HF 2056 (LSB 5755YH (3) 90)

HOUSE FILE 2056

BY  SORENSEN

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to child care center staff requirements for providing unsupervised child care to children up to five years of age.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES —— UNSUPERVISED CARE.  The department of health and human services is directed to amend its administrative rules pursuant to chapter 17A to provide that employees and substitutes of a child care center who are sixteen years of age or older may, without additional supervision, provide child care to children up to five years of age provided that at least two other persons who are eighteen years of age or older and employed by the child care center to provide child care are present in the child care center. For the purposes of this section, “child care” and “child care center” mean the same as defined in section 237A.1.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires the department of health and human services to amend its administrative rules to provide that employees and substitutes of a child care center who are 16 years of age or older may, without additional supervision, provide child care to children up to 5 years of age provided that at least two other persons who are 18 years of age or older and are employed by the child care center to provide child care to children are present in the child care center. “Child care” means the care, supervision, and guidance of a child by a person other than the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian for periods of less than 24 hours per day per child on a regular basis, with certain exceptions. “Child care center” means a facility providing child care or preschool services for seven or more children, except when the facility is registered as a child development home.