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1996 SESSION

961132813
HOUSE BILL NO. 1085
Offered January 22, 1996
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.1-1.7, 2.1-51.15, 9-6.25:2, 9-291.1, 22.1-19, 63.1-196.01, 63.1-196.01:1, 63.1-196.1, 63.1-196.5, 63.1-202 of the Code of Virginia, to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 63.1-202.2 and to repeal § 63.1-202.1 of the Code of Virginia, abolishing the Child Day-Care Council.
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Patrons-- Cox and Callahan; Senators: Colgan and Stosch
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Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 2.1-1.7, 2.1-51.15, 9-6.25:2, 9-291.1, 22.1-19, 63.1-196.01, 63.1-196.01:1, 63.1-196.1, 63.1-196.5, 63.1-202 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 63.1-202.2, as follows:

§ 2.1-1.7. State councils.

A. There shall be, in addition to such others as may be established by law, the following permanent collegial bodies either affiliated with more than one agency or independent of an agency within the executive branch:

Adult Education and Literacy, Virginia Advisory Council for

Agricultural Council, Virginia

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems, Governor's Council on

Apprenticeship Council

Blue Ridge Regional Education and Training Council

Child Day Care and Early Childhood Programs, Virginia Council on

Child Day-Care Council

Citizens' Advisory Council on Furnishing and Interpreting the Executive Mansion

Commonwealth Competition Council

Commonwealth's Attorneys' Services Council

Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, Virginia

Disability Services Council

Equal Employment Opportunity Council, Virginia

Health Services Cost Review Council, Virginia

Housing for the Disabled, Interagency Coordinating Council on

Human Rights, Council on

Human Services Information and Referral Advisory Council

Indians, Council on

Interagency Coordinating Council, Virginia

Job Training Coordinating Council, Governor's

Land Evaluation Advisory Council

Local Debt, State Council on

Maternal and Child Health Council

Military Advisory Council, Virginia

Needs of Handicapped Persons, Overall Advisory Council on the

Prevention, Virginia Council on Coordinating

Public Records Advisory Council, State

Rate-setting for Children's Facilities, Interdepartmental Council on

Revenue Estimates, Advisory Council on

Southside Virginia Marketing Council

Specialized Transportation Council

State Health Benefits Advisory Council

Status of Women, Council on the

Technology Council, Virginia

Virginia Business-Education Partnership Program, Advisory Council on the

Virginia Recycling Markets Development Council.

B. Notwithstanding the definition for "council" as provided in § 2.1-1.2, the following entities shall be referred to as councils:

Council on Information Management

Higher Education, State Council of

Independent Living Council, Statewide

Rehabilitation Advisory Council, Statewide

Rehabilitation Advisory Council for the Blind, Statewide

World Trade Council, Virginia.

§ 2.1-51.15. Agencies for which responsible.

The Secretary of Health and Human Resources shall be responsible to the Governor for the following agencies: Department of Health, Department for the Visually Handicapped, Department of Health Professions, Department for the Aging, Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, Department of Rehabilitative Services, Department of Social Services, Virginia Health Services Cost Review Council, Department for Rights of Virginians With Disabilities, Department of Medical Assistance Services, the Council on Indians, Governor's Employment and Training Department, Child Day-Care Council, Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, the Virginia Council on Coordinating Prevention and the Virginia Council on Child Day Care and Early Childhood Programs. The Governor may, by executive order, assign any other state executive agency to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, or reassign any agency listed above to another secretary.

§ 9-6.25:2. Policy boards, commissions and councils.

There shall be, in addition to such others as may be designated in accordance with § 9-6.25, the following policy boards, commissions and councils:

Apprenticeship Council

Athletic Board

Auctioneers Board

Blue Ridge Regional Education and Training Council

Board for Accountancy

Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Landscape Architects

Board for Barbers

Board for Contractors

Board for Cosmetology

Board for Geology

Board for Hearing Aid Specialists

Board for Opticians

Board for Professional and Occupational Regulation

Board for Professional Soil Scientists

Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators

Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology

Board of Coal Mining Examiners

Board of Conservation and Recreation

Board of Correctional Education

Board of Dentistry

Board of Directors, Virginia Student Assistance Authorities

Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers

Board of Health Professions

Board of Historic Resources

Board of Housing and Community Development

Board of Medical Assistance Services

Board of Medicine

Board of Mineral Mining Examiners

Board of Nursing

Board of Nursing Home Administrators

Board of Optometry

Board of Pharmacy

Board of Professional Counselors

Board of Psychology

Board of Recreation Specialists

Board of Social Services

Board of Social Work

Board of Surface Mining Review

Board of Veterinary Medicine

Board on Conservation and Development of Public Beaches

Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Board

Child Day Care and Early Childhood Programs, Virginia Council on

Child Day-Care Council

Commission on Local Government

Commonwealth Transportation Board

Council on Human Rights

Council on Information Management

Criminal Justice Services Board

Disability Services Council

Farmers Market Board, Virginia

Immigrant and Refugee Policy Council

Interdepartmental Council on Rate-setting for Children's Facilities

Library Board, the Library of Virginia

Marine Resources Commission

Milk Commission

Pesticide Control Board

Real Estate Appraiser Board

Real Estate Board

Reciprocity Board, Department of Motor Vehicles

Safety and Health Codes Board

Seed Potato Board

Southside Virginia Marketing Council

Specialized Transportation Council

State Air Pollution Control Board

State Board of Corrections

State Board of Elections

State Board of Health

State Board of Youth and Family Services

State Health Department, Sewage Handling and Disposal Appeal Review Board

State Library Board

State Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services Board

State Water Control Board

Substance Abuse Certification Board

Treasury Board, The, Department of the Treasury

Virginia Aviation Board

Virginia Board for Asbestos Licensing

Virginia Fire Services Board

Virginia Gas and Oil Board

Virginia Health Planning Board

Virginia Health Services Cost Review Council

Virginia Manufactured Housing Board

Virginia Parole Board

Virginia Public Telecommunications Board

Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board

Virginia Voluntary Formulary Board

Virginia Waste Management Board

Virginia World Trade Council.

(For repeal - See Editor's note) Waste Management Facility Operators, Board for.

§ 9-291.1. (Effective until July 1, 1996) Commission created; powers and duties; appointment and terms of members; vacancies, etc.

A. There is hereby created the Commission on Early Childhood and Child Day Care Programs, hereinafter referred to as the Commission. The purpose of the Commission shall be, through its powers and performance of duties set forth in this chapter, to study and provide recommendations addressing the need for quality developmental early childhood and child day care programs and services. In so doing, it shall encourage the development of uniform policies and services to ensure the availability of quality, affordable and accessible early childhood and child day care programs and provide a forum for continuing the review and study of such programs and services. In addition to its own proposals, the Commission shall coordinate the proposals and recommendations of all commissions and agencies as to legislation affecting such programs and services.

B. The Commission shall be composed of twenty nineteen members. The first members of the Commission so to serve shall be the members of the Joint Commission on Health Care Studying Early Childhood and Day Care Programs who served from January 1, 1990, to December 31, 1990. Thereafter, appointments Appointments shall be made as follows: seven members from the House of Delegates to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; four members from the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections; and three citizens to be appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be a representative of the business community, and one of whom shall be a representative of local government. In addition, the Commissioner of Social Services, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Director of the State Council of Higher Education, the Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System, and the Executive Director of the Virginia Council on Child Day Care and Early Childhood Programs, and the Chairman of the Child Day Care Council shall serve as ex officio members with full voting privileges. The members of the Commission shall elect a chairman and a vice-chairman annually.

All such members of the Commission shall serve until the expiration of their terms of office or until their successors shall qualify. However, the appointments of citizen members shall be for a term of five years. Subsequent appointments shall be made for similar terms, and vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms by the persons authorized to make the original appointments.

Commission members shall be compensated as specified in § 14.1-18, and shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

C. The Commission shall have the power and duty to:

1. Determine the number of at-risk four-year-olds in the Commonwealth and the number of such children who are not enrolled in developmental early childhood or child day care programs;

2. Determine the number of school age children in the Commonwealth and the extent of the need for public school day care programs;

3. Develop a mechanism for the phased integration of and funding for quality developmental early childhood and child day care programs;

4. Assess the need for additional child day care services, and the types of program options desired by families, including the need for employer-sponsored child day care services for state employees;

5. Recommend ways to promote significant parental, state and local, public-private sector, and corporate involvement in and support of early childhood and child day care programs;

6. Monitor and evaluate the implementation of programs to provide appropriate education and training for early childhood professionals and child day care providers;

7. Recommend eligibility criteria for participation in and appropriate ways by which early childhood and day care programs may be provided which minimize the potentiality for competition between the Commonwealth and private day care providers;

8. Review the status of agency efforts to promote the coordination and dissemination of child care information and day care services;

9. Develop incentives to promote the recruitment and retention of qualified early childhood professionals and child day care providers;

10. Review the provisions of and monitor the implementation of the Family Support Act of 1988, the Child Care Act, P.L. 101-508, the Head Start Authorization Increase, P.L. 101-120, and such other federal legislation and regulations concerning early childhood and child day care programs as may be enacted, and recommend such amendments to relevant state statutes as may be necessary to ensure consistency between state and federal law and regulations;

11. Analyze the several policy and legal issues related to early childhood and day care programs, e.g., establishment of entitlement programs, effect on the compulsory school attendance laws, modifications in licensing requirements, and program content, and determine the need for the development of appropriate policy or changes in current state policy and laws pertaining to such issues;

12. Determine the appropriate mechanism for and level of funding necessary to assist low income families and the working poor in obtaining quality, affordable child day care services, including the impact of any state, local, or federal fiscal exigency on early childhood and child day care programs and services;

13. Coordinate the revision and implementation of child day care licensing laws and review such related matters as may be referred to it;

14. Monitor and coordinate health and early intervention programs for young children and such children with special needs to ensure the delivery of appropriate services; and

15. Recommend any statutory, regulatory, or policy changes as it deems necessary to ensure the viability of quality, affordable and accessible early childhood and child day care programs.

D. The Division of Legislative Services shall provide such staff support, both administrative and professional, as the Commission may require. The Commission may request and shall receive from every department, division, board, bureau, commission, authority or other agency created by this Commonwealth, or to which the Commonwealth is party, or from any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, cooperation and assistance as it may deem necessary in the performance of its duties.

E. The Commission shall report its findings and recommendations regarding early childhood and child day care programs and services to the 1992 Session of the General Assembly, and thereafter, report annually on the status and needs concerning such programs and services in the Commonwealth to the Governor and the General Assembly.

F. This section shall expire on July 1, 1996.

§ 22.1-19. Accreditation of elementary, middle, and high schools; nursery schools; child day center regulation.

The Board shall provide for the accreditation of public elementary, middle, and high schools in accordance with standards prescribed by it. The Board may provide for the accreditation of private elementary, middle, and high schools in accordance with standards prescribed by it, taking reasonably into account the special circumstances and factors affecting such private schools. The Board in its discretion may recommend provisions for standards for private nursery schools. Any such accreditation shall be at the request of the private school only.

The Board shall promulgate accreditation regulations that incorporate, but may exceed, the regulations for child day centers promulgated by the Child Day-Care Council the State Board of Social Services , for those child day centers described in subdivision A 7 of § 63.1-196.001.

§ 63.1-196.01. Dual licenses for certain child day centers.

Any facility licensed as a child day center which also meets the requirements for a license as a summer camp by the Department of Health under the provisions of § 35.1-18 shall be entitled to a summer camp license. Such a facility shall comply with all of the regulations promulgated by the State Board of Social Services or Child Day-Care Council, whichever is applicable, and the State Board of Health for each such license.

§ 63.1-196.01:1. Licensure of child day center systems; licenses required for member centers; promulgation of regulations; etc.

A. The Commissioner of Social Services shall license qualified child day center systems.

B. Child day center systems shall apply regulations for child day centers, in the form promulgated by the Child Day-Care Council or the State Board of Social Services, to member centers. Child day center systems may apply additional operational or accreditation standards to member centers.

C. Any person who desires to operate a child day center as a member of a licensed child day center system shall, prior to beginning any such operation, apply for a license and thereafter, prior to the expiration of the license, apply for renewal thereof.

D. A child day center system shall have the right, at all reasonable times, to inspect all of the facilities, books and records of all of its member centers and to interview any agent or employee thereof or any person under its custody, control, direction, or supervision. Every member center shall afford the system reasonable opportunity for such inspections and interviews.

E. The State Board of Social Services and the Child Day-Care Council shall jointly promulgate regulations pursuant to the Administrative Process Act (§ 9-6.14:1 et seq.) to implement the provisions of this section. Such regulations shall address, but need not be limited to, the following:

1. Qualifications for child day center system licensure which shall include a requirement that the system operate, manage, or accredit as members of its system, fifty or more child day centers in the Commonwealth. The State Board of Social Services, the Child Day-Care Council, and the State Board of Education shall collaboratively establish a formal method to recognize entities accrediting child day centers. No entity may qualify for licensure as a child day center system on the basis that it accredits fifty or more centers, unless recognized pursuant to such method.

2. Financial stability, organization, policies, programs, and services of the system.

3. Delineation of responsibility for the handling of complaints regarding a member center's noncompliance with regulations for child day centers, joint involvement of the Commissioner and the system in the investigation, and full disclosure of complaints received by one party to the other.

4. Disclosure and other methods to reduce or avoid conflicts of interests in the relationships among the Commissioner, the system and member centers.

5. Training for staff in the performance of their duties pursuant to this section or regulations promulgated hereunder.

6. Required functions of a system which include:

a. Handling inquiries and applications from potential member centers;

b. Conducting a full inspection of each member center to determine compliance with regulations for child day centers before making a recommendation to the Commissioner concerning initial issuance or renewal of a license;

c. Conducting at least one inspection of each member center in each calendar year in which a full inspection for initial licensure or renewal of a license is not conducted to determine compliance with regulations for child day centers;

d. Ensuring correction of any member center's noncompliance with child day center regulations;

e. Handling of complaints involving a member center's noncompliance with the system's operational or accreditation standards;

f. Establishing an appeal process for member centers affected by the system's decisions; and

g. Making recommendations to the Commissioner regarding variances requested by member centers.

7. Duties of the Commissioner which shall include:

a. Ensuring compliance of each child day center system with applicable laws and regulations;

b. Acting on the system's recommendation for issuance or denial of member center licenses;

c. Revoking the license of any member center upon the recommendation of the system or upon the Department's findings;

d. Conducting at least one unannounced inspection of each member center each calendar year to ensure compliance with regulations for child day centers;

e. Acting on the system's recommendations regarding variances requested by member centers;

f. Investigating reports that systems or member centers are out of compliance with state law and regulations; and

g. Providing training and consultative services to child day center systems regarding the system's application of child day center regulations.

F. Child day centers regulated by the Board of Education shall not be eligible for membership in a child day center system.

§ 63.1-196.1. Renewal of license.

A. Every person issued a license required by § 63.1-196 which has not been suspended or revoked shall renew such license prior to its expiration. All licensed facilities shall be inspected not less than twice annually and one of those inspections shall be unannounced. Licenses issued under this chapter may be issued for periods of up to three successive years from the date of issuance. The Commissioner may extend or shorten the duration of licensure periods whenever, in his sole discretion, it is administratively necessary to redistribute the workload for greater efficiency in staff utilization.

B. The activities, services and facilities of each applicant for renewal of his license shall be subject to an inspection or examination by the Commissioner to determine if he is in compliance with current standards of the State Board or Child Day-Care Council, whichever is applicable.

§ 63.1-196.5. Application fees; regulations and schedules; use of fees; certain facilities exempt.

The State Board is authorized to establish regulations and schedules for fees to be charged for processing applications for licenses to operate child welfare agencies. Such schedules shall specify minimum and maximum fees and, where appropriate, gradations based on the capacity for children of the facility making application. Such fees shall be used for development and delivery of training for operators and staffs of child welfare agencies. These fees shall not be applicable to facilities operated by federal entities.

The State Board, in consultation with the Child Day Care Council and the Council on Child Day Care and Early Childhood Programs, shall develop training programs for operators and staffs of child care agencies. Such programs shall include formal and informal training offered by institutions of higher education, state and national associations representing child care professionals, local and regional early childhood educational organizations and licensed child care providers. To the maximum extent possible, the State Board shall ensure that all provider interests are represented and that no single approach to training will be given preference.

§ 63.1-202. State Board to promulgate regulations.

The State Board or in the case of child day centers, the Child Day-Care Council shall promulgate regulations for the activities, services and facilities to be employed by persons and agencies required to be licensed under this chapter, which shall be designed to ensure that such activities, services and facilities are conducive to the welfare of the children under the custody or control of such persons or agencies.

Such regulations shall be developed in consultation with representatives of the affected entities and shall include, but need not be limited to, matters relating to the sex, age, and number of children and other persons to be maintained, cared for, or placed out, as the case may be, and to the buildings and premises to be used, and reasonable standards for the activities, services and facilities to be employed. Such limitations and standards shall be specified in each license and renewal thereof.

§ 63.1-202.2. Child day program committee created.

The Commissioner shall appoint a child day program committee to advise the Department of Social Services and the State Board of Social Services on the development and regulation of child day programs and related issues. The committee shall consist of not fewer than eight and not more than twenty members who shall serve without compensation. Members shall serve at the discretion of the Commissioner, provided that no individual shall serve more than eight consecutive years. The committee shall include at least one parent-consumer, one child development specialist, one family day home provider, and one child day center provider. The committee shall be convened not less than twice annually.

2. That § 63.1-202.1 of the Code of Virginia is repealed.

3. That regulations promulgated by the Child Day-Care Council shall remain in force and effect until the effective date of replacement regulations promulgated by the State Board of Social Services pursuant to the Administrative Process Act (§ 9-6.14:1 et seq.).