8212.
(a) For purposes of this article, childcare resource and referral programs, established to serve a defined geographic area, shall provide the following services:(1) (A) Identification of the full range of existing childcare services through information provided by all relevant public and private agencies in the areas of service, and the development of a resource file of those services, which shall be maintained and updated at least quarterly. These services shall include, but not be limited to, family daycare homes, public and private daycare programs, full-time and part-time programs, and infant, preschool, and extended care programs.
(B) The resource file shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(i) Type of program.
(ii) Hours of service.
(iii) Ages of children served.
(iv) Fees and eligibility for services.
(v) Significant program information.
(2) (A) (i) Establishment of a referral process that responds to parental need for information and that is provided with full recognition of the confidentiality rights of parents. Resource and referral
programs shall make referrals to licensed child daycare facilities. Referrals shall be made to unlicensed care facilities only if there is no requirement that the facility be licensed. The referral process shall afford parents maximum access to all referral information. This access shall include, but is not limited to, telephone referrals to be made available for at least 30 hours per week as part of a full week of operation. Every effort shall be made to reach all parents within the defined geographic area, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(I) Toll-free telephone lines.
(II) Office space convenient to parents and providers.
(III) Referrals in languages which are spoken in the community.
(ii) Each childcare resource and referral program shall publicize its services through all available media sources, agencies, and other appropriate methods.
(B) (i) Provision of information to any person who requests a childcare referral of their right to view the licensing information of a licensed child daycare facility required to be maintained at the facility pursuant to Section 1596.859 of the Health and Safety Code and to access any public files pertaining to the facility that are maintained by the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division.
(ii) A written or oral advisement in substantially the following form will comply with the requirements of clause (i):
“State law requires licensed child daycare facilities to make accessible to the public a copy of any licensing report pertaining to the facility that documents a facility visit or a substantiated complaint investigation. In addition, a more complete file regarding a childcare licensee may be available at an office of the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. You have the right to access any public information in these files.”
(3) (A) Maintenance of ongoing documentation of requests for service tabulated through the internal referral process. The following documentation of requests for service shall be maintained by all childcare resource and referral programs:
(i) Number of calls and
contacts to the childcare information and referral program or component.
(ii) Ages of children served.
(iii) Time category of childcare request for each child.
(iv) Special time category, such as nights, weekends, and swing shift.
(v) Reason that the childcare is needed.
(vi) The number of requests for care by age of the child, race and ethnicity of the child, hours of care needed by race and ethnicity of the child, and facility type requested by race and ethnicity of the child.
(B) This information shall be maintained in a manner that
is easily accessible for dissemination purposes, and shall be accessible to local childcare and development planning councils authorized pursuant to Section 8499.5 and any county implementing an individualized county childcare subsidy plan.
(4) Provision of technical assistance to existing and potential providers of all types of childcare services. This assistance shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) Information on all aspects of initiating new childcare services including, but not limited to, licensing, zoning, program and budget development, and assistance in finding this information from other sources.
(B) Information and resources that help existing childcare services providers to maximize their ability to
serve the children and parents of their community.
(C) Dissemination of information on current public issues affecting the local and state delivery of childcare services.
(D) Facilitation of communication between existing childcare and child-related services providers in the community served.
(5) (A) (i) Provision of a childcare navigator to support children in foster care, children previously in foster care upon return to their home of origin, and children of parents involved in the child welfare system, including the children of nonminor dependents. The navigator shall work with the child’s family, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, and the child’s social worker and child and family team to assess childcare opportunities appropriate to the child’s age and needs, assist the family in identifying potential opportunities for an ongoing childcare subsidy, assist the caregiver in completing appropriate childcare program applications, and
develop an overall, long-term childcare plan for the child.
(ii) As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this subparagraph, each resource and referral program shall develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency in order to facilitate interagency communication and, to the maximum extent possible, to leverage federal funding, including administrative funding, available pursuant to Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act, to enhance the navigation support authorized under this subparagraph, or the resource and referral program shall explain, in writing, annually, why entering into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency is not practical or feasible. Navigator services
provided pursuant to this subparagraph shall be made available to any child in foster care, any child previously in foster care who has returned to their home of origin, and any child of parents involved in the child welfare system, including any child who meets the eligibility criteria for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children established pursuant to Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Eligibility for navigator services shall not be contingent on a child’s receipt of a childcare payment or voucher.
(B) (i) Provision of trauma-informed training and coaching to childcare providers working with children, and children of parenting youth, in the foster care system. Training shall include, but not be limited to, infant and toddler development and research-based, trauma-informed best care
practices. Childcare providers shall be provided with coaching to assist them in applying training techniques and strategies for working with children, and children of parenting youth, in foster care.
(ii) As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this subparagraph, each resource and referral program, in coordination with the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, shall develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency in order to, to the maximum extent possible, leverage federal funding, including training funds, available pursuant to Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act, to enhance the training support authorized under this subparagraph, or the resource and referral agency shall explain, in writing, annually, why entering into a
memorandum of understanding, contract, or other formal agreement with the county child welfare agency is not practical or feasible.
(b) Services prescribed by this section shall be provided in order to maximize parental choice in the selection of childcare to facilitate the maintenance and development of childcare services and resources.
(c) (1) A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, remove a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation from the program’s referral list.
(2) A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two business days of receiving notice, notify all
entities, operating a program under Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220) and Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) in the program’s jurisdiction, of a licensed child daycare facility with a revocation or a temporary suspension order, or that is on probation.