| Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research |
BILL ANALYSIS |
| Early Learning & Children's Services Committee | |
HB 1465
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in
their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a
statement of legislative intent.
Brief Description: Establishing a pilot program to provide consultation services for early learning and child care programs.
Sponsors: Representatives Roberts, Haler, Pettigrew, McDonald, Appleton, Darneille, McIntire, Kagi, P. Sullivan, Walsh, Green, Schual-Berke, Dickerson, Ormsby, Haigh, Morrell, Hasegawa and Lantz.
Brief Summary of Bill |
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Hearing Date: 2/2/07
Staff: Chris Alejano (786-7115).
Background:
A 2005 study conducted by Yale University found that three and four-year olds are expelled from
pre-school programs at more than three times the rate school-age children are expelled from
school. The most common cause of expulsion was aggression toward other children. The Yale
study also found that in classrooms where teachers had no access to a psychologist or
psychiatrist, students were expelled about twice as frequently. Researchers concluded that the
likelihood of expulsion decreases significantly with access to classroom-based behavioral
consultants that provide teachers with assistance in behavior management.
The aim of early childhood consultation programs is to build capacity of staff, families, programs
and systems to prevent, identify, treat, and reduce the impact of behavioral problems among
children from birth to age 6 and their families. Programs that have used consultation services
have shown improvement in a variety of areas, including teacher self-efficacy; teacher
understanding of child development and ability to manage difficult behavior; staff ability to work
effectively with parents; general quality of care; and children's social and emotional behavior.
Summary of Bill:
A pilot program which will be called the Growing Skills for Kids pilot program is established.
The program will be administered by the Department of Early Learning (DEL) for the purpose of
integrating into early care and learning settings research-based and promising consultation
service practices for responding to infants and young children with challenging behaviors. The
pilot program will be implemented in at least two communities selected by the DEL based on the
availability or unavailability of comparable consultation and risk factors in the community.
The DEL shall contract with a local child care resource and referral network, public health
department, or other community-based agency with knowledge or expertise in infant and child
development. Contracted agencies are responsible for coordinating with the community to
develop a program model and build a structure for consultation services to occur.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.