BILL REQ. #:  S-1558.1 

Read first time 02/12/09.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

     AN ACT Relating to licensed child care; and amending RCW 43.215.205.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 43.215.205 and 2007 c 415 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Applications for licensure shall require, at a minimum, the following information:
     (((1))) (a) The size and suitability of a facility and the plan of operation for carrying out the purpose for which an applicant seeks a license;
     (((2))) (b) The character, suitability, and competence of an agency and other persons associated with an agency directly responsible for the care of children;
     (((3))) (c) The number of qualified persons required to render the type of care for which an agency seeks a license;
     (((4))) (d) The health, safety, cleanliness, and general adequacy of the premises to provide for the comfort, care, and well-being of children;
     (((5))) (e) The provision of necessary care and early learning, including food, supervision, and discipline; physical, mental, and social well-being; and educational and recreational opportunities for those served;
     (((6))) (f) The financial ability of an agency to comply with minimum requirements established under this chapter; and
     (((7))) (g) The maintenance of records pertaining to the care of children.
     (2) The intent of the legislature is to improve the health, safety, learning, and well-being of the child in Washington state licensed child care by:
     (a) Establishing preservice training and education requirements in the child care industry for persons applying to be granted a child care license in family home child care, center child care, and/or school age program child care;
     (b) Giving support and resources to the more than ten thousand child care businesses in Washington state, many of which are established without previous business experience;
     (c) Establishing preservice training requirements for child care center owners, child care center directors, school age program directors, other program supervisors and/or managers, and licensed family child care providers who will improve management and personnel practices and enhance their chances of having a successful business that provides a safe and positive environment for children;
     (d) Having owners, directors, program managers, and program supervisors who are highly trained in the provision of quality child care and who improve the child care profession; and providing that those with decision-making power have the highest of levels of training and competency;
     (e) Understanding that a statistically significant link exists between a child's receipt of high quality care from adults, especially in a child's early years, and avoidance of risk factors associated with social and educational failure;
     (f) Understanding that a statistically significant link exists between a child's receipt of high quality care from adults and avoidance of risk factors associated with injury, disability, and death;
     (g) Acknowledging and using important small business resources in Washington state such as the small business administration, SCORE counselors to America's small businesses chapters, and other small business resources;
     (h) Defining preservice training as completing and having certification and/or documentation for the following requirements:
     (i) Attending a six-hour orientation class given by the department, including but not limited to training on the public disclosure law, on the criminal history search and on the state's computer systems that hold character, competence, and suitability data used by the department to assess whether to approve applicants to be licensed or others associated with the license to be in contact with and work with children; and how applicants can access that information in order to prepare their business plans;
     (ii) Training on and completion of a business plan using the small business association, SCORE counselors to America's small businesses chapters, or other small business resources; requiring a letter of confirmation that the business plan was completed at the time the application is submitted to the department, but not making it a requirement for the business plan to be submitted because it is an assessment tool for the applicant to decide whether setting up a child care business is feasible for them and/or their families (in the case of home care);
     (iii) Adult/child/infant CPR card;
     (iv) Basic standard first aid card;
     (v) Food handler's card;
     (vi) HIV/AIDS training card;
     (vii) Bloodborne pathogens training card;
     (viii) Safety hazards identification in child care facilities training;
     (ix) Tuberculosis testing and clearance to work around children;
     (x) Poison control training;
     (xi) Sewage, water, lead, blind cords, water hazards, toxic hazards, choking hazards, and soil safety training;
     (xii) Fire safety and fire drill training;
     (xiii) A class of a minimum of two hours in child abuse mandatory reporting law;
     (xiv) Nutritional training;
     (xv) Review and study of chapter 43.215 RCW and chapters 170-295, 170-296, and 170-151 WAC; and
     (xvi) Forty hours of early childhood education, with twenty of those hours to interface with and join the following subject matter together:
     (A) Setting up the physical learning and play environments indoors and outdoors at the facility;
     (B) Learning and play materials for indoor and outdoor learning;
     (C) Identification of the individual characteristics of children from birth through twelve years old, including child development, social/emotional development, intellectual development, and the acquisition of meaningful and useful academic skills;
     (D) Learning the newest early childhood education theories of constructivist versus instructivist, and what that means for children and those teaching children;
     (E) Learning the history and concepts of how one learns to read;
     (F) Guidance tools, knowledge, and techniques that are kind and supportive within a comforting structure of routines, and play for children in care from birth through age twelve years old; and
     (G) Supervision of children and the reduction of injury in child care settings training.
     (i) Having applicants submit their names, addresses, phone numbers, and if applicable, the web site of the trainers for the requirement in (h)(xv) of this subsection, which will enable the state through research means to track the quality of training that is given and make changes as required to meet the goal of improving child care;
     (j) Having owners, directors, program managers, and program supervisors who are highly trained in the provision of quality child care by completing (h)(i) thru (h)(xv) of this subsection will improve the child care profession; that those with decision-making power have the highest of levels of training and competency in order to train and guide the staff they hire for their facilities;
     (k) Having owners, directors, program managers, supervisors, and family home child care providers complete preservice requirements prior to issuance of the license;
     (l) Having child care staff complete training requirements in (h)(iii) through (h)(xv) of this subsection; that with child care owners, directors, program managers, and supervisors having received the training, their own on-site training can be started immediately when new staff start; documentation will be kept on the training of their staff;
     (m) Owners, directors, managers, supervisors, and family home providers having a checklist for new employees to fill out as to their present level of training areas; and having a plan made to complete the requirements in (h)(iii) through (h)(xv) of this subsection, but no longer than three months from the start date; with training on supervision, safety hazard identification, behavior guidance, and child development characteristics that tie into behavior guidance be done in the first week of employment; that the training on child guidance be through role modeling by educated and experienced staff; and
     (n) Having child care owners, directors, program managers, supervisors, and caregiver staff conduct a yearly review of what training made an improvement in the child care program and to identify the areas that training is needed, which will then be reported back to the department to further find resources or ideas to continue the improvement of child care in Washington state.