Date: 02/04/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB09-073

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer Senate Bill 09-073 to the Committee of the W
Reverse the previous roll call vote and postpone i		FAIL
PASS



11:05 AM -- Senate Bill 09-073

Senator Renfroe introduced Senate Bill 09-073. The bill permits a family child care home that accepts children for less than 24-hour care to be exempt from licensing if the home receives one or more related children from up to 2 families, and if parental consent is received from the families. Senator Renfroe explained the circumstances that led him to introduce the bill. He stated that child care provided in a family home can often be less expensive than care provided in a center.

11:11 AM -- Rosemarie Allen, testified in opposition to the bill. She stated the bill will allow a provider to care for children from two separate families with no consideration of the total number of children being served. She stated the bill could allow large numbers of children to be served in unregulated homes. She stated that nationally, several deaths have occurred in unlicensed homes, which has led to legislation in other states restricting unlicensed child care facilities. She stated that, currently, licensed family child care homes can only serve up to six children, plus two school-aged children, with a maximum of two children under the age of two. She stated that strong licensing programs reduce childhood risks and that the bill poses a risk to the health and safety of Colorado's children. She responded to questions from Senator Lundberg regarding her examples of incidents that occurred in unlicensed child care homes, the costs associated with licensure, and whether laws concerning child abuse apply to unlicensed providers. Ms. Allen responded to questions from Senator Newell regarding the costs associated child care licensure. Senator Renfroe discussed the requirements of licensure, and its ancillary costs.

11:30 AM -- Cathy Moyer, Colorado Association for Family Child Care, testified in opposition to the bill, stating the bill is not in the best interests of the safety of children. She stated that the bill does not cap the total number of children who could be served in one unlicensed home. She stated that she disagreed with assertions that unlicensed child care costs less than licensed child care.

11:33 AM -- Marilyn Dean, Colorado Association for Family Child Care, testified that parents appreciate it when providers are licensed. She responded to questions from Senator Lundberg regarding at what point family child care providers need to be licensed. She responded to additional questions from Senator Lundberg regarding the differences between babysitting and regular child care. Ms. Moyer noted that the license is required when the care is provided for profit on a regular and consistent basis.

11:38 AM -- Gladys Wilson, Qualistar Early Learning, testified that the bill could cause more challenges for families, and that the bill could cause unintended consequences by not limiting the total number of children who could be served in an unlicensed home. She stated that unlicensed child care providers are not checked and are not subject to investigations by the Department of Human Services.

11:41 AM -- Sheryl Hutter, representing herself, testified regarding her experiences with unlicensed child care. She questioned whether a provider could adequately care for a large number of children. Senator Mitchell commented on the feasibility of large families receiving care from the same unlicensed child care provider.

11:45 AM -- John Paul Bianchi, Colorado Children's Campaign, testified that there is a need to increase child care capacity, but that there is chance that the bill's approach will compromise child safety. He stated the bill permits parents to essentially waive certain rules that exist for the safety of children and that shouldn't be permitted. He stated that South Dakota is the only state that permits an exempt child care provider to provide care for more than 6 children, and that state caps the number of children in care at 12. He responded to questions from Senator Lundberg. Senator Renfroe clarified that an exempt family child care provider must obtain background checks if he or she participates in the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). He responded to questions from Senator Newell regarding child to child care provider ratios in Colorado and nationally.

11:56 AM -- Devorah Kappers, representing herself, testified regarding her concerns with the safety of children in unlicensed care.

11:58 AM -- Pat Ratliff, Colorado Counties Inc., testified that her organization is neutral on the bill. She asked the committee to consider adding a cap on the total number of children who could be in care with an unlicensed provider. She noted that the bill does not contain a definition of "family," and stated that this lack of definition could increase the number of children in care. She stated the bill potentially could increase incidents of risk for children. Ms. Ratliff responded to questions from Senator Lundberg, stating that her organization is not opposed to the bill, but that the bill should perhaps be amended to limit the number of children in care.


12:07 PM

Senator Renfroe gave concluding remarks regarding the bill. Senator Newell asked if Senator Renfroe would be open to amendment the bill to limit the number of children in care. Senator Renfroe responded that he is opposed to the cap proposed by some parties, which was 4 children. Various members commented on the bill.
BILL:SB09-073
TIME: 12:12:39 PM
MOVED:Schultheis
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 09-073 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion failed on a 3-5 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Carroll M.
No
Lundberg
Yes
Mitchell
Yes
Morse
No
Newell
No
Schultheis
Yes
Tochtrop
No
Boyd
No
Not Final YES: 3 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL
BILL:SB09-073
TIME: 12:14:37 PM
MOVED:Tochtrop
MOTION:Reverse the previous roll call vote and postpone indefinitely Senate Bill 09-073. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Carroll M.
Yes
Lundberg
No
Mitchell
No
Morse
Yes
Newell
Yes
Schultheis
No
Tochtrop
Yes
Boyd
Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS