Child Care Task Force

children. If children have needs parents cannot meet, then the government should help the parents rather than finding substitutes for them. In the long-term, the best thing to do is strengthen marriages, although that cannot be accomplished alone nor primarily by legislation. Day care assistance should reflect the parent's own method of parenting, although standards are necessary to protect the children. Both choice and quality are possible, and it is most important to protect the aspirations of the parents. Also, health issues are important and should be addressed, as well as some parents' lack of interest.
    d.     Excessive state regulation results in a diminution of diversification and choice, as well as a loss of creativity. State regulation for safety and health issues is necessary but the general laws seem broad enough to cover the exceptional situations of abuse.

    Mr. Wardle noted that the state has resources that individual parents do not, such as nutritional guidelines and spot checking of providers. He said that he does have concern that abuse laws are applied "after the fact," but likened their application to laws addressing the abuse of free speech. Families should be valued enough that parents are allowed the right to rear their children. If a problem occurs, then the law is applied. The greater concern with abuse is where abuse has been identified but allowed to continue. He agreed that child care providers should be screened for prior abuse.

    In response to a question about state laws that may penalize parents who stay at home, Mr. Wardle expressed concern about the federal marriage penalty that carries over to the state and also discussed the determination of income in the calculation of child support for a woman who stays at home to care for her children.

        3.     Presentation by Reuben Ortega, Salt Lake City Police Chief - Chief Ortega stated that the country has failed in terms of safety against crime, but that new changes in policing are being sought across the country. This could be the beginning of fighting crime by being preventative instead of reactive. He emphasized that juveniles being charged for serious crimes have histories that indicate where intervention could have taken place. Every child should have quality child care and early schooling intervention through proper nutrition, personal attention, good activities during free time, and proper medical care.

    With better funding, provisions could be made to ensure at-risk children have the continued attention throughout the day that they need, including after-school programs. Chief Ortega feels proper child care begins at the conception of a child through prenatal care and continues through the school years. Investing now, he said will pay tremendous dividends in the future; but it cannot be done at the cost of reducing funding to the existing system. The correctional needs will decrease as prevention and intervention investment is increased. There are new resources that are untapped so taxes would not have to be increased. He suggested a

tobacco tax at the national level, attaching fees to hazardous waste disposal, business involvement in child care, and churches seeking out at-risk families and guiding them to the appropriate programs.

    Chief Ortega said that the period between 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. accounts for 1/2 of all juvenile crimes. He expressed concern that the public has invested millions of dollars in school facilities but that those facilities close at 4:00 p.m. rather than being used for after school programs.

    Sen. Suazo emphasized that the dysfunction of families is generational and America needs to face that fact and invest in correcting that problem.
    
         4.    Committee Discussion - The task force followed an outline to discuss priorities for action to be taken by the task force.
    
     Training - The task force agreed to wait for a report from Workforce Services before deciding to make a recommendation regarding additional funding for the existing training program. Ms. Kreher will talk to the task force at a future meeting about accreditation.

     Low-interest Revolving Loan Program -The task force discussed the possibility of establishing a low-interest revolving loan program using TANF dollars. The consensus was to have a bill drafted that would establish a 2-year limited revolving loan fund. The pilot project would include a new appropriation of $100,000 that would hopefully be matched by the Department of Workforce Services for loans of $3,000 - $10,000. Ms. Kreher indicated that money for quality improvement will available only if there is no waiting list.
        
     Health Insurance for Child Care Providers - Sen. Blackham asked for a count of those on the task force that would be in favor of subsidizing a health insurance program for child care providers. The majority of the members were not in favor of that option and the issue was not considered further.

     Early Childhood Literacy Program - Julie Baker explained the early childhood literacy program as it is included in the Literacy Initiative. She stated that the Initiative asks for $300,000 per year to provide an annual training program for child care providers and parents to create a literate environment for children. She recommended that the task force draft a letter of support. She expressed concern that this project could be funded with inservice money but that with that approach it would not receive adequate funding to accomplish the goal. She asked that early child care literacy be drafted as a separate bill.
    
     Criminal Background Checks - Mr. Wilson stated that the draft bill regardi ng criminal background checks for child care providers, resulting from discussion in the first meeting of the

task force, is nearly completed and will soon be distributed to the task force. The task force agreed to continue in the direction being taken.

     TANF Funding - The task force decided to wait to hear a report from Workforce Services regarding the use of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds and other child care funding on September 25, 1998 before continuing discussion on this issue.

     Use of School Facilities for After-School Care - The task force agreed they would like a report from Steve Peterson, Executive Director of the Utah School Superintendents Association regarding what schools can do and what some are currently doing regarding using school facilities for after-school child care. The task force discussed the possible need to impose a cap on the amount of fees charged. They also discussed liability issues. It was noted that private child care providers would be utilizing the facilities. Julie Baker also noted that there is a pilot program for holding regular school classes later in the day.

     Mandatory Parenting and Child Development Instruction - The task force unanimously agreed that mandatory parenting and child development instruction in high schools could be a viable option. Curriculum to address this issue has already been developed but is used on a voluntary rather than a mandatory basis. It was agreed that it might be best to add this to the existing Health Lifestyles curriculum. Someone from the State Office of Education will be asked to address the task force concerning this issue, and the task force will consider including mandatory instruction in existing legislation, as well as drafting it as a separate bill.

     Foster Business Involvement - The task force discussed fostering business involvement in child care. It was noted that it would be helpful if the Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM) and Workforce Services consider the actual cost implications of providing space for state agencies to become involved in child care for their employees. The task force will ask DFCM to report on this and the Department of Workforce Services to be part of the report.

     Tax Credits - The giving of tax credits to businesses for donations to child care centers was discussed. It was determined that the Department of Workforce Services could be involved in establishing a committee consisting of members from the business community, and that the committee should be given specific issues or charges on which to report to the task force. It was agreed that Ms. Rubadiri would present one or two ideas at the next meeting that businesses could consider to help them become involved in their employees' child care, as well as action that the task force could consider. Also, Ms. Kreher will bring information back to the task force from Envision Utah.

     S. B. 210 - Sen. Muhlestein explained S.B. 210, Income Tax Credit for Stay-at-Home Parents or Guardians. He emphasized his feelings that the parents are the best providers for child care and development and deserve to be supported. In the interest of time, he asked for

more time on a future agenda to discuss the bill in more depth with the task force. The task force agreed. They also agreed to consider extended time for maternity leave.

     Other Items - It was agreed that the issue of wages for child care providers is large and that the task force cannot do it justice in the short time available; but that it should be discussed at some point. Interest was expressed in looking at TANF work provisions for new mothers, spending more time on issues raised by Chief Ortega, encouraging businesses to have family- friendly policies, and looking further at a tax credit for businesses whose employees use a child care center.
    
5.    Review Future Meeting Schedule - Sen. Blackham noted that several members of the task force could not attend the scheduled September 22, 1998 meeting. The task force agreed to meet on September 25, 1998 at 1:30 p.m.
                        
        6.     MOTION:    At 12:00 noon, Rep. Allen moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed by unanimous vote.