Amendment ID: S2697-37-R1

Redraft Amendment 37

Information for Parents of Newborns Regarding Licensed Care and Financial Resources

Messrs. Feeney, Tarr and Timilty move that the proposed new draft be amended by striking out section 5 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

“SECTION 5. Said section 2 of said chapter 15D, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 108, the word “training.” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-   training;

(v) in consultation with the data advisory commission established in section 12B, annually collect data on: (1) the number of early education and care providers; (2) the number of employees at early education and care providers, delineated by job position and full-time or part-time designation; (3) the pay rates and employer-paid benefits for employees at early education and care providers, delineated by job position and full-time or part-time designation; (4) the tuition charged by early education and care providers for full and part-time early education and care, delineated by age group; (5) the number of children enrolled by early education and care providers, delineated by region, age, type of care, family income range, race, ethnicity, country of origin, disability status, receipt of early intervention services, primary language of the household and the number of adults in the household; (6) the number of children receiving child care financial assistance, delineated by region, age, type of care, family income range, race, ethnicity, country of origin, disability status, receipt of early intervention services, primary language of the household and number of adults in the household; (7) the total cost of child care financial assistance provided by the department or its agents; (8) the average monthly number of utilized and unutilized contracted slots and vouchers, delineated by region and type of care; and (9) the average monthly number of children on the department’s waitlist for child care financial assistance, delineated by region, age, type of care, family income range, race, ethnicity, country of origin, disability status, receipt of early intervention services, primary language of the household and number of adults in the household; provided, however, that the department shall include a summary of the data collected in the department’s annual report required by subsection (g) of section 3; and

(w) develop, maintain and disseminate a written early education and care informational pamphlet accessible through the departments website, containing resources for parents of newborns including, but not limited to: (1) information on the short and long-term developmental benefits of a quality early education and care curriculum; (2) the department’s role in licensing providers, conducting background record checks and the differences between licensed and unlicensed providers; (3) child care financial assistance eligibility requirements; and (4) the website for families to access an online directory, searchable by geographic location, of licensed child care programs across the commonwealth.