North Carolina Child Well-Being Transformation Council

CHILD WELL-BEING TRANSFORMATION COUNCIL

SECTION 24.1.(b) North Carolina Child Well-Being Transformation Council Creation; Purpose; Findings. – There is established the North Carolina Child Well-Being Transformation Council (Children's Council) for the purpose of coordinating, collaborating, and communicating among agencies and

organizations involved in providing public services to children. … A more systematic and coordinated approach to services will help ensure that the State achieves the best possible outcomes for children.

SECTION 24.1.(f) Powers and Duties. – The Children's Council shall direct its focus on the

following initiatives:

(1) Mapping the network of child-serving agencies and organizations in the State.

(2) Cataloging examples of failures in coordination, collaboration, and communication in the context of child welfare.

(3) Reviewing the work of bodies similar to the Children's Council operating in other states to identify promising practices and focus areas for the Children's Council's work.

(4) Monitoring changes in the social services and child welfare system associated with reform and regional supervision.

(5) Identifying gaps in coordination, collaboration, and communication related to all publicly funded child serving programs.

(6) Recommending changes in law, policy, or practice necessary to remedy gaps or problems impacting coordination, collaboration, and communication among publicly funded child-serving agencies.

SECTION 24.1.(i) Reporting; Termination. – By June 30, 2019, the Children's Council shall submit an interim report to the chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, the chairs of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on Health and Human

Services, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Fiscal Research Division. The report shall include a summary of the Council's work for the previous year, any findings and recommendations for change, and a work plan for the upcoming year. By June 30, 2020, the Children's Council shall submit a final report and shall terminate on that date.

Children's Council Interim Report June 30, 2019 

Children's Council FInal Report July 20, 2020

DCDEE Legislative Report on a Separate Star-Rated License for Children Birth-Age Two

Pursuant to Session Law 2018-5, SECTION 11B.2.(a) - SEPARATE STAR-RATED LICENSE/BIRTH THROUGH TWO YEARS OF AGE/REPORT

SECTION 11B.2.(a) The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (Division), shall develop a separate birth through two years of age, star-rated license for child care facilities. In developing the separate, star-rated license, the Division shall, at a minimum, consider the following:

(1) Staff qualifications.
(2) Staff turnover rates.
(3) Educational outcomes.
(4) Evaluation of certified religious-based child care centers for rate payments and the minimum requirements for certification.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education shall submit a report on its recommendations regarding the separate, star-rated license, as well as any recommendations for revising the current star-rating system, to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services by November 1, 2018.

DCDEE Legislative Report on a pilot project requiring that Child Care Subsidy Participants Cooperate with Child Support Services Enforcement

Pursuant to Session Law 2017-57, Section 11B.7 - CHILD CARE SUBSIDY RECIPIENTS TO COOPERATE WITH CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES/DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

SECTION 11B.7.(a) Beginning January 1, 2018, or 30 days from the date the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Care, approves the revised Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) plan, or whichever occurs later, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) and the Division of Social Services (DSS), shall implement a one-year statewide demonstration project in accordance with S.L. 2015-51 requiring a custodial parent or other relative or person with primary custody of the child who is receiving child care subsidy payments to cooperate with the county child support services program as a condition of receiving child care subsidy payments. DCDEE and DSS shall conduct the demonstration project in at least three counties, but no more than six, that represent the three regions of the State in both rural and urban settings. DCDEE and DSS may solicit counties to volunteer for the demonstration project. In selecting counties to participate in the demonstration project, DCDEE and DSS shall (i) consider the various methods counties employ in receiving and processing child care subsidy applications and (ii) compare the data from the counties participating in the demonstration project to counties that are similarly sized and situated that do not participate in the demonstration project.

SECTION 11B.7.(b) The statewide demonstration project shall include, at a minimum, the components described in Section 1(a) of S.L. 2015-51, as well as any criteria DCDEE and DSS identified in its report as submitted to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services dated February 1, 2016. Specifically, as identified in that report, DCDEE and DSS shall consider, at a minimum, each of the following factors in evaluating the demonstration project:

(1) The number and percentage of applicants for whom the requirement to participate in child support services was presented who actually submitted a child support application and applied for and received subsidized child care assistance.
(2) The number and percentage of families exempted from the requirement under subdivision (1) of this subsection through good-cause exceptions.
(3) The number and percentage of families that initially receive child support payments but become ineligible for subsidized child care assistance as a result of their increased income or family status.
(4) The number and percentage of families enrolled in the subsidized child care assistance program at the beginning of the demonstration project that exit the program due to imposed requirements for child support cooperation.
(5) The number and percentage of applicants who declined to apply or withdrew their application as a result of the requirement to cooperate with child support services.
(6) The number and percentage of child care subsidy recipients who begin receiving child support or, if receiving child support, the average increase in the recipients' child support received due to imposed requirements for child support cooperation.

SECTION 11B.7.(c) The Division of Child Development and Early Education and the Division of Social Services shall report on the results of the demonstration project to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Fiscal Research Division no later than March 1, 2019, or if the CCDF plan is approved after January 1, 2018, no later than three months from the date the one-year demonstration project is completed, whichever occurs later. The report shall include, at a minimum, each of the following:

(1) The factors evaluated under subsection (a) of this section.
(2) A detailed project plan and any costs associated with implementing the plan, specifically, any technology needs.
(3) Any recommendations for or challenges with sustaining the plan long term.