A3884

An Act concerning child care and supplementing Chapter 5B of Title 30 of the Revised Statutes and making an appropriation.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

“Child care assistance program” means the State program that provides financial assistance to income-eligible families to help pay for child care, allowing parents to work, attend school, or participate in job training.

“Licensed child care center” means any facility offering services for the care, development, and well-being of infants, toddlers, and pre-kindergarten aged children and that is licensed pursuant to the “Child Care Center Licensing Act”, P.L.1983, c.492 (C.30:5B-1 et seq.). This term shall include day care centers, day nurseries, nursery and play schools, cooperative child care centers, infant-toddler programs, employer sponsored programs, and other similar programs.

“Family day care provider” means a person at least 18 years of age registered under the “Family Day Care Provider Registration Act,” P.L.1987, c.27 (C.30:5B-16 et seq.) to provide services for the care, development and well-being of infants, toddlers, and pre-kindergarten-aged children.

2. a. The Department of Children and Families, in consultation with the Department of Human Services and the Department of Education, shall develop a unified child care finder that conforms with the requirements of the “Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. s.9858b(a)) and this act.

The child care finder shall be developed and maintained:

(1) as a secure, Internet web application, or computer or mobile application, that utilizes an intuitive search interface, including a map-based search and comparable list function showing:

(a) the location of each licensed child care center and registered family child care provider operating in the State;

(b) the distance of each licensed child care center or registered family day care provider from a given address in the State;

(d) each licensed child care center’s or registered family day care provider’s hours of operations; and

(e) any other filters as required by the department; and

(2) in accordance with generally accepted industry standards for data security and accessibility which shall include, at minimum, adherence to System and Organization Controls 2 Type II guidelines for information security, as developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 Level AA, to ensure access for individuals with developmental disabilities.

b. Each licensed child care center and registered family child care provider shall be provided with a profile on the child care finder displaying the following information about each center or provider:

(1) name, location, telephone number, hours of operation, and ages of children served;

(2) license or certificate of registration number, as applicable, list of complaint allegations and substantiation or non-substantiation of each allegation, inspection results, including, but not limited to, drinking water test results;

(3) capacity, open enrollment, and waitlist for each age group served;

(4) tuition or registration fees charged and any financial assistance or child care subsidies accepted;

(5) types of programs offered, including educational philosophy, curriculum, additional languages of instruction other than English, and teacher qualifications; and

(6) any other information required by the Department of Children and Families.

c. The child care finder shall:

(1) provide a parent, guardian or caregiver with the ability to apply for or enroll their child at a licensed child care center or registered family child care provider through either a common application form to be utilized by multiple licensed child care centers and registered family child care providers, or a direct enrollment form specific to a licensed child care center or registered family child care provider;

(2) offer a secure messaging and notification functionality allowing communication between a licensed child care center, registered family day care provider, and a parent, guardian or caregiver; and

(3) allow for payment by a parent, guardian, or caregiver of deposits, enrollment, and tuition or registration fees, as applicable, or other costs to a licensed child care center and registered family child care provider, which fees shall be inclusive of and integrated with any eligible child care assistance program or other child care subsidy.

3. No later than 90 days from the effective date of this act, the Commissioner of Children and Families shall contract with a qualified third-party vendor to perform the services set forth in this act. For the purposes of this section, a qualified third-party vendor shall be an entity with experience developing and maintaining child care finders with similar deliverables in other states with the following capabilities:

a. interoperable data formats for exchanging information with external systems to facilitate future connection and data exchange notwithstanding the evolution of provider management software or state data system changes;

b. integrating program information and enrollment information from child care resource agency and family day care sponsoring organization databases to populate registered family childcare homes and approved homes;

c. supporting the use of, and providing the option to plug in, third-party modules or services, including mapping services, data analytics tools, and notification services, by adhering to common interface standards; and

d. permitting continuous improvement and facilitating future adaptation to avoid technological obsolescence.

4. No later than 270 days after the selection of a vendor, the Department of Children and Families shall require the vendor to release a pilot version of the child care finder in three counties, one of which shall be located in the northern region, one of which shall be located in the central region, and one of which shall be located in the southern region of the State. No later than one year from the selection of a vendor, the department shall authorize the vendor to release the child care finder throughout the State.

5. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Children and Families the sum of $3,600,000 to effectuate the provisions of this act. In addition to the amounts appropriated pursuant to this section, the Legislature may also appropriate such additional funds as may be necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this act.

6. The Commissioner of Children and Families, in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Services and the Commissioner of the Education, may adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act. The Commissioner of Children and Families may also request the assistance of any other State department or agency, as deemed necessary, to fulfill the requirements of this act.

7. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill directs the Department of Children and Families (department) in consultation with the Departments of Human Services and Education, to develop a unified child care finder. The child care finder will provide a singular access point for information about all licensed child care facilities and registered family daycare providers in the State.

There are currently two separate child care finders operating in the State, one administered by the Department of Human Services and the other by the department, which allow parents, guardians, and caregivers to search for child care. It is the sponsor’s experience that neither system is effective, and significant barriers exist in identifying and securing available high-quality infant, toddler and pre-kindergarten programs. Creating a unified child care finder that leverages modern technology to connect families with licensed early learning providers will increase timely enrollment in under-filled child care and family day care programs and support the State’s goal of maximizing participation in early childhood education.

Specifically, the bill requires the department develop a secure, Internet web application, or computer or mobile application based child care finder platform that utilizes an intuitive search interface, including a map-based search function and comparable list function showing the location of each licensed child care center and registered family child care provider, its distance from a given address, the type of program offered, its schedule of operations, and any other filters as required by the department.

Each licensed child care center and registered family child care provider shall be provided with a dedicated profile on the child care finder that displays information about the center or provider. The child care finder is also required to permit online submittal of applications for enrollment, allow communication between the provider and the parent or caretaker, submit deposits, enrollment, and tuition or registration fees directly to the center or provider, and be developed in accordance with generally accepted industry standards for data security and accessibility.

Due to the type of technology required, the department is required to procure the services of a qualified third-party vendor, who meets the criteria described in the bill, to develop the child care finder no later than 90 days from the bill’s enactment.

No later than 270 days from the date the vendor is selected, the department shall require the vendor to launch a pilot of the child care finder in three counties, one in each region of the State. No later than one year from the date the vendor has been selected, the department is to authorize the vendor to release the child care finder throughout the State.

The bill appropriates $3.6 million to the department to effectuate the purposes of the bill, and authorizes the Legislature to appropriate additional funds if needed. The Commissioner of the department is to work in consultation with the commissioners of Human Services and Education to effectuate the bill’s mandate, and to request assistance from any other department or agency of the state as needed.