HBA-ATS C.S.H.B. 1013 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS
Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1013
By: Coleman
Economic Development
4/12/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Working parents in Texas often have problems finding suitable day care for
their children. Families at all income levels and in all areas of the
state need current and reliable information on child-care providers.
Currently, access to information on child-care providers is limited in
Texas because funds are unavailable to support the creation of a child-care
resource and referral network (network). This type of network helps
parents find child care by providing resource and referral services. These
resource and referral services document trends in the child care system,
educate parents to be good child care consumers, train local agencies to
recruit and prepare men and women for jobs in the field, and assist in
maintaining, increasing, and improving the supply of child care. In
addition, networks provide statistical data on the availability, cost, and
quality of day care to policymakers. Many states help fund networks that
combine service delivery at the local level with a central office that
delivers technical assistance and training to participants and collects
statewide data on child care.
C.S.H.B. 1013 requires the Texas Workforce Commission (commission),
through funds allocated to it as the agency designated to administer the
Child Care and Development Block Grant (42 U.S.C. Section 9858 et seq.), to
develop a child-care resource and referral network (network) and administer
it in compliance with the requirements of the block grant program. In
developing the network, the commission must use a competitive procurement
system to award contracts to nonprofit and private organizations that have
proven experience in child care.
Under this bill, a member of the network is required to provide and
continually update resource information regarding child-care services in
each county of this state that is included in the member's service area.
Examples of resource information include: the name, address, and telephone
number of each day-care center, group day-care home, and family home
located in the county; information relating to the services provided by the
day-care center, group day-care home, or family home; and information to
educate consumers regarding general child-care issues in the list of
resource information regarding child-care services. This bill also
requires a member to provide referral services to a person who is seeking
child care, including a person who is referred by a local workforce
development board, and to an employer in the service area seeking
child-care assistance for an employee through a consultation regarding the
availability of child-care or a contract to provide specialized services to
the employer or its employee.
Under this bill, a member is required to maintain records of requests made
to the member for resources and referrals and to make the records available
in an aggregate format to state and local agencies and private
organizations. Those records must include: the number of requests made for
resources and referrals during a specified period; the age of each child
for whom a request for resources and referrals is made; for each person
requesting resources and referrals, the hours during which the person is
seeking child care and the reason the person is seeking child care; and any
other information as determined by the commission to be useful in assessing
the supply and demand for child-care information and services in the
service area. That information must then be collected from each member by
the commission. Based on the data, the commission is required to compile
statistics for each region of this state regarding the supply and demand
for child-care information and services. The statistics must be updated
each fiscal quarter and made available to state and local agencies and
private organizations.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Workforce Commission in
SECTION 1 (Section 309.009, Labor Code) of this bill.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subtitle B, Title 4, Labor Code, by adding Chapter 309,
as follows:
CHAPTER 309. CHILD-CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL NETWORK
Sec. 309.001. DEFINITIONS. Defines "member," "network," and "service
area."
Sec. 309.002. CHILD-CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL NETWORK. (a) Requires the
Texas Workforce Commission (commission), through funds allocated to it as
the agency designated to administer the Child Care and Development Block
Grant (42 U.S.C. Section 9858 et seq.), to develop a child-care resource
and referral network (network) and administer it in compliance with the
requirements of the block grant program.
(b) Requires the commission, in developing the network, to use a
competitive procurement system to award contracts to nonprofit and private
organizations that have proven experience in child care.
(c) Provides that a contract awarded under this section must specify the
service area for which a member is required to provide resource and
referral services (services).
(d) Requires the commission, to the extent funds from the block grant
program are available for that purpose, to award the contracts in a manner
that will allow for the provision of services in each region of this state
that demonstrates a need for that service.
Sec. 309.003. RESOURCE SERVICES. (a) Requires a member of the network
(member) to provide and continually update resource information regarding
child-care services in each county of this state that is included in the
member's service area. Resource information includes:
_the name, address, and telephone number of each day-care center, group
daycare home, and family home located in the county;
_information relating to the services provided by the day-care center,
group day-care home, or family home; and
_information to educate consumers regarding general child-care issues in
the list of resource information regarding child-care services.
Provides that the information related to the services provided by the above
facilities includes:
_the designation of the facility as a day-care center, group day-care
home, or family home under Chapter 42 (Regulation of Certain Facilities,
Homes, and Agencies that Provide Child-care Services), Human Resources
Code;
_the group size for each age group receiving care;
_the ages of children accepted for child care;
_the ability of the facility to accept additional children for child care;
_the level of training of staff and management of the facility;
_the hours during which services are available at the facility; the cost
of child care at the facility; and
_the types of public subsidies accepted at the facility or the types of
scholarships or other financial assistance offered by the facility.
(b) Requires the commission and the Department of Protective and Regulatory
Services (DPRS) to provide assistance to the member in collecting,
aggregating, and updating the information required by Subsection (a).
Sec. 309.004. REFERRAL SERVICES. (a) Requires a member to provide
referral services to a person who is seeking child care, including a
person who is referred by a local workforce development board, and an
employer in the service area seeking child-care assistance for an employee
through a consultation regarding the availability of child-care or a
contract to provide specialized services to the employer or its employees.
(b) Provides that child-care referrals must be available by telephone,
accessible through all career development centers located in a local
workforce development area in which a local workforce development board has
been certified and a local plan has been approved by the governor, and
provided only for child-care facilities that are licensed, listed, or
registered under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, or programs or other
types of child care that are exempt from state regulation.
(c) Requires a member to provide referrals to support services available in
the area, including parenting classes and services for parents or children
offered by health and human services agencies, as defined by Section
531.001 (Definitions), Government Code.
Sec. 309.005. COLLECTION OF CHILD-CARE DATA. (a) Requires a member to
maintain records of requests made to the member for resources and referrals
and to make the records available in an aggregate format to state and local
agencies and private organizations.
(b) Provides that those records must include:
_the number of requests made for resources and referrals during a
specified period;
_the age of each child for whom a request for resources and referrals is
made;
_for each person requesting resources and referrals, the hours during
which the person is seeking child care and the reason the person is seeking
child care; and
_any other information as determined by the commission to be useful in
assessing the supply and demand for child-care information and services in
the service area.
(c) Requires the commission to provide assistance to the member in
collecting, aggregating, and updating the records required by this section.
Sec. 309.006. ASSISTANCE FOR CHILD-CARE PROVIDERS. (a) Requires a member
to provide to a child-care provider or a person interested in becoming a
child-care provider information about:
_the general requirements for applying for and maintaining a license,
listing, or registration under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code;
_the availability of financial resources, including loans available under
the linked deposit program established under Section 481.193 (Linked
Deposit Program), Government Code, and educational, technical, and other
training programs, including management skills training and continuing
education programs for operators and employees of those child-care
facilities, and services provided by and a toll-free number of the Texas
Business and Community Economic Development Clearinghouse established under
Section 481.167 (Texas Business and Community Economic Development
Clearinghouse), Government Code; and
_current issues affecting the delivery of child-care services.
(b) Requires the commission and DPRS to provide assistance to the member in
collecting, aggregating, and updating the information required by this
section.
Sec. 309.007. ADVERTISEMENT OF SERVICES. Requires a member to inform
parents, child-care consumers, child-care providers, and employer's located
in the member's service area of the resource and referral services
available from the network and the methods by which a person may contact
the member to access resource and referral services. Enumerates the media
and the alternative methods through which a member is authorized to provide
this information.
Sec. 309.008. STATEWIDE DATA COLLECTION. Requires the commission to
collect from each member data maintained by the member in an aggregate
format under Section 309.005. Requires the commission, based on the data,
to compile statistics for each region of this state regarding the supply
and demand for child-care information and services. Requires the commission
to update the statistics each fiscal quarter and to make the data and
statistics required under this section available to state and local
agencies and private organizations.
Sec. 309.009. RULES. Authorizes the commission to adopt rules necessary
to implement this chapter.
SECTION 2. Requires the commission to award contracts to establish the
network by January 1, 2000.
SECTION 3. Requires the commission to compile the first set of required
statistics by July 1, 2000.
SECTION 4. Effective date: September 1, 1999.
SECTION 5. Emergency clause.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
C.S.H.B. 1013 modifies the original bill in SECTION 1 by adding new Section
309.001 to define "member," "network," and "service area." The substitute
redesignates Section 309.001 of the original as Section 309.002 of the
substitute. In this redesignated section, the substitute modifies the
original by specifying that funds allocated to the Texas Workforce
Commission (commission) as the agency designated to administer the Child
Care and Development Block Grant (42 U.S.C. Section 9858 et seq.) are to be
specifically appropriated to it for that purpose. In addition, the
substitute deletes the condition that the administration of the child-care
resource and referral network is to occur through the employment services
offices located throughout the state. The substitute also adds Section
309.002(b) to require the commission, in developing the network, to use a
competitive procurement system to award contracts to nonprofit and private
organizations that have proven experience in child care. Additionally, the
substitute adds Section 309.002(c) to provide that a contract awarded under
Section 309.002 must specify the service area for which a member is
required to provide resource and referral services (services). In
addition, the substitute adds Section 309.002(d) to require the commission,
to the extent funds from the block grant program are available for that
purpose, to award the contracts in a manner that will allow for the
provision of child-care resource and referral services in each region of
this state that demonstrates a need for that service.
The substitute modifies the original bill by redesignating Section 309.002
of the original as Section 309.003 of the substitute and by requiring a
member of the network, rather than the network, to provide and continually,
rather than periodically, update resource information regarding child-care
services in each county of this state that is included in the member's
service area. In proposed Section 309.003(a), the substitute includes the
types of public subsidies accepted at the facility or the types of
scholarships or other financial assistance offered by the facility among
the types of information related to the services provided by the day-care
center, group day-care home, or family home. In addition, the substitute
adds information to educate consumers regarding general child-care issues
to the list of resource information regarding child-care services in each
county of this state that is included in the member's service area. In
proposed Section 309.003(b), the substitute requires the commission and the
Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (DPRS), rather than DPRS,
to provide assistance to the member, rather than to assist the commission,
in collecting, aggregating, and updating, rather than in collecting and
updating, the information required by proposed Section 309.003(a).
The substitute modifies the original bill by redesignating Section 309.003
of the original as Section 309.004 of the substitute and by requiring a
member of the network, rather than the network, to provide referral
services to certain specified people. In proposed Section 309.004(a), the
substitute includes, as persons to whom a member of the network is required
to provide referral services, a person who is referred by a local workforce
development board and an employer in the service area seeking child-care
assistance for an employee through a consultation regarding the
availability of child-care or a contract to provide specialized services to
the employer or its employees. In proposed Section 309.004(b), the
substitute provides that child-care referrals must be accessible through
all career development centers located in a local workforce development
area in which a local workforce development board has been certified and a
local plan has been approved by the governor. In that same proposed
section, the substitute includes programs or other types of child care that
are exempt from state regulation to which child-care referral must be
provided. The substitute adds Section 309.004(c) to require a member to
provide referrals to support services available in the area, including
parenting classes and services for parents or children offered by health
and human services agencies, as defined by Section 531.001, Government
Code.
The substitute modifies the original bill by redesignating Section 309.004
of the original as Section 309.005 of the substitute and by requiring a
member of the network, rather than the network, to maintain records of
requests made to the member for resources and referrals and to make the
records available in an aggregate format to state and local agencies and
private organizations. In proposed Section 309.005(b), the substitute
includes, among the information that must be included in records of
requests, any other information as determined by the commission to be
useful in assessing the supply and demand for child-care information and
services in the service area. The substitute adds Section 309.005(c) to
require the commission to provide assistance to the member in collecting,
aggregating, and updating the records required by this section.
The substitute modifies the original bill by redesignating Section 309.005
of the original as Section 309.006 and by requiring a member of the
network, rather than the network, to provide to a childcare provider or a
person interested in becoming a child-care provider certain information.
In proposed Section 309.006(a), the substitute includes, among the types of
information required to be given to a child-care provider or a person
interested in becoming a child-care provider, financial resources,
including loans available under the linked deposit program established
under Section 481.193, Government Code, technical and other training
programs, including management skills training and continuing education
programs for operators and employees of child-care facilities, and services
provided by and a toll-free number of the Texas Business and Community
Economic Development Clearinghouse established under Section 481.167,
Government Code. In proposed Section 309.006(b), the substitute requires
the commission and DPRS, rather than DPRS, to provide assistance to the
member, rather than to assist the commission, in collecting, aggregating,
and updating, rather than in collecting and updating, the information
required by proposed Section 309.006(a).
The substitute modifies the original by adding Section 309.007 to require a
member of the network to inform parents, child-care consumers, child-care
providers, and employer's located in the member's service area of the
resource and referral services available from the network and the methods
by which a person may contact the member to access resource and referral
services. The substitute also enumerates the media and the alternative
methods through which a member is authorized to provide this information.
The substitute modifies the original by adding Section 309.008 to require
the commission to collect from each member data maintained by the member in
an aggregate format under Section 309.005. The substitute requires the
commission, based on the data, to compile statistics for each region of
this state regarding the supply and demand for child-care information and
services. In addition, the substitute requires the commission to update
the statistics each fiscal quarter and to make the data and statistics
required under Section 309.008 available to state and local agencies and
private organizations.
The substitute modifies the original by adding Section 309.009 to authorize
the commission to adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter.
C.S.H.B. 1013 modifies the original bill in a new SECTION 2 of the
substitute by requiring the commission to award contracts to establish the
network by January 1, 2000.
C.S.H.B. 1013 modifies the original bill by deleting the text of SECTION 3
that would have required
the commission to establish the network by January 1, 2000. SECTION 3 of
the substitute requires the commission to compile the first set of required
statistics by July 1, 2000.
C.S.H.B. 1013 modifies the original bill by redesignating SECTIONS 2
(effective date) and 4 (emergency clause) of the original to SECTIONS 4 and
5.