SB 129-CHILD CARE CTRS: STATE EMPLOYEES & OTHERS    9:26:15 AM CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI announced that SB 129 was before the committee. SENATOR LESIL MCGUIRE, sponsor, introduced SB 129, which would allow child care centers to be located in office buildings that are owned or leased by the State of Alaska. The bill is designed to help address the child care shortage in Alaska. It does not address child care facilities in private businesses. She related the number of children, 35,000 under the age of six, in need of child care. Of those children, only 16,000 will have an opportunity to receive child care. She spoke of a task force eight years ago by the women in the House and Senate to create a day care center in the state capital. That center has become a model for other state governments wishing to support employees that have families. SENATOR MCGUIRE explained that the bill does not require the state to pay for child care. She reported on businesses in the private sector that pay for child care; however, this bill would simply authorize the Department of Administration to take an application for consideration of putting child care program start-up operations together. The state would not be paying any costs; instead, families would pay for day care services. Many agencies agree with the benefits of on-site child care. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI pointed out that the child care center would be open to all state employees, as well as to the public. SENATOR MCGUIRE agreed. She addressed the importance of Juneau's facility to the community. She recalled a time when there was a shortage of child care centers. SENATOR PASKVAN asked if state employees would be given priority at the child care centers in SB 129, similar to how federal child care programs are run. SENATOR MCGUIRE said the bill does not address who would be given priority. The federal requirements dictate that federal employees are given a priority. In Juneau's day care center, state employees and staff have first priority. In this bill, state employees are not necessarily given priority. The committee could amend the bill to change that. SENATOR MEYER asked if there were any legal concerns about liability. GENEVIEVE WOJTUSIK, staff, Senator Lesil McGuire, sponsor, answered Senator Meyer's question. She said the current contract states that the business assumes all liability and it has a $1 million insurance policy. 9:34:45 AM SENATOR MCQUIRE stressed that the state is not getting into the child care business. The current contract was obtained by putting out a request for proposal. Blue Shibler won the contract and carries insurance. BLUE SHIBLER, owner, Discovery Preschool, Juneau, Alaska, spoke in favor of SB 129. She echoed the sentiments of the sponsor statement. She spoke of the advantage of having maintenance paid for by the state; child care workers are paid higher than average wages. Discovery Preschool serves about 40 families, most of which are legislative and state employees, but some are also public employees and private sector families. Hours are extended to evenings and weekends, as well as drop-in care. SENATOR GIESSEL asked if janitorial services are paid for. MS. SHIVELER said she does not pay for rent, janitorial services, or utilities; therefore, she can pay workers higher wages. 9:38:50 AM SARAH LEONARD, Director of Marketing & Fund Development, thread, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of SB 121. She related that thread is Alaska's childcare resource and referral network. She shared what was contained in thread's letter of support. One of thread's core missions is to provide accessible, affordable, and quality child care. JOY LYON, Executive Director, Association for the Education of the Young Child, Southeast Alaska, encouraged support of SB 121. She spoke of the advantages of investing in employer-sponsored child care. She shared statistics related to the need for child care in order for parents to work. She argued that care for children is a priority. The state would benefit in two ways from this legislation; employers would see returns on investments and the problem of inadequate availability of child care would be addressed. Less than half of children with parents in the work force have access to a licensed child care facility. 9:44:51 AM LAUREN BROOKS, Family Services Coordinator, Association of Education of Young Children and thread, Southeast Alaska, testified in favor of SB 121. She shared statistics about the availability of child care centers. She listed the problems when quality child care is not available. She encouraged the adoption of SB 121. SENATOR PASKVAN said asked about the range of costs for child care in Juneau. MS. BROOKS said she did not monitor private facilities. The costs vary. SENATOR PASKVAN asked what the minimum and maximum costs for child care are. MS. BROOKS said the maximum cost is about $1,000 per month and the minimum cost is about $600 per month. SENATOR MCGUIRE offered to provide statistics that answered Senator Paskvan's question. SENATOR GIESSEL looked at page 3, lines 9-11, and asked if page 2, lines 22-24, present a conflict. She said she thought it was saying that the operator was not assuming financial responsibility. SENATOR MCGUIRE responded that in the case of a legislative building, such as in Juneau, the costs are not passed on to the provider. She said she does not know what the fiscal note would be in other cases. She offered to find out if it costs the state more to cover janitorial services at the Juneau day care center. SENATOR MCGUIRE maintained that page 3 of the bill was clear that the operator shall comply with all state and local standards for licensure of the child care facility. She stated that page 2 deals with facilities. If the child care center occupies a state-owned building, there may be a cost. 9:53:57 AM SENATOR GIESSEL spoke of extended liability and higher standards when dealing with children in regards to maintenance and janitorial services. She opined that the state may be taking on liability if high standards are not maintained. SENATOR MCGUIRE thought Senator Giessel's comments were appropriate considerations. She said the partnership merits value and she thought it was worth it. An attempt was made to make the bill broad enough to allow for negotiations to take place. SENATOR PASKVAN understood the policy choice of the state's absorbing costs. He took issue with the potential for a sliding fee schedule on page 3. He maintained that charging fees on the basis of household income goes beyond operational costs. He wondered how competitive that was with private enterprise. SENATOR MCGUIRE noted that all sections are subject to removal. The cost of care provisions are "may's" not "shall's". It is a multi-tiered process and is purposely broad. The sliding scale is specifically for the public, not for state employees. 9:59:56 AM SENATOR PASKVAN said he only wondered if there was a template or standard to follow. SENATOR MEYER asked if private sector providers have been contacted about this legislation. SENATOR MCGUIRE replied that the private sector was not contacted, but she said she sensed that people in the day care community would be in support of the bill because there is such a need for child care services. She thought the questions were fair. The rates in the bill are competitive. She stressed the need for providing more day care services. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI stated that SB 129 would be held in committee.