After five public hearings, more than 200 written comments, a legislative briefing and a review Tuesday by the governor-appointed Arkansas Early Childhood Commission, a proposed overhaul to the state's licensing requirements for child care centers will see more revisions.
The latest proposal by the state Department of Human Services' Childcare and Early Childhood Education Division includes reducing the grace period child care centers have to comply with the new regulations, eliminating FBI fingerprint background checks, and adding exceptions to the requirement that center directors hold a bachelor's degree.
Tuesday's meeting was supposed to be the final step before the new regulations would be forwarded to legislative committees. However, the commission didn't have enough members to vote.
After a lengthy presentation and discussion of the recommendations, commission Chairman Jackie Gowan said the commission would consider two issues -- the length of the grace period to comply with the staff-to-child ratio and the overall approval or denial of the proposal.
She said that -- because there wasn't a quorum -- the individual members would render their votes by email.
When contacted, Department of Human Services spokesman Amy Webb said an email vote was necessary because the agency hoped to have the new regulations processed and put into effect before the end of the year. The next regular commission meeting is in October.
Furthermore, Webb said the email exchange would constitute a "public meeting" under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act's definition as long as proper public notice and access were provided.
Webb said in an email that the department had planned to send a public notice regarding the electronic vote and that officials would "announce when the vote will be held and how members of the public/media can observe the process."
Mark White, an attorney with the Human Services Department, said in an email that he was "not aware of any case of AG opinion saying that taking a vote by phone or email is absolutely prohibited by FOIA. Rather, what the cases and the AG opinions say is that polling constitutes a 'meeting' under FOIA, implicating the requirements of notice."
After the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette brought the intended email meeting to the attention of the state attorney general's office, spokesman Aaron Sadler said the attorney general's office contacted "the commission and advised that it would violate FOIA to conduct such votes."
In a later email exchange with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Webb said that based on the cases and opinions noted, White felt that the commission's proposal to vote via email did, in fact, constitute a meeting and would be allowed as long as there is proper notice and access given.
"However, we believe strongly in transparency and want there to be no question about that. So the commission will instead vote during a specially-called meeting in-person or via telephone to address your concerns," Webb said.
A date or time for that public meeting had not been set as of late Tuesday.
At the special meeting, the commission will decide whether the proposed grace period for existing child care centers to comply with the new staff-to-child ratios will be four or six years. New ones must comply immediately, the proposal says.
The agency originally proposed that providers licensed before the effective date of the new regulations be given only two years to comply. It added a grace period, however, after the department received an outpouring of opinions generated by five public hearings held throughout the state.
The idea of overhauling regulations -- the first time since 1969 -- has drawn passionate and emotional testimony from child care providers, parents and state agency officials.
Numerous center owners had said new ratios would require rates to go up by as much as $20 per week in some areas of the state.
The new proposal calls for staff-to-child ratios to be reduced from current ratios of:
• One staff member for every six children to one staff member for every five children, from birth to 18 months old.
• One staff member for every nine children to one staff member for every eight children, from 18 months to 36 months old.
• One staff member for every 20 children to one staff member for every 18 children, kindergarten age and older.
Karen Marshall of Tender Loving Care in Searcy told the commission Tuesday that the state already has a shortage of slots for infants and toddlers. Reducing the ratios, she said, would force facilities to either raise rates or stop taking infants and toddlers altogether.
David Griffin, associate director of Arkansas' Childcare and Early Childhood Education Division, told the commission that the majority of states allow a four- or six-year grace period.
Geania Dickey, childhood-services coordinator for Arkansas State University, told the commission that Arkansas was one of only four states that have the ratio of one staff member to six children in the birth-to-18-month-old classroom. The first two years of a child's life are the most critical, Dickey said.
Arkansas also is one of 13 states that do not meet the staff-to-child ratios recommended by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
"If 46 other states can figure it out, we can, too," she said. With tears streaming down her face, Dickey told the commission that the first priority should be "above all, we do no harm."
In response to the public outcry over the requirement that child care center directors hold a bachelor's degree or higher, Griffin said the proposal was revised to include other options. In lieu of a bachelor's degree, directors can have:
• An associate degree in early childhood, child development or a related field plus six years of experience; or
• Eight years of experience in early childhood education and completion of one of the following, within two years of employment: a child development associate credential, birth-to-pre-kindergarten credential or directors credential or the equivalent.
Currently, a bachelor's degree is not required if the director has at least a high school diploma or a General Educational Development certificate, along with four years of experience in a licensed child care or elementary program.
Once the proposal is approved by the commission, a final draft will go back to legislative committees for review. Griffin said it would likely be several months before the changes can be put into effect.
State Desk on 07/16/2014