Bill Text: NY S05929 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Establishes a child care availability taskforce to evaluate the need for and availability of child care throughout the state and requires such taskforce to report on its findings and recommendations annually.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-12-18 - APPROVAL MEMO.59 [S05929 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S05929-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5929--A
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                       May 8, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and  Families  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to  establishing  a
          child  care availability taskforce to evaluate the need for and avail-
          ability of child care throughout the state
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section
     2  390-k to read as follows:
     3    § 390-k. Child care availability taskforce. 1. There shall  be  estab-
     4  lished  within  the  office of children and family services a child care
     5  taskforce for the purpose of evaluating the need for and availability of
     6  child care throughout the state.
     7    2. The taskforce shall be chaired by the commissioners of  the  office
     8  of children and family services and the office of temporary and disabil-
     9  ity assistance, or their designees. Members of the taskforce shall serve
    10  without  compensation  for  three  year terms, but may be reimbursed for
    11  actual costs incurred for participation on  such  taskforce.    Ensuring
    12  adequate  geographic  representation,  members of the taskforce shall be
    13  appointed by the governor and comprised as follows:
    14    (a) two individuals shall be appointed upon the recommendation of  the
    15  speaker  of the assembly, at least one of whom shall be a parent who has
    16  utilized subsidized child care;
    17    (b) two individuals shall be appointed upon the recommendation of  the
    18  temporary  president  of  the  senate,  at  least one of whom shall be a
    19  parent who has utilized subsidized child care;
    20    (c) two representatives of a child care resource and referral agency;
    21    (d) two representatives of home-based child care providers;
    22    (e) two representatives of center-based child care providers; and
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11372-04-7
        S. 5929--A                          2
     1    (f) two representatives from the business community.
     2    3. The taskforce shall examine the following:
     3    (a)  access  to subsidized child care, including the percentage of the
     4  eligible population receiving a child care subsidy;
     5    (b) cost of care for families eligible for but not receiving  a  child
     6  care subsidy;
     7    (c) availability of child care for non-traditional work hours;
     8    (d)  whether parents are voluntarily leaving the workforce due to lack
     9  of affordable or accessible child care, and the demographic  information
    10  of such parents;
    11    (e)  whether  employers have identified lack of child care as a reason
    12  for a shortage of a qualified workforce;
    13    (f) the impact of child care, or lack thereof, on economic development
    14  throughout the state;
    15    (g) varying levels of quality of care throughout the state;
    16    (h) ways to address concerns identified in paragraphs (a) through  (g)
    17  of this subdivision; and
    18    (i) anything else the taskforce deems necessary.
    19    4.  The  taskforce  shall  report  its findings and recommendations in
    20  accordance with subdivision three of this section to the speaker of  the
    21  assembly  and the temporary president of the senate no later than Decem-
    22  ber thirty-first, two thousand seventeen, and annually thereafter.
    23    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.