HB 1543

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to child care services; providing
3legislative intent that a child under jurisdiction of the
4circuit court receive priority consideration for placement
5into a quality child care center; defining the term
6"quality child care center"; requiring a quality child
7care center to immediately notify the legal guardian of a
8child if the child care center is unable to accept a child
9into its program due to the center's limited capacity;
10requiring district child care licensing agencies to
11provide a report to community-based care lead agencies
12regarding capacity of quality child care centers;
13providing an effective date.
14
15Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17     Section 1.  (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature that a
18child under the jurisdiction of the circuit court receive
19priority consideration for placement into a quality child care
20center pursuant to s. 411.01, Florida Statutes, the School
21Readiness Act.
22     (2)  As used in this section, the term "quality child care
23center" means a child care center that:
24     (a)  Holds a current Gold Seal Quality Care designation
25under s. 402.281, Florida Statutes; or
26     (b)  Has been designated as a high-quality program with at
27least a quality rating of 3 by a professional quality rating
28system if such a system exists in the county in which the child
29is being served. A quality child care center must maintain
30accreditation or designation as a high-quality program
31throughout the year in order to be an approved provider.
32     (3)  If a quality child care center is unable to accept a
33child into its program due to the child care center's limited
34capacity, the center must immediately notify the legal guardian
35of the child of this fact and the estimated enrollment date for
36the child.
37     (4)  The agency in each district that is responsible for
38licensing child care centers shall provide the community-based
39care lead agency for the district with a quarterly report of the
40licensed capacity for each quality child care center in the
41district.
42     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.


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