Today's Law As Amended


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AB-2478 Child Care and Development Services Act: Commission on Child Care Providers.(2021-2022)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) The Center for American Progress received significant media attention and raised awareness of an important concept regarding equity for United States children, the childcare desert. A childcare desert refers to an area with no or limited availability of childcare centers for young children.
(b) The report sparked public conversation about the issue of geographic access to childcare, yet supply of childcare centers and geographic location are just two of many elements in the complex issue of access to early care and education.
(c) To address problems with access to childcare, those working on the issue need a common definition of access. Providing access is not as simple as ensuring that every child has a spot. It is an issue with multiple dimensions and barriers to consider.
(d) Parents and guardians should be able to access childcare with reasonable effort. This dimension includes measurable indicators such as geographical location, supply of early childhood education programs, and availability of information about early childhood education programs.
(e) Access to childcare should be affordable. This refers to indicators such as parent’s or guardian’s financial contribution, subsidies and scholarships, and advertised price, which includes the price families are told they will need to pay before considering financial supports, including subsidies, and program expenses for providing early childhood education.
(f) Childcare programs should support the child’s development. This dimension includes indicators such as quality designations, specialized services, language of instruction, and stability of early childhood education.
(g) Childcare programs should meet the needs of parents and guardians. This includes parent- and guardian-preferred types of programs, availability of transportation, and hours of operation.

SEC. 2.

 Section 10271.6 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

10271.6.
 (a) The department shall establish the Commission on Child Care Providers.
(b) The commission shall establish a grant program to award grants to childcare providers to hire more staff in order to increase the number of childcare slots.
(c) The department shall select a representative from each of the following regions to comprise the commission:
(1) Region one consists of the Counties of Butte, Del Norte, Humboldt, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity.
(2) Region two consists of the Counties of Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba.
(3) Region three consists of the Counties of Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma.
(4) Region four consists of the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and San Mateo, and the City and County of San Francisco.
(5) Region five consists of the Counties of Fresno, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne.
(6) Region six consists of the Counties of San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Monterey.
(7) Region seven consists of the Counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.
(8) Region eight consists of the Counties of Kern, Kings, and Tulare.
(9) Region nine consists of the County of Los Angeles.
(10) Region ten consists of the County of Orange.
(11) Region eleven consists of the Counties of San Bernardino and Riverside.
(12) Region twelve consists of the Counties of Imperial and San Diego.