Senate panel pulls DCYF licensing bill for further work

The Senate Human Services Committee on Feb. 25 declined to move Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2253, a DCYF-requested package addressing foster-care licensing, childcare licensing and crisis residential center (CRC) staffing ratios, saying committee leadership wants more policy work and stakeholder input before executive action.

“Allison Mendiola, committee staff, described the engrossed substitute as DCYF-requested legislation sponsored in the House by Rep. Birnbaum that addresses foster care licensing, CRC staffing ratios and childcare licensing. Staff listed a set of floor and sponsor amendments that would: define an "immediate threat" to child well-being; require six months of twice-monthly random drug testing before reinstating an original license after a probationary license tied to substance use; bar child-specific licenses where there is a founded finding of abuse within five years or presence of illicit substances in the home; suspend subsidy payments and place them in escrow pending validation of attendance records; and establish a confidential channel for reporting suspected childcare subsidy fraud, among other changes.

In explaining the decision to withdraw the bill from today's exec agenda, the chair said: “I think that there's incredibly important information that's inside the bill, but, it's all important work that needs to have some policy expertise and some advocacy input as well.” The chair said the committee will develop further work over the interim and return with a more fully vetted proposal.

Staff clarified several provisions that remain in the underlying bill: allowing child-only licenses for children placed under the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children; exempting licensed physicians and lawyers from being defined as an agency in a 1967 statutory cleanup; permitting DCYF to develop rules with impacted groups to define and handle inactive licenses (closure due to inactivity is not an enforcement action); and changing CRC staffing ratios to 1 staff per 4 children during daytime hours and 1 staff per 6 children during sleeping hours.

The packet of floor amendments noted by staff includes precise procedural and disqualification provisions (for example, ineligibility for childcare licensure following certain driving-under-the-influence convictions within five years, and requirements tied to fraud investigations). Staff also said a fiscal note for the engrossed bill had been requested and was not yet available.

Next steps: the chair removed HB 2253 from today's exec agenda to allow further interim work with policy experts and advocates; no formal action on the bill occurred during this hearing.

Details from the hearing are on the committee record; staff contact is Allison Mendiola, committee staff.