Chapter 456
2013 -- S 0794 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/16/13
A N A C T
RELATING TO
HUMAN SERVICES - QUALITY FAMILY CHILD CARE ACT
Introduced
By: Senators Goodwin, Jabour, Pichardo,
Date Introduced: March 27, 2013
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Title 40 of the General Laws entitled "HUMAN
SERVICES" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
6.6
QUALITY
FAMILY CHILD CARE ACT
40-6.6-1.
Short title. – This chapter shall be known and
may be cited as the “Rhode
40-6.6-2.
Definitions. – As used in this chapter, the
following terms shall have the
meanings set forth herein, unless the context in which such
terms are used clearly indicates to the
contrary:
(1) “CCAP” means
"Child Care Assistance Program" the program administered by the
department of human services that provides financial assistance
to families for child care.
(2) “CCAP family child
care provider” means an individual who:
(i)
Participates in CCAP as a department of human services CCAP approved provider;
and
(ii) Is either
licensed by the department of children, youth and families to provide child
care services in the provider’s own home, or license
exempt but approved by the department of
human services to participate in CCAP.
(3) “Provider
organization” means an organization that includes CCAP family child care
providers and has as one of its purposes the representation of
CCAP family child care providers
in their relations with the state.
(4) “Provider
representative” or “representative” means a provider organization that is
certified as the exclusive negotiating representative of CCAP
family child care providers as
provided in section 40-6.6-9.
(5)
"Director" means the director of the department of administration.
40-6.6-3.
Child Care Assistance Program Parent Advisory Council. –
(a) There is
established a Child Care Assistance Program Parent Advisory
Council. The council shall consist
of seven (7) members, six (6) of whom shall be the
parents or guardians of children who
participate or have participated in CCAP within the two (2) years
previous to being appointed to
the advisory council. The director of the department of
human services or his or her designee
shall serve on the council and act as its chair. A majority
of members of the council shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business.
(b) The council
members shall be appointed for three (3) year terms. Two (2) shall be
appointed by the governor, two (2) by the speaker of the house
of representatives, and two (2) by
the president of the senate.
(c) The council shall
advise the governor and the director, or his or her designee, and any
provider representative regarding issues relating to the
quality, affordability, and accessibility of
child care offered through CCAP. In particular, the council
shall make recommendations
regarding:
(1) Strategies for
improving quality, affordability, and access to child care for CCAP
families; and
(2) The structure of
the CCAP program, including, but not limited to, the application and
renewal process, eligibility rules and standards, and family
co-payment levels.
40-6.6-4. Right
of CCAP family child care providers to choose provider
representative; subjects of negotiation. – (a) CCAP
family child care providers may, in
accordance with the procedures set forth in section 40-6.6-9,
choose a provider organization to be
their provider representative and to negotiate with the
director, or his or her designee, over the
terms and conditions of CCAP family child care providers’
participation in CCAP, including, but
not limited to: (1) Expanding training and professional
development opportunities; (2) Improving
the recruitment and retention of qualified CCAP family
child care providers; (3) Reimbursement
rates and other economic matters; (4) Benefits; (5) Payment
procedures; and (6) A grievance
resolution process.
(b) Notwithstanding
the above, all matters within the scope of the department of children,
youth and families (DCYF) child care licensing regulations
and the DCYF's regulatory authority
over child care licensing shall be excluded from and not
subject to negotiations and/or the
collective bargaining process as recognized in this section. DCYF's authority to initiate licensing
action pertaining to family child care providers shall be
exclusively governed by provisions in
section 42-72.1-6 and chapter 42-35.
(c) Notwithstanding
the above, CCAP family child care providers must first be qualified
as CCAP family child care providers by the department of
human services and must operate in
conformance with the relevant sections of 42-12 of the general
laws and regulations promulgated
by the department.
(d) The director
shall work in consultation with the secretary of the executive office of
health and human services as well as the director of the
department of human services regarding
the terms and conditions of CCAP family child care
providers' participation in CCAP including,
but not limited to, the terms and conditions in
subsection (a) above.
40-6.6-5.
Good faith negotiations. – It shall be
the obligation of the director, or his or
her designee, to meet and confer in good faith with the
provider representative within thirty (30)
days after receipt of written notice from the provider representative
of the request for a meeting
for bargaining purposes. This obligation shall include
the duty to cause any agreement resulting
from the negotiations to be reduced to a written contract.
40-6.6-6. Unresolved issues; impasse procedures. – In the
event that the provider
representative and the director, or his or her designee, are unable
to reach an agreement on a
contract, or reach an impasse in negotiations, the procedures
of sections 36-11-7.1 through 36-11-
11 shall be followed.
40-6.6-7.
Economic aspects of contract subject to legislative appropriation.
– Any
aspects of a contract requiring appropriation by the federal
government, the general assembly, or
revisions to statutes and/or regulations shall be subject to
passage of those state or federal
appropriations or statutory and/or regulatory revisions.
40-6.6-8. Duty to
represent all CCAP family child care providers fairly; service
charge and deductions. – (a) A provider organization certified as the provider
representative
shall represent all CCAP family child care providers in the
state fairly and without discrimination,
without regard to whether or not the CCAP family child care
providers are members of the
provider organization.
(b) Each CCAP family
child care provider may choose whether to be a member of the
provider organization; provided, however, that after a first
contract is ratified, the provider
representative shall be authorized to collect from non-member CCAP
family child care providers
a service charge as a contribution toward the
negotiation and administration of the written
contract. The service charge shall not exceed the regular dues
paid by CCAP family child care
providers who are members of the provider representative. The
state shall deduct the service
charge, membership dues, and any voluntary deductions
authorized by individual CCAP family
child care providers, from the payments to CCAP family
child care providers.
40-6.6-9.
Certification and decertification of provider organization. –
(a) Petitions to
certify a provider organization to serve as the provider
representative of CCAP family child care
providers, petitions to intervene in such an election, and any
other petitions for investigation of
controversies as to representation may be filed with and acted upon
by the labor relations board in
accordance with the provisions of Chapter 7 of Title 28 and the
board’s rules and regulations;
provided that any valid petition as to whether CCAP family
child care providers wish to certify or
decertify a provider representative shall be resolved by a
secret ballot election among CCAP
family child care providers, for which the purpose the board
may designate a neutral third party to
conduct said secret ballot election.
(b) The only
appropriate unit shall consist of all CCAP family child care providers in the
state.
(c) The cost of any
certification election held under this section will be split equally
among all the provider organizations that appear on the
ballot.
40-6.6-10. Unfair
practices. – It shall be unlawful for the state to do any of the
acts
made unlawful under section 28-7-13. It shall be unlawful
for the provider representative to do
any of the acts made unlawful under section 28-7-13.1.
Any alleged violation of this provision
may be filed with the labor relations board as an unfair
labor practice and considered and ruled
upon in accordance with chapter 7 of title 28 and the
board’s rules and regulations.
40-6.6-11. CCAP
family child care providers not state employees. – Nothing in this
chapter shall be construed to make CCAP family child care
providers employees of the state for
any purpose, including for the purposes of eligibility
for the state employee pension program or
state employee health benefits.
40-6.6-12. Right
of families to select, direct, and terminate CCAP family child care
providers. – Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to alter
the rights of families to select,
direct, and terminate the services of CCAP family child care
providers.
40-6.6-13. Strikes
not authorized. – CCAP family child care providers shall not engage
in any strike or other collective cessation of the
delivery of child care services.
40-6.6-14.
State action exemption. – The state action
exemption to the application of
state and federal antitrust laws is applicable to the
activities of CCAP family child care providers
and their provider representative authorized under this
chapter.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01749/SUB A
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