AN ACT Relating to child care; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that demographic, economic, and social trends underlie an increased demand for child care services in the state of Washington. As this need increases, and traditional sources of support such as extended families and government aid are diminishing, there is an urgent need to improve the availability, affordability, and quality of child care services in the state.

It is the purpose of this act to establish a state child care policy and to foster a partnership between the public and private sectors to implement that policy.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state of Washington to:

(1) Maintain and support a variety of child care services;

(2) Recognize and support the primary role of the family in making child care decisions, and encourage parents to participate fully in all phases of planning for and providing of child care;

(3) Establish and enforce high standards for quality of service, training of child care providers, monitoring of facilities, and safety of children;

(4) Assure equal access to quality child care services to all families, regardless of income; and

(5) Promote broad community and private sector support for child care services, as part of a state commitment to families and children.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The social and health services committee of the house of representatives shall undertake an interim study in light of the policy statements set forth in sections 1 and 2 of this act and evaluate the following issues to determine the appropriate state role to be taken in child care services:

(1) The allocation of funds to nonprofit groups for the purpose of establishing local child care resource and referral centers and the establishment of eligibility guidelines for funding.

(2) The establishment of an office of child care advocacy within the department of commerce and economic development to advocate for quality child care in the state and to help foster a partnership of public and private interests in order to improve child care services.

(3) Requiring the state board of education to establish policy to use available school facilities, whenever feasible, for educational or recreational programs for school-age children of working parents during the hours before and after school.

(4) The establishment of a revolving loan fund for the purpose of providing loans to small businesses to defray start-up costs associated with providing child care facilities for employees as a pilot project under the administration of the director of commerce and economic development.

(5) Requiring all state agencies if constructing a new public building, doing major renovation on an existing building, or leasing a building, in which fifty or more state employees will work, to study the feasibility of and the potential demand for sufficient and appropriate areas for day care facilities.

(6) Requiring the department of personnel to undertake a study of potential costs and benefits of providing state employees flexible working arrangements and family-oriented leave policies. The study shall evaluate existing and proposed policies in order to determine how the state can become a model employer.

(7) Requiring the department of social and health services to undertake a study to evaluate the adequacy of financial assistance to low-income parents with child care needs.

(8) Requiring the superintendent of public instruction to:

(a) When requested, provide technical assistance to school districts which operate a program for assessments of students' readiness to attend school and to maintain a list of the assessment programs throughout the state and distribute the list to school districts without programs;

(b) Establish an office of early childhood education;

(c) Create a preschool advisory committee to review policy issues relating to providing quality preschool programs in the state; and

(d) Design and conduct a pilot program in ten half-day kindergarten classes and ten first grade classes to assess the impact of using instructional assistants to aid certificated personnel.

(9) The establishment of a preschool state education and assistance program as a voluntary enrichment program to help prepare some children to enter the common school system, including:

(a) Administration by the department of community development;

(b) State-funding for approved preschool programs;

(d) Adoption of rules under chapter 34.04 RCW;

(e) A report from the governor on the merits of continuing and expanding the preschool program or providing other means of providing early childhood development assistance; and

(f) Increasing the numbers of eligible children assisted by the federal or state-supported preschool programs by at least five thousand children, especially those "at risk."

(10) Requiring parent education programs in selecting child care providers and becoming more involved in their children's day care programs.

(11) Requiring child care/day care provider training aimed at improving the quality of day care in the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The committee shall report the results of the study to the legislature by January 1, 1986.