BILL REQ. #:  H-1198.1 

Read first time 02/06/13.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & Human Services.

     AN ACT Relating to expanding and streamlining early learning services and programs; amending RCW 43.215.100, 43.215.430, and 43.215.545; reenacting and amending RCW 43.215.020 and 43.215.405; adding new sections to chapter 43.215 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 43.215 RCW to read as follows:
     The legislature finds that the first five years of a child's life establish the foundation for educational success. The legislature also finds that children who have high quality early learning opportunities from birth through age five are more likely to succeed throughout their K-12 education and beyond. The legislature further finds that the benefits of high quality early learning experiences are particularly significant for low-income parents and children, and provide an opportunity to narrow the opportunity gap in Washington's K-12 educational system. The legislature understands that early supports for high-risk parents of young children through home visiting services show a high return on investment due to significantly improved chances of better education, health, and life outcomes for children. The legislature further recognizes that, when parents work or go to school, high quality and full-day early learning opportunities should be available and accessible for their children. In order to improve education outcomes, particularly for low-income children, the legislature is committed to expanding high quality early learning opportunities and integrating currently disparate funding streams for all birth-to-five services including, working connections child care and the early childhood education program, into a single high quality continuum of learning that provides essential services to low-income families and prepares all enrolled children for success in school. The legislature therefore intends to establish the early start program to provide a continuum of high quality early learning opportunities for Washington's parents and children.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1)(a) A legislative task force on early learning is established, with members as provided in this subsection.
     (i) The president of the senate shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate.
     (ii) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives.
     (iii) The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall jointly appoint:
     (A) One member representing the early learning action alliance;
     (B) One member representing the Washington state association of head start and early childhood education assistance program;
     (C) One member from an educational service district;
     (D) One member representing thrive by five;
     (E) One member from the birth-to-three community;
     (F) One member representing a Washington state child care resource and referral program;
     (G) One member who is a child care center provider;
     (H) One member who is a family child care provider; and
     (I) One member who is a parent who is utilizing a state-funded early learning program.
     (iv) The governor shall appoint one representative from the department of social and health services and the department of early learning.
     (b) The task force shall choose its chair from among its membership. The chair of the house of representatives early learning and human services committee shall convene the initial meeting of the task force.
     (2) The task force shall complete the following objectives:
     (a) Review the existing funding sources, program goals, and restrictions associated with different funding streams for early learning programs and services as identified by the technical working group;
     (b) Identify areas of alignment and conflicts in restrictions and eligibility requirements associated with early learning funding and services;
     (c) Develop step-by-step recommendations to create an accessible, integrated, high quality, and community-based early learning program for children ages birth-to-five and their families. Reform efforts must include the following components:
     (i) Full-day and half-day learning opportunities for children;
     (ii) A variety of mixed settings for service delivery;
     (iii) Diverse provider composition; and
     (iv) A single point of entry for families wanting early learning services.
     (3)(a) The task force shall direct a technical working group to:
     (i) Review federal and state early education funding streams;
     (ii) Develop technical options for establishing common eligibility levels for child care and preschool;
     (iii) Examine the feasibility and impact of transferring working connections child care eligibility processes from the department of social and health services to the department of early learning;
     (iv) Develop technical options for system designs that blend and braid disparate federal and state funding streams into a single program, including the option of applying for waivers from existing federal requirements; and
     (v) Present findings and options to the task force.
     (b) At a minimum, the technical working group must be composed of financial and policy staff from the department of social and health services and the department of early learning. Legislative staff may provide technical support as needed to the technical working group, at the request of the task force.
     (4) Staff support for the task force must be provided by the senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research, with assistance from the department of social and health services and the department of early learning.
     (5) Nonlegislative members, except those representing an employer or organization, are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (6) The expenses of the task force must be paid jointly by the senate and the house of representatives. Task force expenditures are subject to approval by the senate facilities and operations committee and the house of representatives executive rules committee, or their successor committees.
     (7) The task force shall report its findings and recommendations to the early learning and human services committees of the legislature by December 1, 2013.
     (8) This section expires December 31, 2013.

Sec. 3   RCW 43.215.020 and 2010 c 233 s 1, 2010 c 232 s 2, and 2010 c 231 s 6 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department of early learning is created as an executive branch agency. The department is vested with all powers and duties transferred to it under this chapter and such other powers and duties as may be authorized by law.
     (2) The primary duties of the department are to implement state early learning policy and to coordinate, consolidate, and integrate child care and early learning programs in order to administer programs and funding as efficiently as possible. The department's duties include, but are not limited to, the following:
     (a) To support both public and private sectors toward a comprehensive and collaborative system of early learning that serves parents, children, and providers and to encourage best practices in child care and early learning programs;
     (b) To make early learning resources available to parents and caregivers;
     (c) To carry out activities, including providing clear and easily accessible information about quality and improving the quality of early learning opportunities for young children, in cooperation with the nongovernmental private-public partnership;
     (d) To administer child care and early learning programs;
     (e) To annually review rates for child care and early childhood education and assistance programs and recommend rates to the legislature based on market rates and the annual rate of inflation;
     (f) To serve as the state lead agency for Part C of the federal individuals with disabilities education act (IDEA);
     (((f))) (g) To standardize internal financial audits, oversight visits, performance benchmarks, and licensing criteria, so that programs can function in an integrated fashion;
     (((g))) (h) To support the implementation of the nongovernmental private-public partnership and cooperate with that partnership in pursuing its goals including providing data and support necessary for the successful work of the partnership;
     (((h))) (i) To work cooperatively and in coordination with the early learning council;
     (((i))) (j) To collaborate with the K-12 school system at the state and local levels to ensure appropriate connections and smooth transitions between early learning and K-12 programs;
     (((j))) (k) To develop and adopt rules for administration of the program of early learning established in RCW 43.215.141;
     (((k))) (l) To develop a comprehensive birth-to-three plan to provide education and support through a continuum of options including, but not limited to, services such as: Home visiting; quality incentives for infant and toddler child care subsidies; quality improvements for family home and center-based child care programs serving infants and toddlers; professional development; early literacy programs; and informal supports for family, friend, and neighbor caregivers; and
     (((l))) (m) Upon the development of an early learning information system, to make available to parents timely inspection and licensing action information through the internet and other means.
     (3) Beginning in fiscal year 2014, the legislature shall appropriate funding for the specific purpose of home visiting and parent and caregiver support. The department must reserve at least eighty percent of the new funds for home visiting services and up to twenty percent of the new funds for other parent or caregiver support.
     (4) Beginning in fiscal year 2014, the legislature shall fund the expansion in the early childhood education and assistance program and working connections child care.
     (5) The department's programs shall be designed in a way that respects and preserves the ability of parents and legal guardians to direct the education, development, and upbringing of their children, and that recognizes and honors cultural and linguistic diversity. The department shall include parents and legal guardians in the development of policies and program decisions affecting their children.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 43.215 RCW to read as follows:
     Funds distributed to the general fund pursuant to RCW 69.50.540 must be utilized to phase in an integrated high quality continuum of early learning program, called early start, for children birth-to-five years of age. Components of early start include, but are not limited to, the following:
     (1) Home visiting and parent education and support programs;
     (2) The early achievers program described in RCW 43.215.100;
     (3) Integrated full-day, high quality early learning programs; and
     (4) High quality preschool for children whose family income is at or below one hundred thirty percent of the federal poverty level.

Sec. 5   RCW 43.215.100 and 2007 c 394 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department, in collaboration with community and statewide partners, shall implement a voluntary quality rating and improvement system, called the early achievers program, that is applicable to licensed or certified child care centers and homes and early education programs.
     (2) The purpose of the ((voluntary quality rating and improvement system)) early achievers program is: (a) To give parents clear and easily accessible information about the quality of child care and early education programs, support improvement in early learning programs throughout the state, increase the readiness of children for school, and close the disparity in access to quality care; and (b) to establish a common set of expectations and standards that define, measure, and improve the quality of early learning settings.
     (3) Participation in the early achievers program is voluntary for licensed or certified child care centers and homes.
     (4) By fiscal year 2014, early childhood education and assistance programs receiving state funds must enroll in the early achievers program and maintain a minimum score level.
     (5) Child care providers who participate in the early achievers program and maintain levels 2, 3, 4, or 5 are eligible to apply for contracted early learning slots.
     (6) Before final implementation of the ((voluntary quality rating and improvement system)) early achievers program, the department shall report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature. Nothing in this section changes the department's responsibility to collectively bargain over mandatory subjects.

Sec. 6   RCW 43.215.405 and 2010 c 231 s 7 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout RCW 43.215.400 through 43.215.450 and 43.215.900 through 43.215.903.
     (1) "Advisory committee" means the advisory committee under RCW 43.215.420.
     (2) "Approved programs" means those state-supported education and special assistance programs which are recognized by the department as meeting the minimum program rules adopted by the department to qualify under RCW 43.215.400 through 43.215.450 and 43.215.900 through 43.215.903 and are designated as eligible for funding by the department under RCW 43.215.430 and 43.215.440.
     (3) "Comprehensive" means an assistance program that focuses on the needs of the child and includes education, health, and family support services.
     (4) "Department" means the department of early learning.
     (5) "Eligible child" means a child not eligible for kindergarten whose family income is at or below one hundred ((ten)) thirty percent of the federal poverty level, as published annually by the federal department of health and human services, and includes a child whose family is eligible for public assistance, and who is not a participant in a federal or state program providing comprehensive services; a child eligible for special education due to disability under RCW 28A.155.020; and may include children who are eligible under rules adopted by the department if the number of such children equals not more than ten percent of the total enrollment in the early childhood program. Priority for enrollment shall be given to children from families with the lowest income, children in foster care, or to eligible children from families with multiple needs.
     (6) "Family support services" means providing opportunities for parents to:
     (a) Actively participate in their child's early childhood program;
     (b) Increase their knowledge of child development and parenting skills;
     (c) Further their education and training;
     (d) Increase their ability to use needed services in the community;
     (e) Increase their self-reliance.

Sec. 7   RCW 43.215.430 and 1994 c 166 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall review applications from public or private nonsectarian organizations for state funding of early childhood education and assistance programs ((and award funds as determined by department rules and based on)). The department shall consider local community needs and demonstrated capacity to provide services when reviewing applications.
     (2) The department shall increase the base slot rate for early childhood education and assistance programs to align with the Washington head start program slot rate.
     (3) Beginning in fiscal year 2014, new funding appropriated to the state program for the purposes of expanding early childhood education and assistance programs must be distributed through a competitive bidding process. New early childhood education and assistance programs meeting the following requirements must be prioritized for funding:
     (a) Programs offering an integrated full-day early learning program for children birth-to-five years of age;
     (b) Programs which have created partnerships with elementary schools and that offer transitional planning and support to children as they advance to kindergarten.

Sec. 8   RCW 43.215.545 and 2006 c 265 s 204 are each amended to read as follows:
     The department of early learning shall:
     (1) Work in conjunction with the statewide child care resource and referral network as well as local governments, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and community child care advocates to create local child care resource and referral organizations. These organizations may carry out needs assessments, resource development, provider training, technical assistance, and parent information and training;
     (2) Actively seek public and private money for distribution as grants to the statewide child care resource and referral network and to existing or potential local child care resource and referral organizations;
     (3) Adopt rules regarding the application for and distribution of grants to local child care resource and referral organizations. The rules shall, at a minimum, require an applicant to submit a plan for achieving the following objectives:
     (a) Provide parents with information about child care resources, including location of services and subsidies;
     (b) Carry out child care provider recruitment and training programs, including training under RCW 74.25.040;
     (c) Offer support services, such as parent and provider seminars, toy-lending libraries, and substitute banks;
     (d) Provide information for businesses regarding child care supply and demand;
     (e) Advocate for increased public and private sector resources devoted to child care;
     (f) Provide technical assistance to employers regarding employee child care services; and
     (g) Serve recipients of temporary assistance for needy families and working parents with incomes at or below household incomes of ((one)) two hundred ((seventy-five)) percent of the federal poverty line;
     (4) Provide staff support and technical assistance to the statewide child care resource and referral network and local child care resource and referral organizations;
     (5) Maintain a statewide child care licensing data bank and work with department licensors to provide information to local child care resource and referral organizations about licensed child care providers in the state;
     (6) Through the statewide child care resource and referral network and local resource and referral organizations, compile data about local child care needs and availability for future planning and development;
     (7) Coordinate with the statewide child care resource and referral network and local child care resource and referral organizations for the provision of training and technical assistance to child care providers; ((and))
     (8) Collect and assemble information regarding the availability of insurance and of federal and other child care funding to assist state and local agencies, businesses, and other child care providers in offering child care services;
     (9) Beginning in January 2014, increase the base rate for all child care providers by five percent;
     (10) Provide tiered subsidy rate enhancements to child care providers who meet quality rating and improvement system levels 2, 3, 4, or 5; and
     (11) Require exempt providers to participate in continuing education.