BILL REQ. #:  H-0987.1 

Read first time 01/19/2007.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & Children's Services.

     AN ACT Relating to consultation services for early learning and child care programs; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds there is compelling evidence demonstrating that infants and young children who experience high-quality early care and learning environments exhibit more school readiness skills upon entering the school, including better language skills, more advanced cognitive development, and greater abilities to regulate their behavior. These outcomes are inextricably linked to a child's overall success in school and beyond. The legislature also finds that an increasing number of children in early childhood settings are presenting with significant social, emotional, or behavioral concerns. When caregivers lack adequate support or training to appropriately respond to such behaviors, the result is often that these children are expelled, and thus they experience little or no stability or continuity in their early care and learning experiences. The legislature further finds that social, behavioral, and emotional health are critical components of a child's readiness for school, and when not adequately addressed, these issues can create the potential of significant and lifelong negative consequences. The legislature finds that providing consultation services to early care and learning settings can provide information, education, and support for caregivers and parents to enable them to work more effectively with children presenting challenging or concerning behaviors. The legislature intends to promote the integration of consultation services into early care and learning settings as a means of ensuring school readiness for more children.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The growing skills for kids pilot program is established. The pilot program shall be administered by the department of early learning and shall promote the integration into early care and learning settings of research-based and promising practices for responding to infants and young children with challenging behaviors. The integration of research-based and promising practices shall be done using a collaborative approach to supporting children and their families.
     (2) The pilot program shall consist of at least two communities selected by the department of early learning on the basis of need as determined by:
     (a) The relative availability or unavailability of comparable consultation services locally; and
     (b) The risk factors present in the community, including but not limited to elevated rates of expulsion from early care and learning programs and the prevalence in the community of poverty, homelessness, uninsured families or children, child abuse or neglect, parental mental illness or chemical dependency, adolescent parents, or violence.
     (3) Funding shall be contracted to a local child care resource and referral network, public health department, or other community-based agency with knowledge or expertise in infant and child development and early care and learning programs. Contracted agencies shall be responsible for:
     (a) Coordinating with the community to develop a program model consistent with the legislative intent in section 1 of this act and the description of program structure in subsection (4) of this section;
     (b) Hiring consultants with expertise who are knowledgeable in infant and early childhood development;
     (c) Supervising the work of consultants;
     (d) Responding to requests for consultation services from early care and learning providers, including licensed family home providers;
     (e) Maintaining information required for evaluation of program outcomes;
     (f) Managing funds;
     (g) Promoting equitable access to consultation services for early care and learning providers in the community; and
     (h) Reporting to the department of early learning, which shall brief the appropriate committees of the legislature.
     (4) The pilot program shall provide a structure for consultants to:
     (a) Consult with caregivers on-site or with case management teams around addressing specific needs related to an individual child or family;
     (b) Observe children in early care and learning settings to assess functioning relationships with peers and caregivers and the appropriateness of the setting and program for meeting the child's needs;
     (c) Meet with parents on-site or at home to exchange information and offer developmental guidance and referrals, including but not limited to referrals to clinical and other services for families and children;
     (d) Provide support and guidance to child care staff through structured opportunities for training, team building, communication, and problem solving that is person-centered and strengths-based; and
     (e) Coordinate with specialists in public health, infant and toddler early intervention, children's behavioral and emotional health, and others with knowledge and expertise in the care and well-being of young children.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act may be known and cited as the growing skills for kids act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   Sections 1 through 3 of this act expire July 1, 2011.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2007, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.