Borderplex pilot pays for after-hours child care

The text as introduced · 632 words

89R6286 DNC-D

By: Blanco
S.B. No. 1249

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to establishing a certified caregiver pilot program in the

Borderplex workforce development area.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 4, Labor Code, is amended by

adding Chapter 321 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 321. CERTIFIED CAREGIVER PILOT PROGRAM

Sec. 321.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "program" means

the certified caregiver pilot program established under this

chapter.

Sec. 321.002. ESTABLISHMENT. (a) The commission shall

establish and administer the certified caregiver pilot program in

the Borderplex workforce development area to address the need for

after-hours child care for single-parent household working parents

who are pursuing a short-term workforce training program in the

area.

(b) The program shall:

(1) assist employees of child-care facilities

licensed under Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, with

obtaining a license under Section 321.004 in order to provide child

care to the children of eligible parents outside of regular working

hours in the employee's home; and

(2) provide supplemental subsidized child care for

single-parent households eligible under Section 321.005.

Sec. 321.003. PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION. (a) The local

workforce development board serving the Borderplex workforce

development area shall select a total of 30 single-parent families

eligible under Section 321.005 that will qualify for supplemental

subsidized child care for a period of not more than six months.

(b) A certified caregiver licensed under Section 321.004

shall be eligible to participate in the commission's subsidized

child-care program to provide child care outside regular working

hours to a child of a parent participating in the program.

Sec. 321.004. LICENSE FOR CERTIFIED CAREGIVER. (a) The

executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission

shall adopt a procedure to issue a license to a caregiver who meets

the requirements of this section that allows the caregiver to

operate as a listed family home for purposes of the pilot program.

(b) The procedure must require a caregiver to:

(1) be a current employee of a child-care facility

licensed under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, with not less than

two years of child-care experience;

(2) provide after-hours child care in the caregiver's

own home; and

(3) list the caregiver's home with the Health and Human

Services Commission as a family home and comply with minimum

standards for a listed family home adopted by the executive

commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission under

Section 42.042, Human Resources Code.

Sec. 321.005. PARENT ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to

receive a child-care subsidy under the program, a parent must, at

the time of application:

(1) receive a subsidy under the commission's

child-care subsidy program;

(2) reside in a single-parent household;

(3) have completed a sufficient number of

postsecondary education credit hours, as determined by the

commission;

(4) be enrolled in or agree to enroll in a short-term

workforce training program supported by the local workforce

development board serving the Borderplex workforce development

area; and

(5) demonstrate a need for child care outside of

regular working hours in order to complete the workforce training

program described under Subdivision (4).

Sec. 321.006. REPORT. Not later than December 1, 2028, the

commission shall prepare and submit to the governor, lieutenant

governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and standing

committee of each house of the legislature with primary

jurisdiction over economic development a report on:

(1) the efficacy of the program;

(2) the completion rate of workforce training programs

by parents receiving child care under the program;

(3) the total cost of the program; and

(4) a recommendation on whether to continue, expand,

or terminate the program.

Sec. 321.007. RULES. The commission shall adopt rules

necessary to implement this chapter.

Sec. 321.008. EXPIRATION. This chapter expires September

1, 2029.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.