COUNTYWIDE : Pilot Child-Care Program Extended

The state Legislature has approved a measure to extend the life of a Ventura County pilot child-care program that Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) would like to see spread throughout California.

The bill adds 18 months to the program that would have expired Wednesday. Gov. Pete Wilson has until July 8 to either sign the bill into law or veto it.

Legislation authored by Assemblywoman Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) created the program in 1990, which lets family child-care operations in Ventura and Placer counties serve two more school-age children than state law allows.

State law allows for six children in a small home and 12 in a large home. The pilot program brings that limit to eight and 14 children, respectively.

“What we need to do is apply this standard statewide, in Assemblyman O’Connell’s belief,” said Paul Smith, legislative aide to O’Connell.

Smith said Ventura County child-care providers have taken advantage of the program, adding nearly 1,200 more slots for children.

Extending the program will give Placer County officials more time to compile data needed to convince the governor that the standard should be extended to counties statewide, Smith said.

The state law that regulates the number of children allowed in home child-care facilities expires Dec. 31, when it will undergo a review, Smith said.

“It’s a vital, important program in Ventura County,” he said. “It should become a vital, important program for the entire state.”