STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7427--A
IN SENATE
April 29, 2016
___________
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families --
reported favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee
on Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to codifying the
early childhood advisory council
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section
2 483-g to read as follows:
3 § 483-g. Early childhood advisory council. 1. There is hereby estab-
4 lished within the council an early childhood advisory council to promote
5 a comprehensive and high quality early childhood system. Members of the
6 early childhood advisory council shall include, but not be limited to,
7 to the maximum extent possible:
8 (a) a representative of the office of children and family services;
9 (b) a representative of the state education department;
10 (c) a representative of local educational agencies;
11 (d) a representative of institutions of higher education in the state;
12 (e) a representative of local providers of early childhood education
13 and development services;
14 (f) a representative of head start agencies, including migrant and
15 seasonal head start programs and Indian head start programs;
16 (g) the director of the head start collaboration office;
17 (h) a representative from the department of health;
18 (i) a representative of the office of temporary and disability assist-
19 ance;
20 (j) a representative of the office of mental health;
21 (k) a representative of the office for people with developmental disa-
22 bilities;
23 (l) a representative of the empire state development corporation;
24 (m) a representative of the division of the budget;
25 (n) at least five representatives of the business community; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15090-04-6
S. 7427--A 2
1 (o) representatives of other entities determined to be relevant by the
2 governor.
3 2. The early childhood advisory council shall, in addition to any
4 responsibilities assigned by the governor:
5 (a) conduct a periodic statewide needs assessment concerning the qual-
6 ity and availability of early childhood education and development
7 programs and services for children from birth to school entry, including
8 an assessment of the availability of high-quality pre-kindergarten
9 services for low-income children in the state;
10 (b) identify opportunities for, and barriers to, collaboration and
11 coordination among federally funded and state funded child development,
12 child care, and early childhood education programs and services, includ-
13 ing collaboration and coordination among state agencies responsible for
14 administering such programs;
15 (c) develop recommendations for increasing the overall participation
16 of children in existing federal, state, and local child care and early
17 childhood education programs, including outreach to underrepresented and
18 special populations;
19 (d) develop recommendations regarding the establishment of a unified
20 data collection system for public early childhood education and develop-
21 ment programs and services throughout the state;
22 (e) develop recommendations regarding statewide professional develop-
23 ment and career advancement plans for early childhood educators in the
24 state;
25 (f) assess the capacity and effectiveness of two-year and four-year
26 public and private institutions of higher education in the state toward
27 supporting the development of early childhood educators, including the
28 extent to which such institutions have in place articulation agreements,
29 professional development and career advancement plans, and practice or
30 internships for students to spend time in a head start or pre-kindergar-
31 ten program;
32 (g) develop and implement strategies to engage business and civic
33 leaders and organizations in early learning planning and advocacy at the
34 state and local level;
35 (h) increase business, civic and public awareness of the importance of
36 early childhood education, including, but not limited to, the distrib-
37 ution of literature through mail or online, organizing of meetings and
38 events to promote the cost benefit of investments in learning and the
39 hosting of an annual economic summit on early childhood investment;
40 (i) develop recommendations for increasing public-private investments
41 in early childhood and strategies for maximizing resources; and
42 (j) make recommendations for improvements in state early learning
43 standards and undertake efforts to develop high-quality comprehensive
44 early learning standards, as appropriate.
45 3. Members of the early childhood advisory council shall serve on
46 workgroups tasked with implementing the duties required pursuant to
47 subdivision two of this section. Such workgroups may be established as
48 needed, provided however that there shall be a permanent early learning
49 investment workgroup focused on implementation of, at a minimum, the
50 duties described in paragraphs (g), (h) and (i) of subdivision two of
51 this section. Membership of the early learning investment workgroup
52 shall include, but not be limited to, representatives of the business
53 community appointed to the council in accordance with paragraph (n) of
54 subdivision one of this section.
S. 7427--A 3
1 4. The early childhood advisory council shall hold public hearings and
2 provide an opportunity for public comment on the activities described in
3 subdivision two of this section.
4 5. The early childhood advisory council shall submit a statewide stra-
5 tegic report addressing the activities described in subdivision two of
6 this section to the director of the head start collaboration office, the
7 governor, the speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the
8 senate. After submission of a statewide strategic report, the early
9 childhood advisory council shall meet periodically to review any imple-
10 mentation of the recommendations in such report and any changes in state
11 and local needs.
12 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
