CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.House Bill 2131
Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 2131
By Representative Warner
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to early education and child
3 care; creating s. 402.265, F.S.; providing
4 legislative intent; establishing the early
5 education and child care program and providing
6 for optional participation; providing for
7 oversight; establishing a State Board of
8 Governance; providing eligibility for
9 participation in the program; providing
10 performance standards and outcome measures;
11 providing for district interagency coordinating
12 councils; providing for implementation of
13 programs; requiring development of a plan and
14 providing program requirements; requiring a
15 sliding fee scale; providing for funding;
16 providing for transfer of funds to the Early
17 Education and Child Care Trust Fund; providing
18 for distribution of funds; requiring a
19 reimbursement rate schedule; providing
20 requirements relating to fiscal agents;
21 providing for vouchers or contracts and an
22 electronic funds transfer system; providing for
23 evaluation and reporting; providing that
24 federal requirements control in the case of
25 conflict; providing an effective date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29 Section 1. Section 402.265, Florida Statutes, is
30 created to read:
31 402.265 Early education and child care program.--
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1 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--
2 (a) The Legislature recognizes that high quality early
3 education and child care programs increase children's chances
4 of achieving future educational success and becoming
5 productive members of society. It is the intent of the
6 Legislature that such programs be developmental, serve as
7 preventive measures for children at risk of future school
8 failure, enhance the educational readiness of all children,
9 and support family education and the involvement of parents in
10 their child's educational progress. Each early education and
11 child care program shall provide the elements necessary to
12 help prepare preschool children for school, including health
13 screening and referral, a developmentally appropriate
14 educational program, and opportunities for parental
15 involvement in the program.
16 (b) It is legislative intent that early education and
17 child care programs be operated within funding limits on a
18 full-day, year-round basis to enable parents to work and
19 become financially self-sufficient.
20 (c) It is legislative intent that early education and
21 child care programs not exist as isolated programs, but build
22 upon existing services and work in cooperation with other
23 programs for young children, and that these programs be
24 coordinated and funding integrated to achieve full
25 effectiveness.
26 (d) It is legislative intent that the implementation
27 of an early education and child care program be optional on a
28 county-by-county basis. It is further intended that if a
29 county or counties decide to implement a program, procedures
30 such as, but not limited to, contracting, collocation,
31 mainstreaming, and cooperative and integrated funding be used
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1 to coordinate all publicly funded early education and child
2 care programs, including prekindergarten early intervention
3 programs, Head Start programs, programs offered by public or
4 private providers of child care, preschool programs for
5 children with disabilities, programs for migrant children,
6 Title I programs, subsidized child care programs, teen parent
7 programs, and other services.
8 (2) OPTIONAL PROGRAM; EXEMPTIONS.--The early education
9 and child care program is an optional program. A county or
10 counties may elect to participate in this program by following
11 the requirements of this section. The provisions of this
12 section shall supersede and prevail over any provisions of ss.
13 230.2305 and 402.3015 as to any county that chooses to
14 participate in the early education and child care program and
15 obtains plan approval from the State Board of Governance.
16 (3) CREATION; OVERSIGHT; STATE BOARD OF GOVERNANCE.--
17 (a) The early education and child care program,
18 consisting of publicly funded programs listed in paragraph
19 (1)(d), is hereby established. The program shall be the joint
20 responsibility of the Department of Education and the
21 Department of Children and Family Services. The Department of
22 Education shall be the state oversight agency for the
23 education component of the programs listed in paragraph (1)(d)
24 and the Department of Children and Family Services shall be
25 the state oversight agency for the implementation and
26 administration of these programs.
27 (b) There is established a State Board of Governance
28 with oversight of the entire early education and child care
29 program. The State Board of Governance shall consist of:
30 1. The Secretary of Children and Family Services or a
31 designee.
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1 2. The Commissioner of Education or a designee.
2 3. The chair of the State Workforce Development Board.
3 4. The chair of the State WAGES Board.
4 5. The Comptroller or a designee.
5 6. The chair of the Child Care Executive Partnership
6 Committee.
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8 The State Board of Governance shall select a chair and vice
9 chair.
10 (4) PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.--The early education and
11 child care program shall be established for children from
12 birth to 13 years of age. The program shall be coordinated and
13 funding integrated with the programs listed in paragraph
14 (1)(d), be administered by a fiscal agent selected by the
15 district interagency coordinating council, and receive funds
16 pursuant to subsection (8). Within funding limitations, the
17 fiscal agent along with all providers shall make reasonable
18 efforts to accommodate the needs of children for extended-day
19 and extended-year services without compromising the quality of
20 the program. Priority for participation in the early
21 education and child care program is as follows:
22 (a) Children under 13 years of age who are:
23 1. Children determined to be at risk of abuse,
24 neglect, or exploitation and who are currently clients of the
25 Children and Families Program Office of the Department of
26 Children and Family Services.
27 2. Children at risk of welfare dependency, including
28 children of participants in the WAGES Program, children of
29 migrant farmworkers, children of teen parents, and children
30 from other families at risk of welfare dependency due to a
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1 family income of less than 100 percent of the federal poverty
2 level.
3 3. Children of working families whose family income is
4 equal to or greater than 100 percent, but does not exceed 150
5 percent, of the federal poverty level.
6 (b) Three-year-old children and 4-year-old children
7 who may not be economically disadvantaged but who are students
8 with disabilities and served in a specific part-time or
9 combination of part-time exceptional student education
10 programs with required special services, aids, or equipment
11 and who are reported for funding part-time in the Florida
12 Education Finance Program as exceptional students.
13 (c) Economically disadvantaged children, children with
14 disabilities, and children at risk of future school failure,
15 from birth to 4 years of age, who are served at home through
16 home visitor programs and intensive parent education programs
17 such as the Florida First Start Program.
18 (d) Children who meet federal and state requirements
19 for eligibility for the migrant preschool program but who do
20 not meet the criteria of economically disadvantaged.
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22 An "economically disadvantaged" child means a child whose
23 family income is below 150 percent of the federal poverty
24 level or who is eligible to participate in the free lunch
25 program. Notwithstanding any change in a family's economic
26 status or in the federal eligibility requirements for free
27 lunch, but subject to additional family contributions in
28 accordance with the sliding fee scale, a child who meets the
29 eligibility requirements upon initial registration for the
30 program shall be considered eligible until the child reaches
31 kindergarten age.
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1 (5) STANDARDS; OUTCOME MEASURES.--
2 (a) All publicly funded early education and child care
3 programs shall be required to meet the following performance
4 standards and outcome measures developed by the Department of
5 Education and the Department of Children and Family Services:
6 1. They must help prepare preschool children to enter
7 kindergarten ready to learn, as measured by the School
8 Readiness Checklist of the Department of Education.
9 2. They must provide extended-day and extended-year
10 services when needed.
11 3. There must be coordinated staff development and
12 teaching opportunities.
13 4. There must be expanded access to community services
14 and resources for families to help achieve economic
15 self-sufficiency.
16 5. There must be a simplified point of entry and
17 unified waiting list.
18 6. They must serve at least as many children as were
19 served prior to implementation of the program.
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21 The fiscal agent shall be responsible for monitoring and
22 providing assistance to these programs to achieve the expected
23 performance standards and outcome measures. The State Board of
24 Governance shall develop a phase-in schedule through which all
25 publicly funded early education and child care programs shall
26 be measured by these performance standards. The fiscal agent
27 shall report to the district interagency coordinating council
28 on the achievement of performance standards with
29 recommendations for future funding.
30 (b) All publicly funded early education and child care
31 programs shall be required to implement a comprehensive
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1 program of children and family services that enhance the
2 cognitive and physical development of children to achieve the
3 performance standards and outcome measures specified in
4 paragraph (a). At a minimum, these programs must contain the
5 following elements:
6 1. Staff-child interaction.
7 2. Developmentally appropriate curriculum.
8 3. An appropriate staff-to-child ratio.
9 4. Continuity of care.
10 5. Group size.
11 6. A healthy and safe environment.
12 7. Varied family components.
13 8. Quality services at an identified cost.
14 9. A resource and referral network to assist parents
15 in making informed choice pursuant to s. 402.27.
16 (6) DISTRICT INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCILS.--
17 (a) The Department of Children and Family Services and
18 the Department of Education must develop, implement, and
19 evaluate the early education and child care program in
20 cooperation with a district interagency coordinating council
21 on early childhood services.
22 (b) Each district interagency coordinating council
23 must consist of at least 12 members to be appointed by the
24 district school board, the county commission for the county in
25 which participating schools are located, and the Department of
26 Children and Family Services' district administrator and must
27 include at least the following:
28 1. One member who is a parent of a child enrolled in,
29 or intending to enroll in, the early education and child care
30 program, appointed by the school board.
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1 2. One member who is a director or designated director
2 of the early education and child care program in the school
3 district, appointed by the school board.
4 3. One member who is a member of a district school
5 board, appointed by the school board.
6 4. One member who is a representative of an agency
7 serving children with disabilities, appointed by the
8 Department of Children and Family Services' district
9 administrator.
10 5. Four members who are representatives of
11 organizations providing early education and child care
12 services, one of whom is a representative of a Head Start
13 program, appointed by the Department of Children and Family
14 Services' district administrator; one of whom is a
15 representative of a Title XX subsidized child day care
16 program, if such programs exist within the county, appointed
17 by the Department of Children and Family Services' district
18 administrator; and two of whom are private providers of early
19 education and child care to 3-year-old and 4-year-old
20 children, one appointed by the county commission and one
21 appointed by the Department of Children and Family Services'
22 district administrator. If there is no Head Start program or
23 Title XX program operating within the county, these two
24 members must represent community interests in early education
25 and child care.
26 6. Two members who are representatives of agencies
27 responsible for providing social, medical, dental, adult
28 literacy, or transportation services, one of whom represents
29 the county health department, both appointed by the county
30 commission.
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1 7. One member to represent a local child advocacy
2 organization, appointed by the Department of Children and
3 Family Services' district administrator.
4 8. One member to represent the school district K-3
5 program, appointed by the school board.
6 (7) IMPLEMENTATION.--
7 (a) The early education and child care program may be
8 implemented in any county by agreement of the district school
9 system and the Department of Children and Family Services
10 district, with approval of the State Board of Governance.
11 Approval by the State Board of Governance must be predicated
12 on the submission of a plan of implementation prepared and
13 submitted by the district interagency coordinating council.
14 (b) The district interagency coordinating council in
15 each county that chooses to participate in the early education
16 and child care program shall develop a plan for implementation
17 to meet the requirements of this section. The plan shall
18 include a written description of the role of the program in
19 the district's effort to meet the first state education goal,
20 readiness to start school, including a description of the plan
21 to involve prekindergarten early intervention programs, Head
22 Start programs, programs offered by public or private
23 providers of child care, preschool programs for children with
24 disabilities, programs for migrant children, Title I programs,
25 subsidized child care programs, and teen parent programs. The
26 plan shall also demonstrate how the program will ensure that
27 each 3-year-old and 4-year-old child in a publicly funded
28 early education and child care program will receive at least 3
29 hours per day of scheduled activities and instruction designed
30 to prepare children to enter kindergarten ready to learn. As a
31 part of the plan, the district interagency coordinating
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1 council may request the Governor to apply for a waiver to
2 allow the county to administer the Head Start program to
3 accomplish the purposes of the early education and child care
4 program. Prior to implementation of the program, the district
5 interagency coordinating council must submit the plan to the
6 State Board of Governance for approval. The plan shall be
7 reviewed and revised as necessary, but not less than every 3
8 years.
9 (c) The early education and child care program shall
10 include the following minimum standards and provisions:
11 1.a. A ratio of one child care personnel for every
12 four children who are under 1 year of age.
13 b. A ratio of one child care personnel for every six
14 children who are 1 year of age or older but under 2 years of
15 age.
16 c. A ratio of one child care personnel for every 11
17 children who are 2 years of age or older but under 3 years of
18 age.
19 d. A ratio of one adult with a child development
20 associate credential or its equivalent for every 15 children
21 who are 3 or 4 years of age, except that the ratio shall be
22 one adult for every 10 children during 3 hours of educational
23 instruction each day.
24 e. A ratio of one child care personnel for every 25
25 children who are 5 years of age or older.
26 2. A sliding fee scale, which is the same for all
27 programs, to be implemented and reflected in each program's
28 budget.
29 3. A choice of settings and locations in licensed,
30 registered, religious exempt, or school-based programs to be
31 provided to parents.
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1 4. Instructional staff who have completed the training
2 course as required in s. 402.305(2)(d)1.
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4 All cost savings resulting from a change in the staff-to-child
5 ratio from the staff-to-child ratios in previously existing
6 programs and all revenues received through the sliding fee
7 scale shall be used to help fund extended-day and
8 extended-year services.
9 (d) If an early education and child care plan can
10 demonstrate that specific statutory goals can be achieved more
11 effectively by using procedures that require modification of
12 existing rules, policies, or procedures, a request for a
13 waiver to the State Board of Governance may be made as part of
14 the district interagency coordinating council's plan. Upon
15 review, the State Board of Governance may grant the proposed
16 modification.
17 (e) Persons with an early childhood teaching
18 certificate may provide support and supervision to other staff
19 in the early education and child care program.
20 (f) Two or more counties may join for the purpose of
21 planning and implementing an early education and child care
22 program.
23 (8) FUNDING; EARLY EDUCATION AND CHILD CARE TRUST
24 FUND.--
25 (a) The intent of the Early Education and Child Care
26 Trust Fund is to ensure a seamless service delivery system for
27 all publicly funded early education and child care programs
28 operating in this state.
29 (b) All state funds budgeted for a county for the
30 programs specified in paragraph (1)(d) and all federal funds
31 and required local matching funds for a county for programs
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1 specified in paragraph (1)(d) shall be transferred to the
2 Early Education and Child Care Trust Fund for the benefit of
3 the county for implementation of the early education and child
4 care program. Additional funds may be placed in the trust fund
5 for purposes of this section.
6 (c) All funds transferred to and retained in the trust
7 fund shall be invested pursuant to s. 18.125. Any interest
8 accruing to the trust fund shall be for the benefit of
9 counties providing an early education and child care program.
10 Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.301, and pursuant to
11 s. 216.351, any undisbursed balance remaining in the trust
12 fund and interest accruing to the trust fund not distributed
13 at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the trust fund
14 and shall increase the total funds available for the counties
15 implementing an early education and child care program.
16 (d) The State Board of Governance shall annually
17 distribute to the fiscal agent in each county the funds that
18 were transferred into the Early Education and Child Care Trust
19 Fund for the benefit of that county. Additional funds and
20 investment income from the trust fund shall be distributed to
21 the counties implementing an early education and child care
22 program based on outcome performance measures or need, or
23 combination thereof. Counties may be required to provide
24 matching funds. The State Board of Governance shall provide
25 rewards to counties that serve more children in the early
26 education and child care program than were served through
27 previously existing programs.
28 (e) State funds appropriated for the early education
29 and child care program may not be used for the construction of
30 new facilities, the transportation of students, or the
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1 purchase of buses, but may be used for educational field trips
2 which enhance the curriculum.
3 (9) REIMBURSEMENT RATE.--The district interagency
4 coordinating council shall develop a reimbursement rate
5 schedule that encompasses all publicly funded early education
6 and child care programs. The reimbursement rate schedule must
7 include the projected number of children to be served and must
8 be submitted to the State Board of Governance for approval.
9 Informal child care arrangements shall be reimbursed at 50
10 percent of the rate developed for family child care.
11 (10) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO FISCAL AGENTS.--The
12 fiscal agent must be a public entity, a private nonprofit
13 organization, or a partnership of public entities and private
14 nonprofit organizations. The fiscal agent shall be required to
15 provide all administrative and direct funding services as
16 determined by the district interagency coordinating council.
17 The cost of these services shall be negotiated between the
18 fiscal agent and the Department of Children and Family
19 Services. The fiscal agent shall be responsible for monitoring
20 all providers to ensure that the legislatively mandated
21 performance standards and outcome measures are carried out. No
22 public funds shall be paid to a provider unless the provider
23 agrees to allow the fiscal agent access to fulfill its
24 monitoring responsibilities.
25 (11) PARENTAL CHOICE; VOUCHER OR CONTRACT.--The early
26 education and child care program shall be provided by voucher
27 or contract issued pursuant to a purchase service order that
28 ensures, to the maximum extent possible, parental choice
29 through flexibility in early education and child care
30 arrangements and payment arrangements. According to federal
31 regulations requiring parental choice, a parent may choose an
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1 informal child care arrangement. The voucher must bear the
2 name of the beneficiary and the program provider and, when
3 redeemed, must bear the signature of both the beneficiary and
4 an authorized representative of the provider. If it is
5 determined that a provider has provided any cash to the
6 beneficiary in return for receiving the voucher, the
7 Department of Children and Family Services shall refer the
8 matter to the Division of Public Assistance Fraud of the
9 office of the Auditor General for investigation. The
10 Department of Children and Family Services and the office of
11 the Comptroller shall establish an electronic funds transfer
12 system for the dissemination of funds and vouchers in
13 accordance with this subsection. Fiscal agents shall fully
14 implement the electronic funds transfer system within 3 years
15 of plan approval unless a waiver is obtained from the State
16 Board of Governance. The fiscal agent may charge an
17 administrative fee not to exceed 1 1/2 percent of each voucher
18 to offset administrative costs of the early education and
19 child care program.
20 (12) EVALUATION AND ANNUAL REPORT.--Each district
21 interagency coordinating council shall conduct an evaluation
22 of the effectiveness of the early education and child care
23 program, including performance standards and outcome measures,
24 and shall provide an annual report to the State Board of
25 Governance. Additionally, the State Coordinating Council for
26 Early Childhood Services shall monitor the early education and
27 child care program on a statewide basis and shall annually
28 report to the State Board of Governance, by November 1, on
29 implementation and compliance.
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1 (13) CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.--In the event of a
2 conflict between the provisions of this section and federal
3 requirements, the federal requirements shall control.
4 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 1997.
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7 HOUSE SUMMARY
8
Establishes the early education and child care program
9 consisting of all publicly funded early education and
child care programs, with oversight by the Department of
10 Education and the Department of Children and Family
Services. Provides for optional participation in the
11 program by a county or counties. Establishes a State
Board of Governance with responsibility for plan and
12 program approval. Provides eligibility and priority for
participation in the program. Provides performance
13 standards and outcome measures. Provides for district
interagency coordinating councils to assist in the
14 development, implementation, and evaluation of a county
program. Provides program requirements including a
15 sliding fee scale. Provides for funding through the
transfer of funds to the Early Education and Child Care
16 Trust Fund and distribution to counties. Requires a
reimbursement rate schedule and provides requirements
17 relating to fiscal agents. Provides for vouchers or
contracts and an electronic funds transfer system.
18 Provides for evaluation and reporting. Provides that
federal requirements control in the case of conflict.
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