Early Care and Education Legislation Database

The Early Care and Education database tracks and updates early care and education legislation from the 2008-2012 legislative sessions for 50 states and the territories. Issues include child care and child care financing, early childhood services, prekindergarten, professional development, home visiting, infants and toddlers, and financing early education. Legislation can be searched by state, topic, status, primary sponsor, bill number or keyword. This database, which is updated biweekly, is made possible by the generous support of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Periodically we identify legislation that is interesting, exciting and simply worth sharing.  Below is what we are currently highlighting:

Recent bills from Minnesota, Colorado and Washington address child care costs and quality as well as accountable investments in early learning and care. 

Minnesota SF 1621 allows child care centers to be reimbursed at a higher rate if they are able to demonstrate effective implementation of standards that meet the social, emotional, cognitive and physical developmental needs of children, including positive adult-child interactions, age-appropriate learning, use of assessments to improve learning activities, and tracking mechanisms that document children’s progress among others.

Colorado lawmakers are advancing SB 22 to implement a pilot program aimed at mitigating the public assistance ‘cliff effect’ and boosting working parents’ self-sufficiency efforts.  The pilot program will allow working parents receiving child care subsidies who experience small income increases to go through a transition period of two years where they will pay smaller incremental increases in copays, instead of becoming ineligible altogether for child care assistance. 

Washington HB 2262 (Chapter 217 of the 2012 Session Law) establishes a “child care caseload forecast council” with members appointed by the governor as well as equal chamber leadership.  The council will calculate and report to the state legislature the type and number of individuals requiring child care assistance (among other public entitlement programs under state TANF provisions) in order for lawmakers to effectively determine future costs and appropriations.