SF 2299 (LSB 5248SV (4) 86)

SENATE FILE 2299

BY  COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3128)

(As Amended and Passed by the Senate 2016-04-13)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the early childhood Iowa initiative.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 135.106, subsection 4, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  It is the intent of the general assembly that priority for home visitation family support funding be given to approaches using evidence-based or promising models for home visitation family support.
    Sec. 2.  Section 256I.4, subsection 7, paragraph a, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Waiver of existing rules, federal regulation, or amendment of state law, or removal of other barriers.  The state board shall consider a community’s current coverage of family support programs and services when responding to an area board’s request for a waiver from the requirement in section 256I.9, subsection 3, paragraph “b”.
    Sec. 3.  Section 256I.4, subsection 8, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   8.  Develop and implement a levels of excellence rating system for use with the state board’s designation process for area boards. Allow for flexibility and creativity of area boards in implementing area board responsibilities and provide authority for the area boards to support the communities in the areas served. The levels of excellence rating system shall utilize a tiered approach for recognizing the performance of an area board. The system shall provide for action to address poor performing areas as well as higher performing areas. Subject to the funding requirements and other requirements established in law, if an area board achieves the highest rating level, the state board may allow special flexibility provisions in regard to the funding appropriated or allocated for that area board. The state board shall determine how often area boards are reviewed under the system.
    Sec. 4.  Section 256I.7, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  The early childhood Iowa functions for an area shall be performed under the authority of an early childhood Iowa area board. The members of an area board shall be elected officials or members of the public who are not employed by a provider of services to or for the area board. In addition, the membership of an area board shall include representation from early care, education, health, human services, business, and faith interests, and at least one parent, grandparent, or guardian of a child from zero through age five. However, not more than one member shall represent the same entity or interest.
    Sec. 5.  Section 256I.8, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  Develop a comprehensive community plan for providing services for children from zero through age five. At a minimum, the plan shall do all of the following:
   (1)  Describe community and area needs for children from zero through age five as identified through ongoing assessments.
   (2)  Describe the current and desired levels of community and area coordination of services for children from zero through age five, including the involvement and specific responsibilities of all related organizations and entities relationships and services between community providers.
   (3)  Identify all federal, state, local, and private funding sources including funding estimates available in the early childhood Iowa area that will be used to provide services to children from zero through age five.
   (4)  Describe how funding sources will be used collaboratively and the degree to which the sources can be combined to provide necessary services to support young children and their families.
   (5)  Identify the desired results and the community-wide indicators the area board expects to address through implementation of the comprehensive community plan. The plan shall identify community-specific, quantifiable performance measures to be reported in the area board’s annual report and integration with the strategic plan adopted by the state board.
   (6)  Describe the current status of support services to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, prevent child injuries, develop health emergency protocols, help with medication, and care for children with special health needs that are being provided to child care facilities registered or licensed under chapter 237A within the early childhood Iowa area.
    Sec. 6.  Section 256I.9, subsection 3, paragraphs b and d, Code 2016, are amended to read as follows:
   b.  (1)  Family support services and parent education programs promoted to parents of children from zero through age five. Family support services shall include but are not limited to home visitation and parent education. Of the state funding that an area board designates for family support programs, at least sixty percent shall be committed to programs with a home visitation component.
   (2)  It is the intent of the general assembly that priority for home visitation family support program funding be given to programs using evidence-based or promising models for home visitation family support.
   d.  Services to improve the quality and availability of all types of child care. The services may include but are not limited to making nurse consultants available to support quality improvement.
    Sec. 7.  Section 256I.9, subsection 4, paragraphs a, b, and c, Code 2016, are amended to read as follows:
   a.  A school ready children grant shall be awarded to an area board annually, as funding is available. Receipt of continued funding is subject to submission of the required annual report data and the state board’s determination that the area board is measuring making progress, through the use of specific, quantifiable performance measures and locally identified community-wide indicators, developed by the state board with input from area boards, progress toward and is achieving the desired results and other results identified in the community plan. Each area board shall participate in the levels of excellence rating system designation process to measure the area’s success. If the use of performance measures and community-wide indicators does not show that an area board has made progress toward achieving the results identified in the community plan, the state board shall require a plan of corrective action, provide technical assistance, withhold any increase in funding, or withdraw grant funding.
   b.  The state board shall distribute school ready children grant moneys to area boards with approved comprehensive community plans based upon a determination of an early childhood Iowa area’s readiness to effectively utilize the grant moneys designation. The grant moneys shall be adjusted for other federal and state grant moneys to be received by the area for services to children from zero through age five.
   c.  An area board’s readiness designation shall be determined by evidence of successful collaboration among public and private early care, education, health, and human services interests in the area or a documented program design that supports a strong likelihood of a successful collaboration between these interests. Other criteria which may be used by the state board to determine readiness and funding amounts for an area include one or more of the following:
   (1)  The levels of excellence rating received by the area.
   (2)  Evidence of the area’s capacity to successfully implement the services in the area’s community plan.
   (3)  Local public and private funding and other resources committed to implementation of the community plan.
   (4)  The adequacy of plans for commitment of local funding and other resources for implementation of the community plan.
    Sec. 8.  Section 256I.10, subsection 3, Code 2016, is amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 9.  Section 256I.11, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code 2016, is amended by striking the paragraph.
    Sec. 10.  Section 256I.13, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   256I.13  Home visitation Family support program —— funding intent.
   1.  In order to implement the legislative intent stated in sections 135.106 and 256I.9, that priority for home visitation family support program funding be given to programs using evidence-based or promising models for home visitation family support, it is the intent of the general assembly to phase in the funding priority as follows:
   a.  By July 1, 2013, twenty-five percent of state funds expended for home visiting programs are for evidence-based or promising program models.
   b.  By July 1, 2014, fifty percent of state funds expended for home visiting programs are for evidence-based or promising program models.
   c.  By July 1, 2015, seventy-five percent of state funds expended for home visiting programs are for evidence-based or promising program models.
   d.  By that by July 1, 2016, ninety percent of state funds expended for home visiting family support programs are shall be used for evidence-based or promising program models. The remaining ten percent of funds may be used for innovative program models that do not yet meet the definition of evidence-based or promising programs.
   2.  For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires or unless otherwise provided under federal law:
   a.  “Evidence-based program” means a program that is based on scientific evidence demonstrating that the program model is effective. An evidence-based program shall be reviewed on site and compared to program model standards by the model developer or the developer’s designee at least every five years to ensure that the program continues to maintain fidelity with the program model. The program model shall have had demonstrated significant and sustained positive outcomes in an evaluation utilizing a well-designed and rigorous randomized controlled research design or a quasi-experimental research design, and the evaluation results shall have been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
   b.  “Family support programs” includes group-based parent education or home visiting programs that are designed to strengthen protective factors, including parenting skills, increasing parental knowledge of child development, and increasing family functioning and problem solving skills. A family support program may be used as an early intervention strategy to improve birth outcomes, parental knowledge, family economic success, the home learning environment, family and child involvement with others, and coordination with other community resources. A family support program may have a specific focus on preventing child maltreatment or ensuring children are safe, healthy, and ready to succeed in school.
   c.  “Promising program” means a program that meets all of the following requirements:
   (1)  The program conforms to a clear, consistent family support model that has been in existence for at least three years.
   (2)  The program is grounded in relevant empirically based knowledge.
   (3)  The program is linked to program-determined outcomes.
   (4)  The program is associated with a national or state organization that either has comprehensive program standards that ensure high-quality service delivery and continuous program quality improvement or the program model has demonstrated through the program’s benchmark outcomes that the program has achieved significant positive outcomes equivalent to those achieved by program models with published significant and sustained results in a peer-reviewed journal.
   (5)  The program has been awarded the Iowa family support credential and has been reviewed on site at least every five years to ensure the program’s adherence to the Iowa family support standards approved by the state board or a comparable set of standards. The on-site review is completed by an independent review team that is not associated with the program or the organization administering the program.
   3.  a.  The data reporting requirements adopted by the state board pursuant to section 256I.4 for the family support programs targeted to families expecting a child or with newborn and infant children through age five and funded through the state board shall require the programs to participate in a state-administered internet-based data collection system. The data reporting requirements shall be developed in a manner to provide for compatibility with local data collection systems. The state board’s annual report submitted each January to the governor and general assembly under section 256I.4 shall include family support program outcomes beginning with the January 2015 report.
   b.  The data on families served that is collected by the family support programs funded through the early childhood Iowa initiative shall include but is not limited to basic demographic information, services received, funding utilized, and program outcomes for the children and families served. The state board shall adopt performance benchmarks for the family support programs and shall revise the Iowa family support credential to incorporate the performance benchmarks on or before January 1, 2014.
   c.  The state board shall identify minimum competency standards for the employees and supervisors of family support programs funded through the early childhood Iowa initiative. The state board shall submit recommendations concerning the standards to the governor and general assembly on or before January 1, 2014.
   d.  The state board shall adopt criminal and child abuse record check requirements for the employees and supervisors of family support programs funded through the early childhood Iowa initiative.
   e.  The state board shall develop a plan to implement a coordinated intake and referral process for publicly funded family support programs in order to engage the families expecting a child or with newborn and infant children through age five in all communities in the state by July 1, 2015.