HB 719

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to child care; amending s. 402.281, F.S.;
3	revising provisions relating to standards that child care
4	facilities must meet to obtain and maintain a Gold Seal
5	Quality Care provider designation; requiring the
6	Department of Children and Family Services to notify
7	specified accrediting associations upon adoption of
8	additional or revised Gold Seal Quality Care program
9	standards; amending s. 402.305, F.S.; revising minimum age
10	requirements and establishing minimum education standards
11	for child care personnel; revising minimum staff
12	credential requirements; providing an effective date.
13
14	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16	Section 1.  Subsections (1) and (2) of section 402.281,
17	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
18	402.281  Gold Seal Quality Care program.-
19	(1)  Child care facilities, large family child care homes,
20	or family day care homes that are accredited by a nationally
21	recognized accrediting association whose standards substantially
22	meet or exceed the National Association for the Education of
23	Young Children (NAEYC), the National Association of Family Child
24	Care, or and the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation
25	Commission, as applicable, may apply to shall receive a separate
26	"Gold Seal Quality Care" designation to operate as a gold seal
27	child care facility, large family child care home, or family day
28	care home.
29	(2)  In developing the Gold Seal Quality Care program
30	standards, the department shall use the current standards of the
31	applicable accrediting association listed in subsection (1) and
32	consult with the Department of Education, the Agency for
33	Workforce Innovation, the Florida Head Start Directors
34	Association, the Florida Association of Child Care Management,
35	the Florida Family Day Care Association, the Florida Children's
36	Forum, the State Coordinating Council for School Readiness
37	Programs, the Early Childhood Association of Florida, the
38	National Association for Child Development Education, providers
39	receiving exemptions under s. 402.316, and parents, for the
40	purpose of approving the accrediting associations.
41	(a)  Upon the adoption of additional or revised standards
42	by an accrediting association listed in subsection (1), the
43	department shall notify each accrediting association that has
44	been approved to participate in the Gold Seal Quality Care
45	program of the applicable changes and of the department's intent
46	to revise the Gold Seal Quality Care program standards
47	accordingly.
48	(b)  An accrediting association shall have 30 days after
49	the department notifies it of additional or revised standards to
50	notify the department of its intent to either revise its
51	accreditation standards or discontinue participation in the Gold
52	Seal Quality Care program.
53	1.  When an accrediting association notifies the department
54	that it intends to discontinue participation in the Gold Seal
55	Quality Care program, the department shall notify any
56	participating child care provider that is accredited by that
57	association that it must obtain accreditation by another Gold
58	Seal Quality Care accrediting association by the expiration date
59	of its current accreditation in order to maintain its
60	designation as a Gold Seal Quality Care provider.
61	2.  An accrediting association that intends to revise its
62	accreditation standards must do so within 90 days after the
63	notification required under paragraph (a) and must ensure that
64	each provider accredited by that association is in compliance
65	with the revised accreditation standards upon renewal of its
66	designation as a Gold Seal Quality Care provider.
67	Section 2.  Subsections (2) and (3) of section 402.305,
68	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
69	402.305  Licensing standards; child care facilities.-
70	(2)  PERSONNEL.-Minimum standards for child care personnel
71	shall include minimum requirements as to:
72	(a)  Good moral character based upon screening. This
73	screening shall be conducted as provided in chapter 435, using
74	the level 2 standards for screening set forth in that chapter.
75	(b)  Exemptions from disqualification. The department may
76	grant exemptions from disqualification from working with
77	children or the developmentally disabled as provided in s.
78	435.07.
79	(c)  Minimum age standards requirements. Such minimum
80	standards shall prohibit a person under the age of 21 from being
81	the operator of a child care facility and a person under the age
82	of 18 16 from being employed at such facility unless such person
83	is under direct and constant supervision of trained staff who
84	are 18 years of age or older who have undergone level 2
85	screening pursuant to paragraph (a) and is not counted for the
86	purposes of calculating computing the staff-to-child personnel-
87	to-child ratio.
88	(d)  Minimum training requirements for child care
89	personnel.
90	1.  Such minimum standards for training shall ensure that
91	all child care personnel take an approved 40-clock-hour
92	introductory course in child care, which course covers at least
93	the following topic areas:
94	a.  State and local rules and regulations which govern
95	child care.
96	b.  Health, safety, and nutrition.
97	c.  Identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect.
98	d.  Child development, including typical and atypical
99	language, cognitive, motor, social, and self-help skills
100	development.
101	e.  Observation of developmental behaviors, including using
102	a checklist or other similar observation tools and techniques to
103	determine the child's developmental age level.
104	f.  Specialized areas, including computer technology for
105	professional and classroom use and early literacy and language
106	development of children from birth to 5 years of age, as
107	determined by the department, for owner-operators and child care
108	personnel of a child care facility.
109
110	Within 90 days after employment, child care personnel shall
111	begin training to meet the training requirements. Child care
112	personnel shall successfully complete such training within 1
113	year after the date on which the training began, as evidenced by
114	passage of a competency examination. Successful completion of
115	the 40-clock-hour introductory course shall articulate into
116	community college credit in early childhood education, pursuant
117	to ss. 1007.24 and 1007.25. Exemption from all or a portion of
118	the required training shall be granted to child care personnel
119	based upon educational credentials or passage of competency
120	examinations. Child care personnel possessing a 2-year degree or
121	higher that includes 6 college credit hours in early childhood
122	development or child growth and development, or a child
123	development associate credential or an equivalent state-approved
124	child development associate credential, or a child development
125	associate waiver certificate shall be automatically exempted
126	from the training requirements in sub-subparagraphs b., d., and
127	e.
128	2.  The introductory course in child care shall stress, to
129	the extent possible, an interdisciplinary approach to the study
130	of children.
131	3.  The introductory course shall cover recognition and
132	prevention of shaken baby syndrome, prevention of sudden infant
133	death syndrome, and early childhood brain development within the
134	topic areas identified in this paragraph.
135	4.  On an annual basis in order to further their child care
136	skills and, if appropriate, administrative skills, child care
137	personnel who have fulfilled the requirements for the child care
138	training shall be required to take an additional 1 continuing
139	education unit of approved inservice training, or 10 clock hours
140	of equivalent training, as determined by the department.
141	5.  Child care personnel shall be required to complete 0.5
142	continuing education unit of approved training or 5 clock hours
143	of equivalent training, as determined by the department, in
144	early literacy and language development of children from birth
145	to 5 years of age one time. The year that this training is
146	completed, it shall fulfill the 0.5 continuing education unit or
147	5 clock hours of the annual training required in subparagraph 4.
148	6.  Procedures for ensuring the training of qualified child
149	care professionals to provide training of child care personnel,
150	including onsite training, shall be included in the minimum
151	standards. It is recommended that the state community child care
152	coordination agencies (central agencies) be contracted by the
153	department to coordinate such training when possible. Other
154	district educational resources, such as community colleges and
155	career programs, can be designated in such areas where central
156	agencies may not exist or are determined not to have the
157	capability to meet the coordination requirements set forth by
158	the department.
159	7.  Training requirements shall not apply to certain
160	occasional or part-time support staff, including, but not
161	limited to, swimming instructors, piano teachers, dance
162	instructors, and gymnastics instructors.
163	8.  The department shall evaluate or contract for an
164	evaluation for the general purpose of determining the status of
165	and means to improve staff training requirements and testing
166	procedures. The evaluation shall be conducted every 2 years. The
167	evaluation shall include, but not be limited to, determining the
168	availability, quality, scope, and sources of current staff
169	training; determining the need for specialty training; and
170	determining ways to increase inservice training and ways to
171	increase the accessibility, quality, and cost-effectiveness of
172	current and proposed staff training. The evaluation methodology
173	shall include a reliable and valid survey of child care
174	personnel.
175	9.  The child care operator shall be required to take basic
176	training in serving children with disabilities within 5 years
177	after employment, either as a part of the introductory training
178	or the annual 8 hours of inservice training.
179	(e)  Periodic health examinations.
180	(f)  By January 1, 2000, a credential for child care
181	facility directors. By January 1, 2004, the credential shall be
182	a required minimum standard for licensing.
183	(g)  Minimum education standards for employment as child
184	care personnel. A person who has not obtained a high school
185	diploma or a high school equivalency diploma pursuant to s.
186	1003.435 may not be employed as child care personnel, as defined
187	in s. 402.302, unless the person is:
188	1.  Under the direct and constant supervision of trained
189	staff who have undergone level 2 screening pursuant to paragraph
190	(a) and is not counted for purposes of calculating the staff-to-
191	child ratio;
192	2.  Not serving in an instructional position and is not
193	counted for purposes of calculating the staff-to-child ratio; or
194	3.  Employed in an instructional position on July 1, 2010,
195	and has 10 or more continuous years of documented experience
196	working with children in a child care setting or in a public
197	school.
198
199	A person who is an employee of a child care facility or child
200	care program on July 1, 2010, who does not have a high school
201	diploma or a high school equivalency diploma and is not exempt
202	from the requirement to have such a diploma under subparagraph
203	1., subparagraph 2., or subparagraph 3. must meet that education
204	requirement by July 1, 2011. A person who is not in compliance
205	with the requirements of this paragraph may not be employed in a
206	child care facility or child care program.
207	(3)  MINIMUM STAFF CREDENTIALS.-If a licensed child care
208	facility operates 8 hours or more per week By July 1, 1996, for
209	every 20 children in the a licensed child care facility,
210	beginning with the first child if the facility operates 8 hours
211	or more per week, one of the child care personnel in the
212	facility must have:
213	(a)  A current child development associate credential;
214	(b)  A current child care professional credential, unless
215	the department determines that such child care professional
216	credential is not equivalent to or greater than a child
217	development associate credential; or
218	(c)  A current credential that is equivalent to or greater
219	than the credential required in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b).
220
221	The department shall establish by rule those hours of operation,
222	such as during rest periods and transitional periods, when this
223	subsection does not apply.
224	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

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