AN ACT Relating to child care; adding new sections to chapter 43.63A RCW; and making appropriations.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:

(1) The demographics of the workforce in Washington state are changing and include increasing numbers of parents with young children;

(2) The state has a strong interest in the quality and availability of child care received by children;

(3) It is in the state's best interest to assist in the formation of a positive image of child care through public education, consumer education, and business education;

(4) Employers and employees benefit from the existence of adequate quality child care for the use of the labor force;

(5) Information and referral and employer resource systems can disseminate information to assist creation of and access to child care to the benefit of parents and business throughout the state; and

(6) Responsive information, referral, and employer resource systems should be created in communities with the assistance of a state child care resources office.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Sections 1 through 5 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the child care resources act of 1987.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. There is created an office of child care resources within the department of community development. The office shall operate under the authority of the director of community development. The office of child care resources shall be administered by a director appointed by the director of community development.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The office of child care resources shall:

(1) Administer funding of available grants to local governments, private industry, and community-based nonprofit corporations for the purpose of:

(a) Creating and operating child care information and referral systems; and

(b) Creating and conducting a business outreach program to assess and fulfill the child care needs of businesses and families.

(2) Create a state-wide child care referral data bank and provide information to local information and referral systems about all licensed child care providers in the state. The data bank shall include information about the existence of providers by locality and the status of the providers' licenses, including whether the license has been issued, denied, revoked, or suspended or whether a letter of intent to deny, suspend, or revoke has been issued by the department of social and health services. The department of social and health services shall make such information readily available to the office of child care resources.

(3) Coordinate the provision of training and technical assistance to child care providers.

(4) Collect, develop, and disseminate information to assist employers and to foster a public-private partnership to increase and improve available child care.

(5) Collect information and investigate the practicality of creating child care insurance risk pools, and the availability of federal risk insurance benefits for child care.

(6) Actively seek, where consistent with the policies and programs of the department, and shall make maximum use of, such private funds as are or may be made available to the department for the purpose of supporting day care information and referral and business assistance clearinghouse programs.

(7) Collect and assemble information regarding the availability of federal and other child-care funding to assist the department of social and health services, industry, and other providers in offering child care related services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The director of community development shall report by December 1 of each year to the legislature and the governor on the activities of the office of child care resources regarding: (1) The availability, quality, and affordability of child care in the state of Washington; (2) services rendered in accordance with section 4 of this act; (3) the office fee schedule and budget; and (4) the schedule of priorities for rendering services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Sections 1 through 5 of this act are each added to chapter 43.63A RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) Forty-eight thousand five hundred dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the department of community development for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund for operation of the office of child care resources.

(2) Seventy thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the department of community development for distribution as grants to be used in accordance with section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.