This article and Article 9 (commencing with Section 124172) of Chapter 3 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code shall be known and may be cited as the California Child Care Health Linkages Program.

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a)There are approximately 1.6 million children without health insurance in California. Seventy-five percent of those uninsured children are members of low-income families with family incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

(b)California’s childhood immunization rate remains far below the national goal of 90 percent coverage of two-year-olds by the year 2000. In 1996, California ranked 32nd of the 50 states for the percentage of children between the ages of 19 to 35 months who were fully immunized.

(c)There is a need to strengthen the linkages between child care and development programs and health and behavioral health care services.

(d)The state has approximately 55,000 child care centers and family child care homes that provide an established infrastructure that could link California’s children to health and behavioral health care services for infants and toddlers.

(e)California’s CalWORKs program will increase the participation of poor families in child care and development programs.

(f)The Healthy Child Care California Campaign identified the need to link child care, health care, and families.

(g)There exists a comprehensive health care delivery system that includes the Child Health and Disability Prevention, Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, Access for Infants and Mothers, Women, Infants and Children, and Maternal and Child Health programs, that most effectively delivers services when linked to programs that serve a high percentage of eligible participants, such as child care and development programs.

(h)Health care service delivery to low-income children and their families is enhanced further by having a dedicated health infrastructure within child care and development programs, such as the Healthy Start and Head Start programs, and school nurses. However, a dedicated infrastructure is not available in most child care and development programs.

(i)There is a documented estimate that 30 percent of children entering child care as part of the CalWORKs program have special needs, the majority of which are unidentified and in need of services.

(j)There is a critical need to provide child care and development program providers with training regarding each of the following:

(1)Child health and illness issues.

(2)Accessing the health care delivery system for the safety and protection of children in child care, their families, child care workers, and providers. Because child care providers and workers physically see parents twice a day and children up to 10 hours a day they are often the first to recognize health and safety problems.

(k)The Linkages Program, as described in Section 9545 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, demonstrates the efficiency of providing direct support to the community for which health services are targeted, so that the services reach the targeted population.

(l)The California Children and Families Commission approved funding for up to 20 counties to achieve the purposes described in these provisions. The Commission does not have funding available to allow every county to participate. However, over 30 counties have communicated interest in applying for funds. Many counties have applied for local funding, have already allocated funding, or intend to apply for local funding to establish partial or full funding of the Child Care Health Linkages Program.

(m)Counties that receive grants under these provisions will be required to provide a 50 percent match in other funds or in-kind contributions.

(a)The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of the California Child Care Health Linkages Program is to link health care services and information through child care and development programs so that all children in child care are healthy and ready to learn.

(b)The State Department of Education shall establish and implement the California Child Care Health Linkages Program.

(c)(1)The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall, in consultation with the State Department of Health Services, select participants from among the applicants for participation in the program established pursuant to this article, with priority given to applicants that have expertise or certify that they will secure expertise in physical and behavioral health and serve any of the following populations:

(A)Populations with low immunization rates and high rates of eligibility for Medi-Cal.

(B)Potential subscribers in the Healthy Families Program.

(C)Children of families who do not have health insurance.

(D)Children of families whose income is below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

(2)The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall allocate funds to maximize the number of children and their families described in this article, including, but not limited to, those described in subdivision (d), who will be informed and referred to health programs.

(3)(A)The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall allocate funds to those programs in those counties that have not received funding for the Child Care Health Linkages Program from the State of California Children and Families Commission or their agent.

(B)The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall only provide grants to the counties that have a 50 percent match in other funds or in-kind contributions.

(d)Any child care and development program, as defined in Section 8208, or any association, coalition, or consortium of child care and development programs, may apply to the State Department of Education, on forms and in a manner prescribed by the department, to participate in the program established pursuant to this article.

(e)Services provided by the family health coordinators contracting with or employed by each program established pursuant to this article shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following:

(1)Providing outreach to families with infants and toddlers who receive state subsidized child care, or organizations that have access to them, for the purpose of enrollment or participation in the Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, Child Health and Disability Prevention, Access for Infants and Mothers, Women, Infants and Children, or Maternal and Child Health programs.

(2)Assisting families who receive state subsidized child care in gaining access to screening, treatment, and followup care.

(3)Working collaboratively with the child care health consultant, whose duties are set forth in Section 12472 of the Health and Safety Code.

(4)Assisting in monitoring compliance with recommended and required health and safety standards, including training, in the daily operation of programs.

(5)Facilitating access to services for the health needs specific to certain populations.

(6)Establishing linkages with needed social and educational support services, as determined by the needs of the parents of children who receive state subsidized child care.

(f)A graduate school of public health of the California State University, shall provide startup, training, coordination, and program resources to participants in the program established pursuant to this article.

(g)The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall, in consultation with the State Department of Health Services, report to the Legislature no later than November 30, 2002, on the effect of the demonstration projects established pursuant to this article on the children in the programs participating in the California Child Care Health Linkages Program. The report shall include an evaluation of the program established pursuant to this article, with measurable outcomes that may include, but need not be limited to, the following information:

(1)Number of immunizations facilitated by the program.

(2)Number of children and their families enrolling in appropriate health insurance programs.

(3)Number of children and their families participating in programs described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d), and any other programs the Superintendent of Public Instruction determines appropriate to track.

(4)Impact of the program on the participating families.

(h)It is the intent of the Legislature that the California Child Care Health Linkages Program work collaboratively with the State Department of Health Services, State Department of Social Services, California Community Colleges, any child development policy advisory committees, local schools, school nurses, and local public health consultants, nurses, or officers to provide linkages with outreach, training, support, and technical assistance.