Date: 04/16/2013

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB13-1291

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH CARE & HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment A), as amended.
Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment B). The motion p
Refer House Bill 13-1291, as amended, to the Commi		Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
PASS



02:21 PM -- House Bill 13-1291

Representative Duran, sponsor, presented House Bill 13-1291 concerning early childhood programs in Colorado. The bill creates the Colorado Infant and Toddler Quality and Availability Grant Program in the Department of Human Services (DHS). The grant program will allow early childhood programs to implement a tiered reimbursement pay structure providing an increased rate of reimbursement for early childhood programs that receive moneys through the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP). An early childhood program is eligible for the tiered reimbursements if it receives one of the top two ratings of the state's quality rating and improvement system, or is an Early Head Start program meeting federal standards.

The DHS must determine the application process, eligibility criteria, proposal requirements, and award criteria for the program, and notify early childhood councils of grant availability. An applicant is eligible for a grant only if the early childhood programs have contracts with CCCAP, are accredited by a national association for the education of young children or a national association for family child care, and the grant application:

• is made jointly between an early childhood council and a county department;
• demonstrates need and provides a plan to improve quality and increase the number of infants and toddlers served;
• provides a plan for how the program will provide tiered reimbursement; and
• meets any other criteria developed by the DHS.

For FY 2013-14, grant applications must be received by July 31, 2013, and awards must be made by September 1, 2013. For subsequent fiscal years, applications must be made by June 30 and grant awards allocated by August 1. Within 4 months following the conclusion of a grant, the grant recipient must provide the DHS with an annual report concerning the outcomes of the grant. No later than December 1, 2014, and each December 1 thereafter, the DHS is required to provide a written report on the grant program to the health and human services committees of the General Assembly.

Representative Duran distributed a strike-below amendment L.001 (Attachment A) and amendment L.002 (Attachment B). She indicated that she and the witnesses would be speaking to the strike-below amendment.

130416 AttachA.pdf130416 AttachA.pdf130416 AttachB.pdf130416 AttachB.pdf

02:29 PM

Josh Abram, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to discuss the fiscal impact of the original bill and his initial assumptions about the fiscal impact of the strike-below amendment. He noted that a new fiscal analysis would be completed should amendment L.001 be adopted and the bill pass out of this committee.

02:38 PM

Committee members the efficacy of early childhood programs, how many grants would be available, and the criteria for awarding grants.

02:48 PM

The committee recessed.

02:54 PM

The committee reconvened.


02:55 PM -- Dan O'Connell, representing the Colorado Children's Campaign, testified in support of the bill with the strike-below amendment. He responded to questions from Representative Stephens about the availability of federal funds for early childhood programs and from Representative Schafer about the effectiveness of Head Start programs.

03:04 PM -- Kathyrn Hammerbeck, representing the Early Childhood Education Association, Molly Yost, representing the Clayton Early Learning Center, and Pamela Harris, representing Mile High Montessori Early Learning Centers, came to the table together and testified in support of the bill with the amendments. Ms. Hammerbeck discussed existing program provider rates for child care assistance programs and responded to questions about incentives to encourage all providers to participate.

03:15 PM

Ms. Yost discussed the Clayton school and the importance of early childhood development programs on K-12 educational achievement.

03:18 PM

Ms. Harris commented on how early childhood programs are evaluated for quality. She noted that it has been demonstrated that children who participate in early childhood programs have positive development outcomes. She responded to questions from Representative Stephens about how the grant programs would affect montessori schools and how funds would be used to provide access to early childhood programs for children from low-income families.

03:25 PM -- Emily Bustos, representing the Denver Early Childhood Council, testified in support of the bill with the strike-below amendment. She stated the bill will allow for better alignment of child development programs and goals. Ms. Bustos said the bill will increase access to early childhood programs for children from lower-income families statewide.

03:28 PM

Committee members discussed future federal funding for the grant program, the per student costs of early childhood programs, and the correlation between investments in at-risk infants and positive educational outcomes.

BILL:HB13-1291
TIME: 03:29:48 PM
MOVED:Duran
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:McCann
VOTE
Conti
Everett
Joshi
Landgraf
May
McCann
Schafer
Singer
Stephens
Tyler
Wilson
Duran
Primavera
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB13-1291
TIME: 03:30:43 PM
MOVED:Duran
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment A), as amended. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:McCann
VOTE
Conti
Everett
Joshi
Landgraf
May
McCann
Schafer
Singer
Stephens
Tyler
Wilson
Duran
Primavera
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB13-1291
TIME: 03:31:12 PM
MOVED:Duran
MOTION:Refer House Bill 13-1291, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 7-6.
SECONDED:Stephens
VOTE
Conti
No
Everett
No
Joshi
No
Landgraf
No
May
Yes
McCann
Yes
Schafer
Yes
Singer
Yes
Stephens
No
Tyler
Yes
Wilson
No
Duran
Yes
Primavera
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS