Bills in the legislature

Early care and education

CPR in family child care. AB 1368 (Adams) would require small family child care programs to have at least one person trained in CPR on site at all times. Now this rule applies to large family child care and center-based programs.

Child care subsidy priorities. SB 244 (Wright) would give priority for child care subsidies to children in relative care or foster care. Also to children who were recently adopted from foster care, are homeless, or have a parent in foster care or prison.

Alternative payment program rules. AB 315 (DeLeon) would require the agencies that run child care voucher programs to promptly pay child care providers and notify providers when a child is no longer eligible for subsidies, and also set up systems for dealing with complaints and late payments. Sponsored by Child Care Providers United of California (CCPU), 866-336-9333 (NorCal), 866-574-8907 (SoCal)

Direct deposit of child care vouchers. AB 304 would enable child care providers to receive subsidy reimbursements by direct deposit. Sponsored by CCPU, 866-336-9333 (NorCal), 866-574-8907 (SoCal)

Education

End testing of second-graders. SB 800 (Hancock) would remove second-graders from the state’s annual testing program—federal law does not require testing until third grade. Sponsored by California Teachers Association, 650-697-1400, http://www.cta.org/

Community facilities at schools. AB 346 (Torlakson) would make it easier for schools to get grants to develop community facilities such as clinics, educational programs, and safe places for physical activity.

Preschool special education. AB 1124 (Yamada) would require school districts to serve preschoolers with special needs if federal funds are available.

Family policy

Paid sick leave. AB 1000 (Ma) would guarantee California workers a certain number of paid sick days a year, making California the first state in the nation with a paid sick leave policy. Sponsored by California Work and Family Coalition, 510-643-7088, http://www.paidsickdaysca.org/

Health

Health care for all children. SB 32 (Steinberg) would provide health coverage through Medi-Cal and Health Families for all children in California regardless of immigration status in families with incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level, if funds are appropriated. It would also simplify enrollment and would allow families with higher incomes to buy into Health Families. Sponsored by 100 Percent Campaign, 510-763-2444 x 122, http://www.100percentcampaign.org/

Expand Medi-Cal and Healthy Families. SB 311 (Alquist) would require the state to take advantage of federal funds for enrolling more children in Medi-Cal and Healthy Families and keeping them enrolled. It would streamline enrollment, increase outreach funds, and provide dental insurance to eligible children with private health insurance. Sponsored by 100 Percent Campaign, 510-763-2444 x 122, http://www.100percentcampaign.org/

Ban toxic chemical in baby products. SB 797 (Pavley) would ban bisphenol A, a chemical linked to obesity, breast cancer, and other health problems.

State-run health insurance. SB 810 (Leno) would create a single, nonprofit, state-run health insurance program with comprehensive benefits that would cover all California residents. It would be funded by a payroll tax.

Maternity care insurance. AB 98 would require most individual health insurance plans to cover maternity services.

Doctors for underserved communities. AB 646 (Swanson) would allow public and health agencies, and public and nonprofit hospitals, and clinics to directly hire doctors in underserved urban and rural communities—this is now prohibited by state law.

Nutrition

Better nutrition and limited “screen time.” AB 627 (Brownley) would create new nutrition requirements for the federal food program, but only if reimbursements increase. The requirements would limit sugars, fats, processed meats and increase whole grains and vegetables. For all programs, the bill would limit each child’s “screen time” (TV, computer, video game) to one hour per day. Sponsored by California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA), 510-433-1122 (NorCal), 213-482-8200 (SoCal)

Easier access to food stamps. AB 1057 (Beall) would remove the current requirement for fingerprinting for food stamp applicants who are not on CalWORKs. It would require families on food stamps to renew their eligibility just twice a year—now it’s four times a year. Sponsored by CFPA, 510-433-1122 (NorCal), 213-482-8200 (SoCal)

Read more news in the July-August Children's Advocates Roundtable report from the Children's Advocate, http://www.4children.org/issues/2009/july_august/
childrens_advocate_roundtable/(for Spanish or Chinese, click the link at the top of the page)