HB 193 — EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

HOUSEAN BILLACT 193RELATING 53RDTO LEGISLATUREHUMAN -SERVICES; STATEOFNEWMEXICO- SECOND SESSION , 2018 INTRODUCED BY Rebecca Dow and Deborah A.

Armstrong and Joanne J.

Ferrary and Bill Tallman and Howie C.

Morales 7 9 AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES;

14 PROVIDING FOR RULEMAKING AND REPORTING.

167 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

e t 17 SECTION 1.

A new section of the Children's Code is w l n d 18 enacted to read:

="SHORT = 19 "[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the a l i a e r 20 "Early Childhood Care Accountability Act"." a t m m 21 SECTION 2.

A new section of the Children's Code is d r e 22 enacted to read:

c"DEFINITIONS.--As e s k 23 "[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Early e a n b 24 Childhood Care Accountability Act:

u [ A.

"child care assistance" means the assistance .209027.6 administered by the department that provides child care through the child care assistance program for school-aged children as the primary service delivery strategy through a contract with the department that offers services based on income and need for care to parents with children who are school-aged, as department rules define "school-aged";

"culturally and linguistically appropriate" means taking into consideration the culture, customs and HB 193 language of an eligible family;

Page 1 C.

e e 17 D.

"eligible family" means a family that receives e e n d 18 early childhood care assistance or child care assistance = = l ] 19 through the department;

a l r i 20 E.

"licensed child care program" means a publicly t e a t or privately funded program that:

m m 21 e d r e 22 (1) provides child care in the state in c e r c 23 accordance with department standards to school-aged children, e a n b 24 as department rules define "school-aged";

and u [ (2) is licensed by the department;

.209027.6 - 2 - F.

A new section of the Children's Code is HB 193 Page 2 enacted to read:

"[NEW"LICENSED MATERIAL] LICENSED EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE PROGRAMS--PROGRAMS--REQUIREMENTS.-- REQUIREMENTS.-- A.

As part of these e e 17 standards, the department shall establish and implement a e e n d 18 voluntary rating scale and determine levels that accord with = = l ] 19 levels of service quality.

The standards shall ensure that the a l r i 20 health, safety, social-emotional support, school readiness and t e a t staff qualifications components are consistent in accordance m m 21 e d r e 22 with the tier levels that the department has established by c e r c 23 rule.

The department shall use the tiered ratings it has e a n b 24 established to pay higher rates for higher-rated individual u [ licensed early childhood care program providers.

Standards for .209027.6 - 3 - licensed early childhood care programs shall:

(4) be designed to promote child well-being, HB 193 Page 3 early education, social-emotional support and an emphasis on school readiness;

and (7) establish foundational and continuing e e 17 education requirements for staff.

e e n d 18 B.

= = l ] 19 (1) ensure the health and safety of children a l r i 20 while they are in care;

t e a t (2) comply with the department's background m m 21 e d r e 22 check requirements for all staff members, educators and c e r c 23 volunteers in licensed early childhood care programs;

e a n b 24 (3) provide positive discipline and guidance;

u [ (4) continually evaluate program performance;

.209027.6 - 4 - (5) collect data on program activities and outcomes for reporting in accordance with the tier levels that the department has established in rule, pursuant to Section 4 of the Early Childhood Care Accountability Act;

(7) measure the promotion of positive HB 193 Page 4 development and appropriate early childhood educational practicespractices, asin providedaccordance with the tier levels that the department has established in rule, pursuant to Section 4 of the Early Childhood Care Accountability Act;

(10) ensure that the program has established and shared with parents a curriculum statement that supports e e 17 school readiness;

and e e n d 18 (11) follow a curriculum that is aligned with = = l ] 19 child development functional areas, including the New Mexico a l r i 20 early learning guidelines, in accordance with the tier levels t e a t that the department has established by rule." m m 21 e d r e 22 SECTION 4.

A new section of the Children's Code is c e r c 23 enacted to read: