into healthy and
6 productive adults begins at birth with parents as the first
7 teachers. Achieving the healthy development of children
8 involves a partnership of parents, extended families,
9 communities and child-care programs.
10 (2) Nearly 2,000,000 children, from birth through 12
11 years of age, live in this Commonwealth, of which nearly
12 900,000 are five years of age or younger.
13 (3) As society changes, an increasing number of children
14 are enrolled in child-care programs. Children can spend as
15 many hours in these programs prior to entering kindergarten
16 as they spend in school from kindergarten through 12th grade.
1 The quality of the experience in these programs has a
2 significant impact on whether children enter school ready to
3 succeed and ready to learn, master the basics of reading and
4 math and get along well with their peers and teachers.
5 (4) For working parents who choose a child day-care
6 program for their children, job commitment and productivity
7 are enhanced when their children are enrolled in worry-free,
8 child-care settings that are known to provide a safe, quality
9 environment.
10 (5) The purpose of this act is to recognize that
11 enhancing and improving quality in child-care programs will
12 foster healthy child development and assist the Commonwealth
13 in securing the educational and economic future of its entire
14 population.
15 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
16 hereby enacts as follows:
17 Section 1. Short title.
18 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Keystone
19 Quality Child Care Act.
20 Section 2. Definitions.
21 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
22 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
23 context clearly indicates otherwise:
24 "Child day-care center." A premises in which child day care
25 is provided simultaneously for seven or more children who are
26 not related to the provider, regardless of which article of the
27 act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public
28 Welfare Code, applies.
29 "Department." The Department of Public Welfare of the
30 Commonwealth.
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1 "Family day-care home." A home in which child day care is
2 provided at any one time for four, five or six children who are
3 not relatives of the provider and which is required to be
4 registered under the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known
5 as the Public Welfare Code.
6 "Group child day-care home." The premises in which care is
7 provided at one time for:
8 (1) more than six but fewer than 16 older school-age
9 level children; or
10 (2) more than six but fewer than 13 children of another
11 age level who are unrelated to the operator.
12 The term includes a facility located in a residence or another
13 premises.
14 "Keystone Quality Certificate." The designation by the
15 Department of Public Welfare of a child-care provider that is
16 accredited by a recognized accrediting association.
17 "Recognized accrediting association." A national, regional
18 or State organization that has established an early childhood
19 accreditation program for the purpose of improving the quality
20 of child care through the use of research-based standards,
21 provided that accreditation program meets the following
22 criteria:
23 (1) Demonstrates fiscal and administrative capability
24 for administering an accreditation program.
25 (2) Establishes a program that has conducted a
26 sufficient number of post-pilot test accreditation visits.
27 (3) Contains a comprehensive self-evaluation that
28 includes parents, staff and program administrators and
29 promotes self-improvement.
30 (4) Contains onsite peer review validators with academic
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1 qualifications and formal training by the accreditation
2 group.
3 (5) Makes accreditation decisions with experts in the
4 field, after a review of all documentation and based on
5 standards and criteria established by the organization.
6 (6) Provides a maximum accreditation period of three
7 years with guidelines for a reaccreditation process and
8 annual reporting of improvements and other changes.
9 (7) Includes validators, training procedures and
10 instruments used in the process, which are evaluated for
11 reliability and validity on an ongoing basis.
12 (8) Includes administration policies and system
13 evaluation procedures that are in place to avoid conflicts of
14 interest and address issues such as deferred status,
15 withdrawal of accreditation, appeal processes and complaints.
16 (9) Includes program standards based on current research
17 about quality in child-care programs, which standards are
18 periodically reviewed and updated and must address the
19 following areas: staff qualifications, staff-child ratios and
20 group sizes, staff training and professional development,
21 administration, physical environment, health and safety,
22 nutrition and food service, parent/program relationship and
23 child development program.
24 "Secretary." The Secretary of Public Welfare of the
25 Commonwealth.
26 Section 3. Keystone Quality Certificate program.
27 (a) Keystone Quality Certificate designation by
28 department.--The department shall establish a procedure to
29 confer the Keystone Quality Certificate and shall identify
30 recognized accrediting associations for use in conferring the
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1 Keystone Quality Certificate and in implementing this act.
2 (b) Procedure.--
3 (1) An accrediting organization seeking to become a
4 recognized accrediting organization under this act shall make
5 application to the department for such designation in a
6 manner to be determined by the department.
7 (2) An accrediting association that has made application
8 to become a recognized accrediting association and has
9 received an adverse decision from the department shall have
10 the right to appeal that decision. All appeals shall be
11 governed by the general rules of administrative practice and
12 procedure for Commonwealth agencies.
13 (3) The Keystone Quality Certificate designation by the
14 department shall be provided to the Child-Care Information
15 Services agency or any successor agency that the department
16 uses to provide child-care information or resources and
17 referral services for parents, employers and the general
18 public. The Child-Care Information Services agency shall
19 provide the information about the Keystone Quality
20 Certificate designation of a child-care provider to parents,
21 employers and the general public.
22 (c) Promotion of designation.--The department shall promote
23 the Keystone Quality Certificate designation as an indicator of
24 quality in child care. The department shall encourage the Child-
25 Care Information Services agencies and county assistance offices
26 and any other relevant State governmental agencies or
27 contractors to promote the Keystone Quality Certificate
28 designation when providing information about child care.
29 (d) Additional designations.--The department may establish
30 additional quality standards and develop quality designations to
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1 be conferred on child-care programs that voluntarily meet those
2 standards.
3 Section 4. Funds to support quality improvements through
4 accreditation.
5 (a) General rule.--The department shall spend not less than
6 $2,000,000 of the annual federally required quality set-aside
7 for child care as required through the Child Care and
8 Development Fund, or it successor programs, in support of a
9 competitive grant program to child-care providers to assist them
10 in attaining or continuing the Keystone Quality Certificate
11 designation. Should additional Federal funds be made available
12 to support improvements in quality in child care, the department
13 shall also use such funds in accordance with this section.
14 (b) Qualifying child-care providers.--The designated funds
15 shall be used to assist child-care providers that are not
16 currently accredited by a recognized accrediting association to
17 become accredited in order to obtain the Keystone Quality
18 Certificate. The designated funds shall also be used to assist
19 child-care providers that are accredited by a recognized
20 accrediting association to maintain such accreditation.
21 (c) Use of funds.--Funds may be used to support the purchase
22 of equipment and supplies, as well as personnel, necessary to
23 meet or continue Keystone Quality Certificate standards. Funds
24 may also be used for making site improvements, provided that the
25 improvements are necessary to achieve or continue the Keystone
26 Quality Certificate designation. Funds shall be made available
27 by the department in such amounts as shall substantially assist
28 providers in achieving the Keystone Quality Certificate
29 designation.
30 (d) Technical assistance.--The department shall provide for
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1 technical assistance to assist child-care providers in attaining
2 accreditation by a recognized accrediting association or
3 continuing their accreditation status. The assistance may
4 include payments in support of mentor teachers and other
5 professionals to assist with the achievement of the Keystone
6 Quality Certificate designation.
7 (e) Applicability of program.--The Keystone Quality
8 Certificate program shall be available to child-care centers,
9 group day-care homes and family day-care homes that meet the
10 following conditions:
11 (1) Have signed agreements with a Child-Care Information
12 Services agency indicating a willingness to accept children
13 participating in the Commonwealth's subsidized child-care
14 program.
15 (2) Operate at least five and one-half hours per day, 12
16 months per year.
17 Section 5. Funds to support Keystone Quality Certificate
18 recipients.
19 (a) General rule.--The department shall provide additional
20 support and incentives to child-care programs with Keystone
21 Quality Certificate designations.
22 (b) Amount of funding.--
23 (1) For a child-care program whose average annual
24 enrollment of children receiving child-care subsidy through
25 the Child Care Works subsidized child-care program is equal
26 to or less than 10% upon initial attainment of the Keystone
27 Quality Certificate and upon reaccreditation by a recognized
28 accrediting association, the department shall provide that
29 Keystone Quality Certificate child-care provider with a bonus
30 payment of at least:
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1 (i) $1,500 for a family day-care home.
2 (ii) $2,400 for a group day-care home.
3 (iii) $5,000 for a child-care center with an average
4 enrollment between 13 and 25 children.
5 (iv) $15,000 for a child-care center with an average
6 enrollment between 26 and 99 children.
7 (v) $20,000 for a child-care center with an average
8 enrollment of 100 or more children.
9 The support is to be adjusted annually in accordance with the
10 Consumer Price Index.
11 (2) Child-care programs whose average annual enrollment
12 of children receiving child-care subsidy through the Child
13 Care Works subsidized child-care program is greater than 10%
14 shall receive an additional incentive payment per child equal
15 to 10% more than 100% of the market rate for child care in
16 each county of this Commonwealth, taking into account the age
17 of the child and the child-care setting. The department shall
18 determine the rate biannually and provider payment rates for
19 Keystone Quality Certificates shall be adjusted accordingly.
20 (3) A child-care program receiving a bonus pursuant to
21 paragraph (1) may be eligible for a rate supplement pursuant
22 to paragraph (2) beginning 12 months after the bonus payment
23 is made, provided the program meets the requirements of
24 paragraph (2) with respect to enrollment of subsidized
25 children.
26 (c) Expenditures.--The purpose of expenditures under this
27 section shall be to assist child-care providers to maintain
28 quality standards achieved through accreditation and to ensure
29 that high quality child-care services designated by the Keystone
30 Quality Certificate are accessible to low-income children.
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1 Section 6. Annual report to General Assembly.
2 The department shall submit an annual report to the General
3 Assembly on the department's activities under this act. The
4 report shall include, but not be limited to, the total number of
5 Keystone Quality Certificates granted, the total number and
6 dollar amount of program bonuses, the total number of children
7 served and the total number of subsidized children served. The
8 report shall provide information on each of the activities
9 supported through this act and the impact of each of the
10 activities on providers and children in this Commonwealth.
11 Section 7. Effective date.
12 This act shall take effect in 180 days.
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