Low-income Parents Education Child Care

The bill creates a task force to address the child care needs of low-income parents of young children as the parents seek to advance their education. The task force consists of the leaders, or their designees, of the departments of labor and employment, higher education, education, and human services; parents and representatives of organizations, appointed by the governor; and employees of county departments of human services or social services, selected by the executive director of the department of human services. The task force must identify and reduce, if possible, barriers to obtaining child care from the range of available federal, state, and private child care sources, determine whether the parents' child care needs can be met through existing sources, review and streamline the processes for providing child care for parents while they obtain education or training, communicate the availability of child care from public and private sources to parents who are seeking education or training, and recommend legislative changes, if necessary. By March 1, 2017, the task force must submit a report of its activities to the general assembly, and before July 1, 2017, the task force must submit the report to the early childhood and school readiness legislative commission. The task force is repealed, effective July 1, 2017.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)