SENATE PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL 379

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

AN ACT

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES; ENACTING THE CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT; REQUIRING THE CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES DEPARTMENT TO ESTABLISH THE CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE ACCOUNTABILITY PROGRAM; PROVIDING FOR RULEMAKING.

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

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Children's Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Child Care Assistance Accountability Act"."

     SECTION 2. A new section of the Children's Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Child Care Assistance Accountability Act:

          A. "child care assistance" means financial assistance administered by the department that provides child care for children zero to five as the primary service delivery strategy through a contract with child care providers on behalf of eligible families;

          B. "child care assistance program" means the statewide infrastructure established by the department of all eligible families and the child care programs receiving child care assistance on their behalf;

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

          D. "eligible family" means a family that receives child care assistance through the department." 

     SECTION 3. A new section of the Children's Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM--REQUIREMENTS.--

          A. The department shall provide a statewide infrastructure for child care providers that accept child care assistance, that shall:

                (1) establish a consistent statewide system of child care assistance;

                (2) provide a common framework for service delivery and accountability across all child care providers that accept funding from the child care assistance program;

                (3) deliver a variety of educational, developmental, referral and other support services for eligible families with children who have not yet entered kindergarten;

                (4) follow program standards that specify the purpose, outcomes, duration and frequency of services that constitute the program and that ensure high-quality service delivery based on the New Mexico early learning guidelines and continuous quality improvement;

                (5) be designed to promote positive parenting practices, child safety and well-being, early education and an emphasis on school readiness while also supporting working families and families going to school;

                (6) provide voluntary access; and

                (7) allow for the collection, aggregation, analysis and evaluation of common data.

          B. The department shall implement a quality improvement system using multiple levels of quality to rate all child care assistance providers and use the ratings to pay higher rates for higher-rated individual child care assistance providers under the child care assistance program."

     SECTION 4. A new section of the Children's Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM--

REPORTING.--

          A. The department shall convene a group consisting of representatives of the legislative finance committee and the department of finance and administration and child care providers representing various geographical regions of the state, who shall be a majority of the group, to meet and, and in accordance with the provisions of the Accountability in Government Act, to:

                (1) develop an outcomes measurement plan to monitor outcomes for children and families receiving services through child care assistance programs;

                (2) develop goals and objectives with corresponding indicators that measure each objective established in the outcome measurement plan; and

                (3) complete and submit the outcomes measurement plan by December 31, 2015 to the legislature, the governor and the state early learning advisory council.

          B. Beginning December 31, 2016 and annually thereafter, the department shall produce an annual outcomes report for the legislature, the governor and the state early learning advisory council that includes:

                (1) the goals and achieved outcomes of the child care assistance program implemented pursuant to the Child Care Assistance Accountability Act; and

                (2) the following data:

                     (a) the number and type of child care assistance programs that the department has funded;

                     (b) the income levels of families served;

                     (c) the stated reasons that families have applied for child care assistance;

                     (d) the number of children served, including the monthly average and the total served by county;

                     (e) the number and percentage of children receiving child care assistance by quality level and provider type;

                     (f) the average monthly participation by children in the child care assistance program;

                     (g) any evidence of an increase in school readiness, child development and literacy;

                     (h) the number and percentage of children who enter kindergarten ready to learn, as measured by a kindergarten entry assessment;

                     (i) the number and percentage of children receiving regular immunizations;

                     (j) evidence that children receive regular meals;

                     (k) staff retention rates;

                     (l) staff wages;

                     (m) staff certification and education levels; and

                     (n) evidence that families are engaged."