Bill Text: TX HB3788 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Relating to child-to-caregiver ratios and group sizes in licensed day-care centers and reporting certain information related to child safety.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-05-10 - Referred to Health & Human Services [HB3788 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB3788-Engrossed.html
85R18542 MM-D | ||
By: Koop, Rose, Miller, Keough, Anchia | H.B. No. 3788 |
|
||
|
||
relating to child-to-caregiver ratios and group sizes in licensed | ||
day-care centers and reporting certain information related to child | ||
safety. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, | ||
is amended by adding Section 42.0412 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 42.0412. COLLECTION OF LICENSED DAY-CARE CENTER DATA. | ||
(a) In this section, "group of children" means the number of | ||
children assigned to a specific caregiver or group of caregivers, | ||
occupying an individual classroom or well-defined physical space | ||
within a larger room at a day-care center. | ||
(b) During each monitoring inspection of a licensed | ||
day-care center the department conducts between March 1, 2018, and | ||
May 31, 2018, the department, using existing resources, shall | ||
collect the following data for each group of children four years of | ||
age and younger in the day-care center: | ||
(1) the specified age of the children in the group as | ||
determined by the formula provided in the department's minimum | ||
standards for child-care centers; | ||
(2) the number of children in the group; and | ||
(3) the number of caregivers supervising the children | ||
in the group. | ||
(c) Not later than June 30, 2018, the department shall make | ||
the data collected under Subsection (b) available to community | ||
agencies and institutions of higher education on request. | ||
(d) The department shall collect the following information | ||
for each licensed day-care center from which the department | ||
collected data under Subsection (b) and on request shall provide | ||
the information to community agencies and institutions of higher | ||
education: | ||
(1) the licensed day-care center's program capacity; | ||
(2) the number of confirmed serious injuries and | ||
fatalities for children four years of age and younger that occurred | ||
at the day-care center between September 1, 2017, and August 31, | ||
2018, aggregated by the age of the injured or deceased child; | ||
(3) the number of investigations the department | ||
conducted at the day-care center between September 1, 2017, and | ||
August 31, 2018, involving a child who is four years of age or | ||
younger that were assigned the highest priority or second-highest | ||
priority, aggregated by the age of the youngest affected child; and | ||
(4) the total number of violations that the department | ||
found at the day-care center during investigations described by | ||
Subdivision (3). | ||
(e) The department, using existing resources, shall provide | ||
an annual report to the legislature that includes: | ||
(1) the number of confirmed serious injuries and | ||
fatalities for children four years of age and younger that occurred | ||
at each licensed day-care center, aggregated by the age of the | ||
injured or deceased child; | ||
(2) the priority assigned to the investigation | ||
conducted by the department in response to an incident that | ||
resulted in a serious injury or child fatality; | ||
(3) the number of investigations conducted by the | ||
department at each licensed day-care center involving a child four | ||
years of age or younger that were assigned the highest priority or | ||
second-highest priority, aggregated by the age of the youngest | ||
affected child; and | ||
(4) the number of violations the department found at | ||
each licensed day-care center during investigations described by | ||
Subdivision (3). | ||
(f) This subsection and Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) | ||
expire on September 1, 2019. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 42.042, Human Resources Code, is amended | ||
by amending Subsection (m) and adding Subsection (m-1) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(m) In determining minimum standards relating to | ||
child-to-caregiver [ |
||
footage requirements applicable to nonresidential child-care | ||
facilities that provide care for less than 24 hours a day, the | ||
department shall, within available appropriations, conduct a | ||
comprehensive cost-benefit analysis and economic impact study that | ||
includes families and licensed child-care providers. | ||
(m-1) Not later than January 1, 2019, the executive | ||
commissioner shall use the data collected under Section 42.0412 to | ||
determine whether to modify the standards related to | ||
child-to-caregiver ratios and group sizes. In determining whether | ||
to modify the standards, the executive commissioner shall compare | ||
licensed day-care centers that meet the child-to-caregiver ratios | ||
and group size requirements with licensed day-care centers that | ||
have lower child-to-caregiver ratios. The executive commissioner | ||
shall recommend appropriate adjustments to any standards related to | ||
child-to-caregiver ratios or group sizes if the data shows that | ||
day-care centers that meet the minimum child-to-caregiver ratios | ||
and group size requirements have a rate that is 10 percent or higher | ||
than day-care centers with lower child-to-caregiver ratios of: | ||
(1) confirmed serious injuries; | ||
(2) confirmed child fatalities; or | ||
(3) investigations conducted by the department that | ||
are assigned the highest priority or the second-highest priority. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |