Andrew Powell
The Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee has unanimously advanced a measure that seeks to streamline and update child care regulation.
Winter Haven Republican Sen. Colleen Burton presented the bill (SB 738) and explained that the legislation would remove certain provisions that are either obsolete or unnecessary to modernize how the Department of Children and Families (DCF) handles regulation.
“This legislation is the work product of discussions between the Department of Children and Families and the child care industry working together to update and streamline the regulation of child care,” Burton said. “The bill modernizes the statute by updating or eliminating statutory provisions that are obsolete, or no longer necessary for the safe and effective regulation of Child Care providers.”
Burton said the bill would speed up the process for child care facilities to hire employees, while increasing the use of technical assistance that is offered by DCF to child care providers.
“The goal is for DCF to have the appropriate and necessary authority to ensure quality child care regulation while streamlining current law to eliminate duplicative or obsolete requirements on child care providers,” Burton said. “It removes barriers to allow child care facilities and their teachers to focus on the delivery of quality child care to the children and families in our state.”
Jacksonville Democratic Sen. Tracie Davis asked if the bill would add any cost to the state for training of staff and improving safety standards. In response, Burton said that the legislation would not increase costs.
“Working with DCF and those in the child care industry, I really think we’ve created a process or a product here that perhaps, to Sen. Davis’ point, will help reduce some of the costs of just processing their applications, and having employees ready to go,” Burton said.
“So, to me it’s not a cost driver. It doesn’t increase costs, but it helps, again, working with DCF, helps them streamline the process so that they are appropriately, if there’s fault found, it gives them the appropriate tools to deal with that.”
