THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2700
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1
		C.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO THE EARLY CHILDHOOD REGISTRY.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that a strong early child care and education workforce is necessary to support Hawaii's children, working families, and communities. The legislature further finds that the demand for quality early child care and education far exceeds the currently available and qualified early child care capacity of the State. The legislature also finds that disruptions to the early child care and education system due to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic have increased challenges to expanding access to quality, affordable early child care and education programs.

According to the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, the lack of early child care and education workforce data prevents policymakers from understanding the needs of this workforce, which may then lead to inefficiencies regarding early child care and education legislation and programs. The legislature recognizes that workforce registries have been used to provide an objective framework for professional development and compensation. The legislature further recognizes that timely, clear, and detailed data on early child care workers and educators is critical to ensure and increase the quality of these workers and educators in the State while helping to craft data-informed policies.

Currently, the department of human services only requires the staff used to meet the staff-child ratio in licensed child care facilities to enroll and update their information in its early childhood registry. Given the need to expand access to, and the availability of, high-quality early child care and education programs in the State, the legislature also recognizes that data in the Hawaii early childhood registry must be consistently collected and analyzed.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to address the needs of Hawaii's early child care and education workforce by requiring the department of human services to annually collect certain information from all early child care workers and educators in the State through its early childhood registry.

SECTION 2. Chapter 346, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part VIII to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§346-   Early childhood registry; staff information required. (a) The department may establish and maintain an information system to be designated as the early childhood registry. The purpose of this registry shall be to maintain a repository of early childhood provider and staff information that is collected annually pursuant to this section.

(b) The department may require all staff used to meet the staff-child ratio in all licensed and registered child care programs in the State to annually update their information in the department's early childhood registry.

(c) The data collected from the early childhood registry may include social determinants, including but not limited to: gender, race, age, paid years of experience, preferred learning languages, languages spoken with children, median hourly wage, paid planning time, health insurance, paid sick leave, paid vacation, retirement benefits, participation in an apprenticeship program, level of education, and training hours.

(d) Any records or reports containing registry information and subject to public disclosure shall be limited to aggregate data and shall not directly contain or indirectly result in the disclosure of personally identifiable information.

(e) For purposes of this section, "training" includes but is not limited to health and safety training and voluntary professional development training."

SECTION 3. The department of human services shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, regarding updates to the early childhood registry to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2024.

SECTION 4. Procurements executed pursuant to this Act shall be exempt from the requirements of chapters 103D and 103F, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

SECTION 5. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2022.

Report Title:

Early Childhood Registry; Department of Human Services

Description:

Authorizes the Department of Human Services to require the staff of licensed and registered early childhood programs to annually provide specific information to the Department's Early Childhood Workforce Registry. Requires a report to the Legislature. (CD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.