STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
972
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 5, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the early child-
hood advisory council; and to amend a chapter of the laws of 2016,
amending the social services law relating to codifying the early
childhood advisory council, as proposed in legislative bills numbers
S.7427-A and A.9902-A, in relation to the effectiveness thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 483-g of the social services law, as added by a
2 chapter of the laws of 2016, amending the social services law relating
3 to codifying the early childhood advisory council, as proposed in legis-
4 lative bills numbers S.7427-A and A.9902-A, is amended to read as
5 follows:
6 § 483-g. Early childhood advisory council. 1. There is hereby estab-
7 lished within the council an early childhood advisory council to promote
8 a comprehensive and high quality early childhood system. Members of the
9 early childhood advisory council shall be appointed by the governor and
10 shall include, but not be limited to, to the maximum extent possible:
11 (a) a representative of the office of children and family services;
12 (b) a representative of the state education department;
13 (c) a representative of local educational agencies;
14 (d) a representative of institutions of higher education in the state;
15 (e) a representative of local providers of early childhood education
16 and development services;
17 (f) a representative of head start agencies, including migrant and
18 seasonal head start programs and Indian head start programs;
19 (g) the director of the head start collaboration office;
20 (h) a representative from the department of health;
21 (i) a representative of the office of temporary and disability assist-
22 ance;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07074-01-7
S. 972 2
1 (j) a representative of the office of mental health;
2 (k) a representative of the office for people with developmental disa-
3 bilities;
4 (l) a representative of the empire state development corporation;
5 (m) a representative of the division of the budget;
6 (n) at least five representatives of the business community; and
7 (o) representatives of other entities determined to be relevant by the
8 governor.
9 2. The governor shall also designate the two chairpersons to the early
10 childhood advisory council.
11 3. The early childhood advisory council shall, in addition to any
12 responsibilities assigned by the governor:
13 (a) conduct a periodic statewide needs assessment concerning the qual-
14 ity and availability of early childhood education and development
15 programs and services for children from birth to school entry, including
16 an assessment of the availability of high-quality pre-kindergarten
17 services for low-income children in the state;
18 (b) identify opportunities for, and barriers to, collaboration and
19 coordination among federally funded and state funded child development,
20 child care, and early childhood education programs and services, includ-
21 ing collaboration and coordination among state agencies responsible for
22 administering such programs;
23 (c) develop recommendations for increasing the overall participation
24 of children in existing federal, state, and local child care and early
25 childhood education programs, including outreach to underrepresented and
26 special populations;
27 (d) develop recommendations regarding the establishment of a unified
28 data collection system for public early childhood education and develop-
29 ment programs and services throughout the state;
30 (e) develop recommendations regarding statewide professional develop-
31 ment and career advancement plans for early childhood educators in the
32 state;
33 (f) assess the capacity and effectiveness of two-year and four-year
34 public and private institutions of higher education in the state toward
35 supporting the development of early childhood educators, including the
36 extent to which such institutions have in place articulation agreements,
37 professional development and career advancement plans, and practice or
38 internships for students to spend time in a head start or pre-kindergar-
39 ten program;
40 (g) develop and implement strategies to engage business and civic
41 leaders and organizations in early learning planning and advocacy at the
42 state and local level;
43 (h) increase business, civic and public awareness of the importance of
44 early childhood education, including, but not limited to, the distrib-
45 ution of literature through mail or online, organizing of meetings and
46 events to promote the cost benefit of investments in learning and the
47 hosting of an annual economic summit on early childhood investment;
48 (i) develop recommendations for increasing public-private investments
49 in early childhood and strategies for maximizing resources; and
50 (j) make recommendations for improvements in state early learning
51 standards and undertake efforts to develop high-quality comprehensive
52 early learning standards, as appropriate.
53 [3.] 4. Members of the early childhood advisory council shall serve on
54 workgroups tasked with implementing the duties required pursuant to
55 subdivision [two] three of this section. Such workgroups may be estab-
56 lished as needed, provided however that there shall be a permanent early
S. 972 3
1 learning investment workgroup focused on implementation of, at a mini-
2 mum, the duties described in paragraphs (g), (h) and (i) of subdivision
3 [two] three of this section. Membership of the early learning investment
4 workgroup shall include, but not be limited to, representatives of the
5 business community appointed to the council in accordance with paragraph
6 (n) of subdivision one of this section.
7 [4.] 5. The early childhood advisory council shall hold public hear-
8 ings and provide an opportunity for public comment on the activities
9 described in subdivision [two] three of this section.
10 [5.] 6. The early childhood advisory council shall submit a statewide
11 strategic report addressing the activities described in subdivision
12 [two] three of this section to the director of the head start collab-
13 oration office, the governor, the speaker of the assembly and the tempo-
14 rary president of the senate. After submission of a statewide strategic
15 report, the early childhood advisory council shall meet periodically to
16 review any implementation of the recommendations in such report and any
17 changes in state and local needs.
18 § 2. Section 2 of a chapter of the laws of 2016, amending the social
19 services law relating to codifying the early childhood advisory council,
20 as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.7427-A and A.9902-A, is
21 amended to read as follows:
22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that on the
23 effective date of this act incumbent members and co-chairs of the early
24 childhood advisory council shall continue to serve in their respective
25 roles.
26 § 3. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
27 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2016, amending the social services
28 law relating to codifying the early childhood advisory council, as
29 proposed in legislative bills numbers S.7427-A and A.9902-A, takes
30 effect.