Childcare and developmental services: preschool: expulsion and suspension: mental health services: reimbursement rates.

(1) The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of childcare and development services for children up to 13 years of age. The Early Education Act requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to, among other things, provide an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program. The act prohibits a contracting agency, as part of the state preschool program, from expelling or unenrolling a child because of a child's behavior, except as provided. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to consider, in determining whether to issue a citation or impose a civil penalty to a state preschool program, whether the program is in the process of complying with the above law relating to expulsion or unenrollment. This bill would revise and recast the above provisions relating to the expulsion or unenrollment of a child from the state preschool program and would include a general childcare and development program and family childcare home education network program as part of those provisions, as provided. The bill would also establish requirements for the use of suspensions in the programs described above. The bill would require these programs to maintain records on expulsion and suspension, as provided. The bill would require, beginning July 1, 2030, and annually thereafter, the State Department of Education or the State Department of Social Services, as applicable, to collect specified data on this information, as provided, and would require the departments to publish that information no later than January 1, 2031, and annually thereafter. The bill would require the respective departments, on or before December 31, 2023, to issue guidance for programs on implementing these requirements. The bill would also require those departments to create guidelines for offering additional support and requiring additional staff training for programs with exceptionally high numbers of suspension and expulsion, as specified. The bill would make the above-mentioned provisions on expulsions and suspensions inapplicable to licensed family childcare providers until a specified joint labor-management committee makes recommendations for potential changes related to suspensions and expulsions. The bill would also authorize a child daycare facility to appeal a citation or civil penalty issued by the State Department of Social Services that is related to the behavior of a child if the facility is in the process of complying with those provisions and would require the department to withdraw the citation or civil penalty upon presentation of evidence of that fact. The bill would make other conforming changes to related provisions. (2) Existing law requires the cost to a childcare provider agency of providing an early childhood mental health consultation service, as defined, to be reimbursable if certain requirements are met, including that the consultation service is provided on a schedule of sufficient and consistent frequency and that the consultation service is supervised and provided by specified mental health professionals. This bill would update the definition of early childhood mental health consultation service, revise the requirements relating to the nature and frequency of the consultation service provided, and expand the types of mental health professionals who can provide the consultation service, as specified. The bill would require, among other things relating to the consultants, the contracting agency to ensure, within the first 30 days upon hire or start of consultation service, that a consultant have specified training.