AN ACT Relating to encouraging employer involvement in child care facilities development and services; adding new sections to chapter 43.63A RCW; creating new sections; making an appropriation; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that increasing the availability and affordability of quality child care will enhance the stability of the family and facilitate expanded economic prosperity in the state. The legislature finds that balancing work and family life is a critical concern for employers and employees. The dramatic increase in participation of women in the work force has resulted in a demand for affordable child care exceeding the supply. The future of the state's work force depends in part upon the availability of quality affordable child care. There are not enough child care services and facilities to meet the needs of working parents, the costs of care are often beyond the resources of working parents, and facilities are not located conveniently to work places and neighborhoods. The prospect for labor shortages resulting from the aging of the population and the importance of the quality of the work force to the competitiveness of Washington businesses make the availability of quality child care an important concern for the state's businesses.

The legislature further finds that a partnership between business and child care providers can help the market for child care adjust to the needs of businesses and working families and improve productivity, reduce absenteeism, improve recruitment, and improve morale among Washington's labor force. The legislature further finds that private and public partnerships and investments are necessary to increase the supply, affordability, and quality of child care in the state. CHILD CARE PARTNERSHIP.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 2 through 10 of this act.

(1) "Department" means the department of community development.

(2) "Director" means the director of the department of community development.

(3) "Fund" means the child care expansion grant fund.

(4) "Partnership" means the Washington state child care partnership.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The Washington state child care partnership is established within the department to increase employer assistance and involvement in child care, and foster cooperation between business and government to improve the availability, quality, and affordability of child care services in the state.

(1) The partnership shall have nine members. The director shall appoint the members, who shall include:

(a) One representative of family home child care providers;

(b) One representative of center care providers;

(d) One early childhood development expert;

(e) One representative of a philanthropic entity;

(f) One representative of a labor organization; and

(g) One representative each of businesses with one through fifty employees, fifty-one through two hundred employees, and more than two hundred employees.

In making these appointments, the director shall give careful consideration to ensure that the various geographic regions of the state are represented and that members will be available for meetings and are committed to working cooperatively to address employer-assisted child care needs in Washington state.

(2) The partnership shall elect officers from among its membership and shall adopt policies and procedures specifying the lengths of terms, methods for filling vacancies, and other matters necessary to the ongoing functioning of the partnership. The director shall appoint a temporary chair until the partnership has adopted policies and elected a chair accordingly.

(3) Partnership members shall serve without compensation, but may request reimbursement for travel expenses as provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

(4) Partnership members shall not be liable to the state, to the fund, or to any other person as a result of their activities, whether ministerial or discretionary, as members except for willful dishonesty or intentional violations of the law. The department may purchase liability insurance for members and may indemnify these persons against the claims of others.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The partnership shall, to the extent possible within available funds:

(1) Review public and private child care programs with the purpose of enhancing communication and coordination among business, labor, public agencies, and child care providers in order to encourage employers to develop and implement child care for their employees;

(2) Evaluate alternative child care service systems, in the context of the policies set forth in RCW 74.13.085, and recommend to the legislature ways to encourage and enhance employer-assisted child care services in the state;

(3) Evaluate the impact of workplace personnel practices and policies, including flexible work schedules, on the ability of parents to access or provide care for their children, and make recommendations to employers and the legislature in this regard;

(4) Review regulations regarding child care facilities and services for the purpose of identifying those which unnecessarily obstruct the provision of employee-assisted child care in the state, and make recommendations to the legislature in this regard.

(5) Work to enhance the quantity, quality, and variety of child care programs in the state, including improving these programs' compliance with prerequisites for federal funding;

(6) Assist the business assistance center in dissemination of information to the business community on employer-assisted child care options as described under section 9 of this act; and

(7) Administer the child care expansion grant fund as described in section 5 of this act. CHILD CARE EXPANSION GRANT FUND.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A child care expansion grant fund is created and shall be administered by the partnership with the review of the director. Money in the fund shall be used solely for the purpose of starting or improving a child care facility pursuant to sections 2 through 10 of this act. Money may be deposited from private and public sources into this fund.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The partnership is authorized to solicit applications for and award grants and loans from the fund to assist persons, businesses, or organizations to start a licensed child care facility, or to make capital improvements in an existing licensed child care facility. Grants and loans shall be awarded on a one- time only basis, shall not be awarded to cover operating expenses beyond the first three months of business, and no grant or loan shall exceed twenty-five thousand dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The partnership shall award grants or loans to those persons, businesses, or organizations meeting the minimum standards set forth in this chapter who will best serve the intent of the chapter to increase the availability of high quality, affordable child care in Washington state. The partnership shall promulgate rules regarding the application for and disbursement of grants and loans from the fund. Such rules shall require an applicant to submit a plan which includes, at a minimum a detailed description of:

(1) The need for a new or improved child care facility in the area served by the applicant, including the needs of any special populations;

(2) Why financial assistance is needed to start or improve the child care facility;

(3) How the grant or loan will be used, and how such uses will meet the described need;

(4) The child care services to be available at the facility and the capacity of the applicant to provide those services; and

(5) Other resources available to the applicant which will ensure the continued viability of the facility and the availability of its described services.

Recipients shall annually for two years following the receipt of the grant or loan, submit to the partnership a report on the facility and how it is meeting the child care needs for which it was intended.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The department:

(1) May, subject to any limitations otherwise imposed by law, receive and accept for and in the name of the state any funds which may be offered or become available from federal grants or appropriations, private gifts, donations, or bequests, or any other source, and may expend such funds, subject to any limitations otherwise provided by law, for the benefit of the child care partnership; and

(2) Shall provide adequate and appropriate staff, technical assistance, and other support to the partnership, maintain a record of partnership proceedings, and work to promote applications to the partnership for grants and loans.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The business assistance center of the department of trade and economic development shall, through an interagency agreement with the department, and with the advice of the partnership:

(1) Collect and distribute current research and information on child care options for employers, including information on the existence, responsibilities, and capabilities of the partnership. As much as possible, and through interagency agreements where appropriate, information should be included in routine communications to employers from: (a) The department of revenue, (b) the department of labor and industries, (c) the employment security department, (d) the department of trade and economic development, (e) the small business development center, and (f) the department of social and health services;

(2) Facilitate technical assistance to enable employers to develop and support child care services or facilities. Such technical assistance shall include, but is not limited to:

(a) Assessment of the child care needs of employees;

(b) Review of options available to employers interested in increasing access to child care for their employees, giving consideration to:

(i) Workplace personnel practices and policies, including flexible work schedules;

(ii) Alternative child care service systems; and

(iii) Contributions an employer may make to the recruiting and training of child care providers;

(c) Development of techniques to permit smaller businesses to increase access to child care for their employees in a cost-effective manner;

(d) Evaluation of the impact of child care activities on the employer;

(e) Compilation of a list of firms and individuals with expertise in the field of employer-assisted child care; and

(3) Provide assistance to community-based child care resource and referral programs to increase their capacity to provide technical assistance to employers in their community.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The department shall biennially report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature on the progress and status of the partnership, including the activities of the business assistance center under this chapter. The report shall include sufficient data to evaluate the impact of the program, including, but not limited to, a summary of the annual reports submitted by those receiving child care expansion grants.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) The sum of one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, from the general fund to the department of community development for the purposes of sections 3, 4, and 9 of this act.

(2) The sum of one million dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, from the child care expansion grant fund to the department of community development for the purposes of sections 5, 6, and 7 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections 2 through 10 of this act are each added to chapter 43.63A RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Section headings as used in this act do not constitute any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.