Title
AN ACT CONCERNING CHILD CARE EXPANSION AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ACT for the purpose of expanding the availability of and quality of child care in the County; defining certain terms; establishing a County Child Care Navigator; requiring a Strategic Plan for Child Care and annual reporting on program implementation; expanding, facilitating and streamlining the use of County and other public facilities by child care and before and after-school care programs; and generally relating to child care and before and after-school care programs.
Background
This bill will create a new Subtitle 5C in the County Code, entitled "Early Childhood Education and Child Care." It will create a Child Care Navigator role in the Department of Family Services to provide assistance to providers of child care in the County and generally improve the availability and quality of child care in the County, including the preparation of a Strategic Plan for Child Care. The Navigator will also coordinate with appropriate County agencies to facilitate the use of County-owned buildings and other public spaces, and compile and maintain an inventor of County-owned or controlled property that is determined to be suitable for use as child care. Finally, the bill will require the Office of Management and Budget to consider the impact of including child care facilities in County capital projects, and include a statement of this impact in each Capital Improvement Program budget.
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