AN ACT Relating to child care licensing; creating new sections; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds:

(1) There is a growing need for quality child care. In Washington state forty-three percent of women with children under the age of six were in the paid work force in 1980. That percentage has already exceeded fifty percent and is expected to grow to fifty-seven percent by 1990. It is estimated that at present three hundred fifty-seven thousand Washington state children from infants to nine years have mothers in the labor force.

(2) Nearly all parents are working out of economic necessity.

(3) Quality care is critically related to the cost of care and to provider wages. Quality can best be assured through trained staff.

(4) The availability of quality, affordable child care is essential to achieving such goals as increased work force productivity, family self-sufficiency, and protection for children at risk due to poverty and abuse.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The legislature intends to:

(1) Protect child safety and well-being by developing an effective monitoring system for child care in Washington state;

(2) Encourage the development of new child care facilities;

(3) Assure that child care environments nurture and encourage children to develop to their full educational, emotional, and social potential.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. There shall be developed within the department of social and health services under the guidance of the secretary a task force to study and make recommendations to the legislature on child care registration and licensing including:

(1) The desirability of state responsibility and effective procedures for:

(a) Licensing and monitoring day care centers and day care homes;

(b) Registration of day care centers or day care homes using a risk assessment model for monitoring;

(2) The desirability and feasibility of establishing county authority and procedures for licensing and monitoring of day care centers and homes in conjunction with county "day care resource and referral" program efforts;

(3) The desirability and feasibility of encouraging the development of private nonprofit corporations to train day care providers and to license and monitor facilities;

(4) Measures needed to assure that child care environments nurture and encourage children to develop to their full educational, emotional, and social potential including but not limited to requirements and processes for the early childhood education training of all child care staff, including consideration of requiring child development associate certification that includes the following curriculum:

(a) Growth and development of children;

(b) Positive discipline techniques;

(d) Basic children's health and immunization information;

(5) Measures needed to expand immediately the existing number of safe, nurturing child care sites at the community level and procedures for implementing those measures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The task force shall consist of fifteen members with representation from:

(1) The department of social and health services;

(2) The department of community development;

(3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction;

(4) Day care providers: One each from state home and center day care providers associations and the Washington association for the education of young children;

(5) Parents;

(6) A representative from a higher education early childhood education training program;

(7) Private industry or business;

(8) Two each from the house of representatives and the senate, one from each caucus; and

(9) The population at large.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The task force shall present its recommendations to the appropriate house of representatives and senate committees by December 1, 1988, for legislative action. After making these recommendation the task force shall disband.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The sum of fifty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the purposes of this act.