HOUSE BILL REPORT

SB 6507

As Reported by House Committee On:

Human Services & Early Learning

Title: An act relating to improving legislative reporting requirements for certain department of children, youth, and families programs.

Brief Description: Concerning legislative reporting requirements for certain department of children, youth, and families programs.

Sponsors: Senators Nguyen, Darneille and Wilson, C.; by request of Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Human Services & Early Learning: 2/21/20, 2/27/20 [DP].

Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 7 members: Representatives Senn, Chair; Callan, Vice Chair; Frame, Vice Chair; Goodman, Kilduff, Lovick and Ortiz-Self.

Minority Report: Do not pass. Signed by 4 members: Representatives Dent, Ranking Minority Member; Eslick, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; McCaslin, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Klippert.

Minority Report: Without recommendation. Signed by 2 members: Representatives Corry and Griffey.

Staff: Dawn Eychaner (786-7135).

Background:

Outcome Measures Reporting.The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) must report annually to the Legislature on outcome measures related to:

• improving child development and school readiness;

• preventing child abuse and neglect;

• improving child and youth safety, permanency, and well-being;

• improving family reconciliation;

• improving adolescent outcomes;

• reducing future demand for mental health and substance use disorder treatment for youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems;

• reducing criminal justice involvement and recidivism for youth; and

• reducing racial and ethnic disproportionality and disparities in system involvement and across child and youth outcomes.

A duty of the Oversight Board for Children, Youth, and Families (Oversight Board) is to work with the DCYF Secretary and the Oversight Board Director to make DCYF outcome data readily available to the public on the DCYF website.

Juvenile Rehabilitation Reporting.

In conjunction with the Human Rights Commission, the DCYF must report annually to the Legislature on the effectiveness of county juvenile detention programs in reducing racial disproportionality. The DCYF must also report annually to the Legislature on progress toward meeting intensive supervision goals for juveniles as part of its parole services.

Early Learning Reporting.

Early Achievers (EA) is the state's Quality Rating and Improvement System for child care and early learning. The DCYF administers the EA program. The quality of care is assigned a rating on a scale of 1–5. Participation in the EA program is mandatory for providers serving non-school-age children and accepting Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) subsidy or providing the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP). Providers must meet certain rating levels by specified statutory deadlines.

The DCYF must report annually to the Legislature on certain EA milestones, data, and recommendations and must make biennial recommendations to the Legislature regarding WCCC subsidy and ECEAP rates and provider compensation.

The WCCC is partially funded by the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). The CCDF rules require states to conduct a statistically valid and reliable child care market rate survey every three years in order to inform child care subsidy rate setting.

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Summary of Bill:

Outcome Measures Reporting.

The requirement for the DCYF to report annually on outcome measures is modified. Beginning September 1, 2020, the DCYF must report each year on engagement, resource use, and outcomes for clients receiving DCYF services and youth participating in juvenile court alternative programs funded by the DCYF. The DCYF must report data that is disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and geography and must use the report to identify areas of focus to advance equity.

Juvenile Rehabilitation Reporting.

The following annual reports related to juvenile rehabilitation services are eliminated:

• effectiveness of county juvenile detention programs in reducing racial disproportionality; and

• progress toward meeting intensive supervision goals for juveniles.

Early Learning Reporting.

The annual EA report is changed to a final report and to require information related to the racial and ethnic backgrounds of participating providers and children. In addition, the DCYF must collaborate with the statewide child care resource and referral network to make data related to provider enrollments and ratings in EA, distribution of the ECEAP by school district, and indicators of child care supply and demand available on its website and must update the data quarterly. If 15 percent or more of EA program participants do not meet required rating levels in a given fiscal year, the DCYF must develop a mitigation plan and submit the plan to the Legislature by November 1 of the following year.

Beginning September 15, 2021, the DCYF must report every two years on the availability and quality of services available to providers and children from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and from low-income communities. Among other elements, the report must include an examination of child expulsion rates.

Beginning September 15, 2022, the DCYF must report every two years on the availability of supports to providers and their effectiveness in improving quality. Components of the required report include information regarding EA rating levels required and achieved, remedial activities completed and the results of those activities, recommendations for improving provider retention, and an analysis of the availability and quality of infant and toddler care, for example.

The frequency of the DCYF recommendations to the Legislature regarding WCCC subsidy and ECEAP rates and provider compensation is changed from biennial to a timeframe that corresponds with the timeframe for federally required CCDF reporting.

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Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) This bill allows the DYCF to shift reporting to online dashboards and have a greater focus on equity, providing access to information that will help Washington kids. This agency-request legislation will help the DCYF provide their data and outcomes more quickly and transparently online. The reports on juvenile justice being removed either fold into the larger DCYF report being created in the bill or include outdated information that is no longer useful.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Senator Nguyen, prime sponsor; and Allison Krutsinger, Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.