AN ACT Relating to expanding the provision of trauma-informed child care; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

The legislature further finds that children with social, emotional, and behavioral differences may develop self-management and other life skills with the help of intervention and habilitative care. However, without effective behavior assessment and support, underlying trauma, disabilities, or other conditions may go unaddressed and lead to underdeveloped intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, including more extreme behavioral differences from their peers. Scientific research on developing brains has shown that earlier intervention is more effective for children who require additional support.

The legislature further finds that training on trauma-informed child care will help teachers and administrators better serve most children, however some children may need access to more intense care and treatment. Developing specialized care and interventions for very high needs children throughout our state is critical in ensuring that these children are ready to enter kindergarten.

Therefore, the legislature intends to direct the department of children, youth, and families to develop a ten-year strategy to expand training and awareness in trauma identification and positive behavior supports in early learning environments in order to improve outcomes for young children.

(a) Plans to deliver training to early learning providers and administrators in trauma-informed child care;

(b) Recommended changes to the early achievers program quality rating and improvement system to better rate and support providers serving high needs children;

(c) Plans for outreach to parents to expand awareness about the availability of trauma-informed child care;

(d) An analysis of all available federal, state, and local funding sources that may be used for funding elements of the ten-year strategy;

(e) Best practices for supporting family day care providers in the provision of trauma-informed child care;

(f) Recommended child care center staffing ratios, requirements for access to specialty providers, and subsidy rates for providers specializing in trauma-informed child care; and

(g) Systems for tracking expulsions from child care and methods to reduce expulsions by fifty percent over ten years.

(2) Advisory group members are selected by the department and must include:

(a) One or more child psychologists;

(b) A child care provider specializing in working with traumatized children;

(c) A child care provider specializing in working with children with developmental disabilities;

(d) An expert in research on adverse childhood experiences and its impact on child development;

(e) A child care provider who operates a facility in which a racially diverse group of children is served;

(f) An expert in racial diversity in education;

(g) A provider of the early childhood intervention and prevention services (ECLIPSE) program;

(h) A representative of a nonprofit entity that provides quality improvement services to participants in the early achievers program;

(i) A parent of a child with three or more adverse childhood experiences;

(j) A representative of a nonprofit organization with expertise in developing social-emotional curricula for early learning environments;

(k) A representative of a union representing child care providers;

(l) A nonunion representative of child care providers; and

(m) A representative from a statewide organization representing early childhood education and assistance program providers.

(3) The department must submit the ten-year strategy to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature in accordance with RCW 43.01.036 by November 1, 2018.

(4) For the purposes of this section, "trauma-informed child care" means child care in which providers:

(a) Recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma in children;

(b) Incorporate an understanding of both the impact of trauma and the potential paths for recovery; and

(c) Respond by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices while actively seeking to avoid retraumatization.

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