Presentation on House Technology Economic Development and Workforce

Presentation on House Technology, Economic Development and Workforce Charge #3 relating to review of demand for child care. Presented to: House Technology, Economic Development, and Work Force Committee May 17, 2010 Sasha Rasco, Assistant Commissioner Child Care Licensing 1

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Child Care Licensing (CCL) Keeping children safe in out-of-home care CCL regulates child-care centers and homes in order to protect the health, safety, and well-being of children in out-of-home care. • CCL investigates all reports, which allege abuse or neglect and/or violation of minimum standards in child care operations subject to regulation. • CCL conducts routine and follow-up inspections to determine if centers or operations meet minimum standards and licensing laws. 2

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Child Care Operations In FY 09, there were: • • 9, 342 Licensed Child Care Centers 1, 617 Licensed Child Care Homes 6, 700 Registered Child Care Homes 7, 305 Listed Family Homes Combined, these child care operations had a regulated capacity to care for 1, 045, 798 children. 3

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Child Care Licensing Regulatory Activities In FY 09, Child Care Licensing: • received 1, 230 applications and issued 1, 086 permits • conducted 14, 622 investigations • conducted 46, 812 inspections • initiated 321 adverse actions and 255 corrective actions 4

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Consumer Education • www. txchildcaresearch. org • Searchable database for parents • 212, 030 visits to searchable database from September 2009 to February 2010 (6 months) 5

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Human Resources Code Chapter 42 § 42. 042 Rules and Standards The Department shall conduct a comprehensive review of all rules and standards at least every six years. The Department shall promulgate minimum standards that apply to licensed child-care facilities and to registered family homes. . . that will: • Promote the health, safety, and welfare of children attending a facility or registered family home, • Promote a safe, comfortable and healthy environment for children, • Ensure adequate supervision of children by capable, qualified, and healthy personnel, and • Ensure adequate nutrition and personal care. 6

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Goals of the Minimum Standards Review • Identify standards that require clarification or updates due to changes in research • Identify standards that are not having the intended outcome • Ensure appropriate balance between children’s health & safety and affordability & availability of care • From SB 68, develop new minimum standards for School Age Care • High Stakeholder Involvement 7

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Stakeholder Participation • July, 2009: Provider and Parent survey • September, 2009: Public Meeting of the Governor. Appointed Committee on Licensing Standards (COLS) • Fall, 2009: 42 Regional Stakeholder Meetings • Fall, 2009 -Winter 2010: Subcommittee meetings of the COLS • January, 2010: Fiscal impact surveys • Email box: msc@dfps. state. tx. us 8

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Proposal for Revisions On April 20, 2010, DFPS presented to the DFPS Council a proposal for revisions to minimum standards for child-care centers and homes, including the following: • Addition of Chapter 744, Minimum Standards for School-Age and Before or After-School Programs (SB 68) • Adjusted activity and nutrition requirements to support obesity prevention • Increased the minimum required depth of loosefill surfacing material from six to nine inches 9

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Proposed Revisions, continued • Clarified director presence requirements by specifying a minimum amount of time that a director must be present during operating hours • Revised ratios for children ages two, three, five and older • Revised group sizes for children birth through 17 months old and for two- and three-year-olds in licensed centers • Aligned the ratio and group sizes for licensed childcare homes with those for registered child-care homes 10

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Proposed Ratio Changes for Centers NAEYC= National Association for the Education of Young Children AAP=American Academy of Pediatrics * The first number is for children 24 -30 months of age, the second number is for 11 children 31 -35 months of age.

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Proposed Group Size Changes for Centers NAEYC= National Association for the Education of Young Children AAP=American Academy of Pediatrics * The first number is for children 24 -30 months of age, the second number 12 is for children 31 -35 months of age.

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Public Comment Period • School-Age standards: May 21 st to June 21 st • Center and Home standards: June 11 th to July 12 th • Stakeholders can submit comments via: – – the DFPS web site comment form, email to msc@dfps. state. tx. us, letter, or phone call. 13

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Next Steps School-Age standards: • Anticipated adoption in July 2010 • Anticipated effective date of September 1, 2010 Centers and Homes: • Anticipated adoption in October 2010 • Anticipated effective date of December 1, 2010 14

CCDF Funding in DFPS Summary: 2010 2011 10/11 Biennium Total Child Care Licensing 17, 193, 57 34, 387, 15 6 6 2 Day Care 10, 271, 35 20, 542, 71 8 8 5 Indirect 2, 531, 769 5, 063, 538 Total CCDF Funding 29, 996, 70 59, 993, 40 2 3 5 15

Funding for CCL Funding Description 2010 2011 10, 951, 27 General Revenue Child Care and Development Block Grant - Stimulus 5 10, 951, 27 5 17, 193, 57 6 Total Child Care Licensing 2, 550 6 34, 38 7, 152 4, 000, 00 4, 00 0 - 6 6 3 0 6, 50 9, 952 1, 649, 27 3 37, 049, 10 0, 000 3, 254, 97 1, 649, 27 Title XX Social Services Block Grant 21, 90 17, 193, 57 3, 254, 97 Title IV-E Foster Care - Administration 10/11 Biennium Total 33, 049, 1 00 3, 29 8, 546 8, 200 70, 09 16

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Quality Improvements $4 million in CCDF/ARRA funding to improve quality of infant/toddler care: • Educate providers through training • Educate parents through – www. babyroomtobreathe. org – Don’t Be in the Dark campaign • Educate Licensing staff through the Technical Assistance Library 17