Child Care Task Force

it is successful, the larger community will be approached for sustained funding.
    Ms. O'Neill also explained ways that businesses are becoming involved:
    .     A group called Bright Beginnings functions in the workplace to bring about family-friendly policies;
     .     Businesses are publically recognized for their support and involvement in family- friendly policies;
    .     Tax credits are made available to businesses that become involved in child care; and
    .     Banks have pooled funding for a revolving loan fund to be used for improving the quality of child care.

    She explained that the legislative leadership has encouraged the private sector to accept the leadership of this issue and they have opened doors by giving those private leaders credibility. They have tried not to over regulate child care and early learning programs but have tried to create incentives for those programs.

     Ms. Joan Frankel, Consultant, Work/Family Directions, Inc., Evanston, Illinois, distributed and referred to information about the American Business Collaboration for Quality Dependent Care. She explained that several businesses collaborated, committed funding, and targeted areas of the country to partner with existing businesses. Results of their efforts show that businesses that support their employees experience greater productivity, better customer relations, higher morale, a decline in absenteeism, and a decrease in employee turnover.
    Policy makers can help by encouraging and developing policies that allow employees more flexibility and by giving tax credits or other incentives to businesses that become involved in the child care issues of their employees. Government can also act as a role model by:
     .     Being a family-friendly employer;
     .     Making sure employees know about federal tax incentives;
     .     Having adequate and realistic subsidies available;
     .     Having flexible family leave policies;
     .     Helping employees understand all the options available, and
     .     Making it conducive for businesses to partner with each other.

    Ms. Frankel explained the T.E.A.C.H. (Teacher Education And Compensation Helps) Early Childhood Plus program which offers child care center staff the ability to pursue credit- bearing educational opportunities. The employee, in turn, completes the required courses and continues as an employee at the child care center for a specified period of time. The employee is also guaranteed increased compensation from the employer. T.E.A.C.H. is funded by businesses as well as from Legislative resources.

     Mr. Scott Groginsky, Senior Policy Specialist, Children and Families Program, National conference of State Legislatures, distributed and reviewed information including key issues that policymakers are looking at regarding business involvement in child care:
    *     Assessing various community needs. Each community has its own unique needs;
    *    Exploring whether business and community needs coincide with state public policy needs and goals;
    *    Conducting surveys about business and worker needs; and
    *    Identifying and working with business leaders who are involved in child care issues for their company's employees and who can talk to other business leaders about key issues.

    He reviewed what is being done in some other states and how they are funded. A forthcoming national report will document the increasing rate of businesses partnering with each other to increase resources for child care.

    He distributed information regarding options like loan programs for children, corporate tax incentives for employer-supported child care, and policy options that some state's legislatures have chosen to enact to promote business involvement.

3.     Business and Child Care in Utah

     Ms. Lynette Rasmussen, Office of Workforce Services, Childcare, distributed copies of her testimony and commented that Utah has one of the fastest job growth rates in the country. Utah also exceeds the national average in the number of working mothers with school-aged children. She explained a Child and Dependent Care Survey that was created by the Office of Child Care to help employers survey their workforces. She explained that the survey data provided employers throughout Utah with a foundation from which to address employee child and dependent care needs. Findings from the survey show that Utah employers have begun to realize the importance of family-friendly policies in the workplace and have asked for concrete information on employee needs and on other companies' experiences. Many of the respondents also asked to see the development of state tax incentives for implementation for child care or dependent care support. She explained the Summer Youth Camp pilot program operating within the Department of Workforce Services.

     Ms. Jennifer Meridith, Equal Opportunity Specialist for Franklin Covey, shared some of the ideas that Franklin Covey is implementing which include a dependent care match policy available to employees in place of other benefits, flexible schedules, and some telecommuting. Franklin Covey feels child care is an interdependent issue between parents, businesses, community organizations and government. They are interested in gathering more data regarding tax incentives for employees and employers, as well as what it would cost for an on-site child care center. She explained Franklin Covey's week-long Camp Quest.
        
         4.    Committee Business - Discussion of Committee Priorities

    Rep. Allen reviewed the results of the issue prioritization survey. She presented several

issues that were not reflected on the survey which included gathering more information about federal funding for providers, requirements for using TANF grant funds, zoning and special district regulations, and the disparity among school districts regarding what they charge to use schools for after-school child care. She also felt high turnover of child care providers is a high priority issue. She encouraged the task force to work toward establishing collaborative organizations that will keep the work going once the task force has been dissolved.
    Mr. Sonnenreich expressed the desire to hear from those in the law enforcement community, possibly Reuben Ortega and Rob Paris, regarding the relationships between child care and crime, as well as background checks and other safety issues.
    Sen. Suazo requested that tax credits be among those items prioritized for the task force to study and consider.
    Ms. Nichols commented that using the TANF grant funds for a revolving low-interest loan for providers to upgrade their facilities might be favorable and could be one indicator that could help to increase provider quality. Turnover, she feels, is on one of the biggest indicators of quality and hopes the task force will have the opportunity to address it.
    Sen. Blackham noted that the information given regarding successful programs in other states indicated that their progress was made, not through government money or leadership, but through private business. He feels this task force could act as a catalyst to establish the framework for businesses to partner with each other and with the state being one of those entities. He suggested that Envision Utah might be interested in being a major player in that group of businesses. He also suggested that the mothers who stay at home with their children be considered for tax incentives, since he feels that it is best for the families, best for the mothers, and best for society if mothers could stay home and care for their children for the first few years.
    Ms. Trenbeath-Murray responded that she would feel comfortable with Sen. Blackham's recommendation if the word "parent" were used instead of "mother."
    Sen. Blackham respectfully disagreed, stating that roles of men and women are defined.
    Rep. Allen asked Pat Kreher to contact Envision Utah and see how receptive they would be toward partnering with other businesses on behalf of child care issues. She also asked staff to bring information regarding health benefits and the feasibility of attaching child care to enterprise funds.
    Ms. Stone expressed concern that in-home child care providers, many of whom have chosen that business so they could be at home with their own children, are not given consideration with regards to tax incentives or credits. She also stated that heavy regulation discourages some very qualified providers from continuing and others from becoming licensed.

         5.    Adjourn

    MOTION:    At 12:00 noon, Sen. Blackham moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.