CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.



                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    hbd-08                        Bill No. CS for SB 212, 1st Eng.

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)

                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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  4  ______________________________________________________________

  5                                           ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW

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  9

10  ______________________________________________________________

11  Representative(s) Murman offered the following:

12

13         Amendment to Amendment (712899) (with title amendment) 

14         On page 15, between lines 15 and 16 of the amendment

15

16  insert:

17         Section 13.  Subsection (9) of section 402.27, Florida

18  Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (10), and a new

19  subsection (9) is added to said section to read:

20         402.27  Child care and early childhood resource and

21  referral.--The Department of Children and Family Services

22  shall establish a statewide child care resource and referral

23  network. Preference shall be given to using the already

24  established central agencies for subsidized child care as the

25  child care resource and referral agency.  If the agency cannot

26  comply with the requirements to offer the resource information

27  component or does not want to offer that service, the

28  Department of Children and Family Services shall select the

29  resource information agency based upon a request for proposal.

30  At least one child care resource and referral agency must be

31  established in each district of the department, but no more

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    hbd-08                        Bill No. CS for SB 212, 1st Eng.

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1  than one may be established in any county.  Child care

  2  resource and referral agencies shall provide the following

  3  services:

  4         (9)  Assistance to families in identifying summer

  5  recreation camp and summer day camp programs and in evaluating

  6  the health and safety qualities of summer recreation camp and

  7  summer day camp programs and in evaluating the health and

  8  safety qualities of summer camp programs. Contingent upon

  9  specific appropriation, a checklist of important health and

10  safety qualities that parents can use to choose their summer

11  camp programs shall be developed and distributed in a manner

12  that will reach parents interested in such programs for their

13  children.

14         Section 14.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section

15  402.3015, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (10) is

16  added to said section, to read:

17         402.3015  Subsidized child care program; purpose; fees;

18  contracts.--

19         (1)  The purpose of the subsidized child care program

20  is to provide quality child care to enhance the development,

21  including language, cognitive, motor, social, and self-help

22  skills of children who are at risk of abuse or neglect and

23  children of low-income families, and to promote financial

24  self-sufficiency and life skills for the families of these

25  children, unless prohibited by federal law. Priority for

26  participation in the subsidized child care program shall be

27  accorded to children under 13 years of age who are:

28         (c)  Children of working families whose family income

29  is equal to or greater than 100 percent, but does not exceed

30  150 percent, of the federal poverty level. The department may

31  extend eligibility to children of working families who are

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    hbd-08                        Bill No. CS for SB 212, 1st Eng.

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1  currently in subsidized child care and whose family income

  2  does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level; and

  3         (10)  A family that is eligible to participate in the

  4  subsidized child care program shall be considered a needy

  5  family for purposes of the program funded through the federal

  6  Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, to

  7  the extent permitted by appropriation of funds.

  8         Section 15.  Section 402.3017, Florida Statutes, is

  9  created to read:

10         402.3017  Teacher Education and Compensation Helps

11  (TEACH) scholarship program.--

12         (1)  The Legislature finds that the level of early

13  child care teacher education and training is a key predictor

14  for determining program quality.  The Legislature also finds

15  that low wages for child care workers prevent many from

16  obtaining increased training and education and contribute to

17  high turnover rates.  The Legislature therefore intends to

18  help fund a program which links teacher training and education

19  to compensation and commitment to the field of early childhood

20  education.

21         (2)  The Department of Children and Family Services is

22  authorized to contract for the administration of the Teacher

23  Education and Compensation Helps (TEACH) scholarship program,

24  which provides educational scholarships to caregivers and

25  administrators of early childhood programs, family day care

26  homes, and large family child care homes.

27         (3)  The department shall adopt rules as necessary to

28  implement this section.

29         Section 16.  Subsection (8) of section 402.302, Florida

30  Statutes, is amended to read:

31         402.302  Definitions.--

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    hbd-08                        Bill No. CS for SB 212, 1st Eng.

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1         (8)  "Large family child care home" means an occupied

  2  residence in which child care is regularly provided for

  3  children from at least two unrelated families, which receives

  4  a payment, fee, or grant for any of the children receiving

  5  care, whether or not operated for profit, and which has at

  6  least two full-time child care personnel on the premises

  7  during the hours of operation. One of the two full-time child

  8  care personnel must be the owner or occupant of the residence.

  9  A large family child care home must first have operated as a

10  licensed family day care home for 2 years, with an operator

11  who has had a child development associate credential or its

12  equivalent for 1 year, before seeking licensure as a large

13  family child care home. A large family child care home shall

14  be allowed to provide care for one of the following groups of

15  children, which shall include those children under 13 12 years

16  of age who are related to the caregiver:

17         (a)  A maximum of 8 children from birth to 24 months of

18  age.

19         (b)  A maximum of 12 children, with no more than 4

20  children under 24 months of age.

21         Section 17.  Section 402.3028, Florida Statutes, is

22  created to read:

23         402.3028  Referral for assessment.--The Department of

24  Children and Family Services, Department of Health, and

25  Department of Education shall implement the following

26  procedures for making referrals for Level III assessment

27  pursuant to s. 402.3027:

28         (1)  Children under 3 years of age who are in the

29  subsidized child care program and are identified as needing a

30  Level III developmental assessment pursuant to s. 402.3027

31  shall be referred to the Early Intervention for Infants and

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    hbd-08                        Bill No. CS for SB 212, 1st Eng.

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1  Toddlers with Disabilities Program of the Department of

  2  Health, funded under the federal Individuals with Disabilities

  3  Education Act, Pub. L. No. 105-17, Part C. Assessments shall

  4  be completed within 45 days after the referral. If the Early

  5  Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities

  6  Program is not available, referral may be made to a local

  7  community service provider.

  8         (2)  Children age 3 years through 5 years who are in

  9  the subsidized child care program and are identified as

10  needing a Level III developmental assessment pursuant to s.

11  402.3027 shall be referred to the appropriate program under

12  the local school district or appropriate local service

13  provider. It is the intent of the Legislature that these

14  assessments be completed within 45 days because of the

15  critical nature of child development at this age.

16         (3)  Services to children with disabilities under this

17  section shall be integrated and delivered with child care

18  programs to the extent possible.

19         (4)  Nothing in this section prohibits a subsidized

20  child care program from referring a child to Medicaid or the

21  Florida KidCare program to determine eligibility for services,

22  or from making a referral to a child's primary health care

23  provider.

24         Section 18.  Section 402.3054, Florida Statutes, is

25  created to read:

26         402.3054  Child enrichment service providers.--

27         (1)  For the purposes of this section, "child

28  enrichment service provider" means an individual who provides

29  enrichment activities, such as language training, music

30  instruction, educational instruction, and other experiences,

31  to specific children during a specific time that is not part

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    hbd-08                        Bill No. CS for SB 212, 1st Eng.

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1  of the regular program in a child care facility.

  2         (2)  The child's parent shall provide written consent

  3  before a child may participate in activities conducted by a

  4  child enrichment service provider that are not part of the

  5  regular program of the child care facility.  A child

  6  enrichment service provider receives compensation from the

  7  child's parent or from the child care facility and shall not

  8  be considered a volunteer or child care personnel.

  9         (3)  A child enrichment service provider shall be of

10  good moral character based upon screening. This screening

11  shall be conducted as provided in chapter 435, using the level

12  2 standards for screening set forth in that chapter.  A child

13  enrichment service provider must meet the screening

14  requirements prior to providing services to a child in a child

15  care facility.  A child enrichment service provider who has

16  met the screening standards shall not be required to be under

17  the direct and constant supervision of child care personnel.

18         Section 19.  Subsection (10) of section 402.305,

19  Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

20         402.305  Licensing standards; child care facilities.--

21         (10)  TRANSPORTATION SAFETY.--Minimum standards shall

22  include requirements for child restraints or seat belts in

23  vehicles used by child care facilities and large-family child

24  care homes to transport children, requirements for annual

25  inspections of the vehicles, and limitations on the number of

26  children in the vehicles, and accountability for children

27  being transported.

28         Section 20.  Subsection (3) of section 409.178, Florida

29  Statutes, is amended to read:

30         409.178  Child Care Executive Partnership Act; findings

31  and intent; grant; limitation; rules.--

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    hbd-08                        Bill No. CS for SB 212, 1st Eng.

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1         (3)  There is created a body politic and corporate

  2  known as the Child Care Executive Partnership which shall

  3  establish and govern the Child Care Executive Partnership

  4  Program. The purpose of the Child Care Executive Partnership

  5  Program is to utilize state and federal funds as incentives

  6  for matching local funds derived from local governments,

  7  employers, charitable foundations, and other sources, so that

  8  Florida communities may create local flexible partnerships

  9  with employers. The Child Care Executive Partnership Program

10  funds shall be used at the discretion of local communities to

11  meet the needs of working parents. A child care purchasing

12  pool shall be developed with the state, federal, and local

13  funds to provide subsidies to low-income working parents who

14  are eligible for subsidized child care with a

15  dollar-for-dollar match from employers, local government, and

16  other matching contributions. The funds used from the child

17  care purchasing pool must be used to supplement or extend the

18  use of existing public or private funds and may not be used to

19  supplant the maintenance of effort presently exerted by the

20  employer or other participant in the activity funded.

21         Section 21.  Contingent upon specific appropriation,

22  the statewide child care resource and referral network,

23  pursuant to s. 402.27, Florida Statutes, shall convene a

24  workgroup for the purpose of developing recommendations for

25  improving the health and safety qualities of summer camp

26  programs without over-regulation. One component of the

27  workgroup's deliberation shall include examining the

28  feasibility of requiring summer camp programs to register with

29  the Department of Children and Family Services, to provide

30  annual program information to the statewide child care

31  resource and referral networks, or to publish their health and

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    hbd-08                        Bill No. CS for SB 212, 1st Eng.

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1  safety plans. The workgroup shall include representatives from

  2  summer camp program related associations, the Department of

  3  Children and Family Services, parents, and any other

  4  interested individuals or organizations identified by the

  5  statewide child care resource and referral network. All

  6  participants in this process shall attend the meetings at

  7  their own expense. A report of the recommendations shall be

  8  submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and

  9  the Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 1,

10  2001.

11

12

13  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============

14  And the title is amended as follows:

15         On page 17, line 13 after the semicolon, of the

16  amendment

17

18  insert:

19         amending s. 402.27, F.S.; providing for

20         assistance to families in evaluating summer

21         recreation and day camp programs; amending s.

22         402.3015, F.S.; authorizing the Department of

23         Children and Family Services to increase family

24         income limits for certain eligibility for

25         subsidized child care; providing that an

26         eligible family shall be considered a needy

27         family for federal Temporary Assistance for

28         Needy Families funding, subject to

29         appropriations; creating s. 402.3017, F.S.;

30         establishing the Teacher Education and

31         Compensation Helps (TEACH) scholarship program;

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    hbd-08                        Bill No. CS for SB 212, 1st Eng.

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1         authorizing the department to contract for

  2         administration of the program and to adopt

  3         rules; amending s. 402.302, F.S.; revising the

  4         definition of "large family child care home" to

  5         include certain children related to the

  6         caregiver; creating s. 402.3028, F.S.;

  7         providing procedures for referrals for

  8         developmental assessment of children in

  9         subsidized child care programs; creating s.

10         402.3054, F.S.; defining "child enrichment

11         service provider"; specifying requirements

12         relating to parental consent, compensation, and

13         background screening for such providers

14         providing services in a child care facility;

15         amending s. 402.305, F.S.; revising provisions

16         of child care facilities' licensing standards

17         relating to transportation safety; amending s.

18         409.178, F.S.; removing a restriction on the

19         use of child care purchasing pool funds, under

20         the Child Care Executive Partnership Act;

21         requiring a workgroup, and report therefrom, on

22         health and safety in summer camp programs,

23         contingent on specific appropriation;

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

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