Bill Text: FL S1382 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Child Care Facilities [SPSC]

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Messages, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/CS/SB 2014 (Ch. 2010-210) [S1382 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-S1382-Introduced.html

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Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 1382 
 
By Senator Rich 
34-00894A-10                                          20101382__ 
1                        A bill to be entitled 
2         An act relating to child care facilities; amending s. 
3         402.281, F.S.; providing that certain child care 
4         facilities, large family child care homes, and family 
5         day care homes that are accredited by a nationally 
6         recognized accrediting association may apply to the 
7         Department of Children and Family Services to receive 
8         a “Gold Seal Quality Care” designation; requiring the 
9         department to use certain standards and to consult 
10         with specified organizations when developing the Gold 
11         Seal Quality Care program standards; requiring the 
12         department to notify accrediting associations if the 
13         department proposes to revise the Gold Seal Quality 
14         Care program standards; requiring each accrediting 
15         association to notify the department within a stated 
16         time of its intent to revise its accreditation 
17         standards or discontinue participation in the Gold 
18         Seal Quality Care program; requiring an accrediting 
19         association that intends to revise its accreditation 
20         standards to do so within 90 days after notification 
21         from the department; amending s. 402.305, F.S.; 
22         prohibiting a person under the age of 18 from being 
23         employed at a child care facility; providing 
24         exceptions; stating the minimum educational standards 
25         for child care facility employees; providing 
26         exceptions; requiring employees who do not meet the 
27         minimum educational standards by a specified date to 
28         do so within 1 year; requiring child care staff to 
29         possess specified credentials; reenacting s. 
30         1007.23(5), F.S., relating to child development 
31         associate credentials, to incorporate the amendment 
32         made to s. 402.305, F.S., in a reference thereto; 
33         providing an effective date. 
34 
35  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
36 
37         Section 1. Section 402.281, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
38  read: 
39         402.281 Gold Seal Quality Care program.— 
40         (1) Child care facilities, large family child care homes, 
41  or family day care homes that are accredited by a nationally 
42  recognized accrediting association whose standards substantially 
43  meet or exceed the National Association for the Education of 
44  Young Children (NAEYC), the National Association of Family Child 
45  Care, or and the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation 
46  Commission, as applicable, may apply to the department to shall 
47  receive a separate “Gold Seal Quality Care” designation to 
48  operate as a gold seal child care facility, large family child 
49  care home, or family day care home. 
50         (2) In developing the Gold Seal Quality Care program 
51  standards, the department shall use the current standards of 
52  each accrediting association, as applicable, specified in 
53  subsection (1) and consult with the Department of Education, the 
54  Agency for Workforce Innovation, the Florida Head Start 
55  Directors Association, the Florida Association of Child Care 
56  Management, the Florida Family Day Care Association, the Florida 
57  Children’s Forum, the State Coordinating Council for School 
58  Readiness Programs, the Early Childhood Association of Florida, 
59  the National Association for Child Development Education, 
60  providers receiving exemptions under s. 402.316, and parents, 
61  for the purpose of approving the accrediting associations. 
62         (a) Upon the adoption of additional or revised standards by 
63  any accrediting association specified in subsection (1), the 
64  department shall notify each accrediting association that has 
65  been approved to participate in the Gold Seal Quality Care 
66  program of the applicable changes and of the department’s intent 
67  to revise the Gold Seal Quality Care program standards 
68  accordingly. 
69         (b) Upon such notification, each accrediting association 
70  must, within 30 days, notify the department of its intent to 
71  revise its accreditation standards or discontinue participation 
72  in the Gold Seal Quality Care program. 
73         1. Upon notification by an accrediting association that it 
74  intends to discontinue participation in the Gold Seal Quality 
75  Care program, the department shall notify any participating 
76  child care provider accredited by that association that the 
77  provider must obtain accreditation from another Gold Seal 
78  accrediting association by the time the provider’s current 
79  accreditation expires in order to maintain designation as a Gold 
80  Seal Quality Care provider. 
81         2. An accrediting association that intends to revise its 
82  accreditation standards must do so within 90 days after the 
83  notification provided pursuant to paragraph (a) and must ensure 
84  that each provider accredited by that association is in 
85  compliance with the revised accreditation standards upon the 
86  provider’s renewal of accreditation. 
87         (3) In order to obtain and maintain a designation as a Gold 
88  Seal Quality Care provider, a child care facility, large family 
89  child care home, or family day care home must meet the following 
90  additional criteria: 
91         (a) The child care provider must not have had any class I 
92  violations, as defined by rule, within the 2 years preceding its 
93  application for designation as a Gold Seal Quality Care 
94  provider. Commission of a class I violation shall be grounds for 
95  termination of the designation as a Gold Seal Quality Care 
96  provider until the provider has no class I violations for a 
97  period of 2 years. 
98         (b) The child care provider must not have had three or more 
99  class II violations, as defined by rule, within the 2 years 
100  preceding its application for designation as a Gold Seal Quality 
101  Care provider. Commission of three or more class II violations 
102  within a 2-year period shall be grounds for termination of the 
103  designation as a Gold Seal Quality Care provider until the 
104  provider has no class II violations for a period of 1 year. 
105         (c) The child care provider must not have been cited for 
106  the same class III violation, as defined by rule, three or more 
107  times within the 2 years preceding its application for 
108  designation as a Gold Seal Quality Care provider. Commission of 
109  the same class III violation three or more times during a 2-year 
110  period shall be grounds for termination of the designation as a 
111  Gold Seal Quality Care provider until the provider has no class 
112  III violations for a period of 1 year. 
113         (4) The Department of Children and Family Services shall 
114  adopt rules pursuant to under ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 which 
115  provide criteria and procedures for reviewing and approving 
116  accrediting associations for participation in the Gold Seal 
117  Quality Care program, conferring and revoking designations of 
118  Gold Seal Quality Care providers, and classifying violations. 
119         Section 2. Paragraphs (c) and (f) of subsection (2) and 
120  subsection (3) of section 402.305, Florida Statutes, are 
121  amended, and paragraph (g) is added to subsection (2) of that 
122  section, to read: 
123         402.305 Licensing standards; child care facilities.— 
124         (2) PERSONNEL.—Minimum standards for child care personnel 
125  shall include minimum requirements as to: 
126         (c) Minimum age requirements. Such minimum standards shall 
127  prohibit a person under the age of 21 from being the operator of 
128  a child care facility and a person under the age of 18 16 from 
129  being employed at such facility unless such person is under 
130  direct and constant supervision of screened and trained staff 
131  who are 18 years of age or older and such person is not counted 
132  for the purposes of calculating computing the staff-to-child 
133  personnel-to-child ratio. 
134         (f) By January 1, 2000, A credential for child care 
135  facility directors. By January 1, 2004, The credential is the 
136  shall be a required minimum standard for licensing child care 
137  facility directors. 
138         (g) Minimum education standards for child care personnel. 
139  Minimum education standards shall prohibit persons who have not 
140  obtained a high school diploma or high school equivalency 
141  diploma under s. 1003.435 from being employed as child care 
142  personnel unless such a person is: 
143         1. Under the direct and constant supervision of screened 
144  and trained staff and is not counted for purposes of calculating 
145  the staff-to-child ratio; 
146         2. Not serving in an instructional position and is not 
147  counted for purposes of calculating the staff-to-child ratio; 
148  and 
149         3. Employed in an instructional position on July 1, 2010, 
150  and has 10 or more continuous years of documented experience 
151  working with children in a child care setting or in a public 
152  school. 
153 
154  Those child care personnel who are employed by a child care 
155  facility on July 1, 2010, who do not possess the minimum 
156  educational requirements set forth in this paragraph and who are 
157  not exempt from the requirements of this paragraph must complete 
158  the educational requirements by July 1, 2011. Persons who do not 
159  complete the appropriate educational requirements are prohibited 
160  from employment as child care personnel until such time as they 
161  are in compliance with this paragraph. 
162         (3) MINIMUM STAFF CREDENTIALS.—If a facility operates for 8 
163  or more hours per week By July 1, 1996, for every 20 children in 
164  the a licensed child care facility, beginning with the first 
165  child if the facility operates 8 hours or more per week, one of 
166  the child care personnel in the facility must have: 
167         (a) A current child development associate credential; 
168         (b) A current child care professional credential, unless 
169  the department determines that such child care professional 
170  credential is not equivalent to or greater than a child 
171  development associate credential; or 
172         (c) A current credential that is equivalent to or greater 
173  than the credential required in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b). 
174 
175  The department shall establish by rule those hours of operation, 
176  such as during rest periods and transitional periods, when this 
177  subsection does not apply. 
178         Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 
179  made by this act to section 402.305, Florida Statutes, in a 
180  reference thereto, subsection (5) of section 1007.23, Florida 
181  Statutes, is reenacted to read: 
182         1007.23 Statewide articulation agreement.— 
183         (5) The articulation agreement must guarantee the 
184  articulation of 9 credit hours toward a postsecondary degree in 
185  early childhood education for programs approved by the State 
186  Board of Education and the Board of Governors which: 
187         (a) Award a child development associate credential issued 
188  by the National Credentialing Program of the Council for 
189  Professional Recognition or award a credential approved under s. 
190  1002.55(3)(c)1.b. or s. 402.305(3)(c) as being equivalent to the 
191  child development associate credential; and 
192         (b) Include training in emergent literacy which meets or 
193  exceeds the minimum standards for training courses for 
194  prekindergarten instructors of the Voluntary Prekindergarten 
195  Education Program in s. 1002.59. 
196         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.