Another child care services program is a program established by special legislation which was passed and signed by the Governor in 1974, and designated School-Age Parenting and Infant Development. The State of California made $600,000 General Fund monies available to provide a program in the secondary schools for school-age parents. The program is four-pronged; legislation authorizes infant development child care services during the time the school-age parent is finishing her high school education, which is the second thrust of the program. Thirdly, pregnant minors are permitted to attend the class for parenting education; and finally, boys as well as girls are encouraged to take the school-age parenting class as an elective course in high school.

The third major responsibility in Child Development Programs is federal program articulation. There are at least six federal programs which do not "pass through" the. California State Department of Education but have a significant impact on local community child development services. These programs include the federal Head Start program which includes part-day educational as well as full-day child development and care services. There are five other federal programs which have similar impact and these are Housing and Community Development Act programs, Comprehensive Employment and Training Act programs, Public Employment programs, Work Incentive programs and Local Government Revenue-Sharing programs.

Administrative Structure

Child Development Programs are administered in the State Department of Education by the Child Development Programs Support Unit. (The administrative structure is displayed by Chart 3,) The Support Unit is responsible to the Associate Superintendent for Elementary Programs. This, in California, is an age-span responsibility; the Associate Superintendent is responsible for all programs in his age span; in this particular case, it is infancy through sixth grade. This Unit is headed by an Assistant Superintendent for Child Development Programs. The

Support Unit has two principal administrative sections--one, Field Services for professional and technical assistance to all agencies under contract with the Department, and Development and Funding Assistance, which is responsible for program and regulation development as well as staff assistance on fiscal matters. Each of these sections is divided into two administrative units: (1) the Northern California Field Services Team which is responsible for the northern 48 counties, and (2) the Southern Field Services Team which has administrative responsibility for the remaining ten southern counties.

The Development and Funding Assistance Services Section is split between the Funding Assistance Services Team and the Development Services Team which also includes administrative responsibility for the Pilot Study in Santa Clara County. These functions are explained in more detail on page 23.

Program Components

California's Child Development Act mandates programs with an educational base and also dictates that California shall make maximum use of all federal funds in support of these programs. California has continuously sought and utilized all available federal funds for these programs. The federal funding source for child care services is primarily Title IV-A of the Social Security Act and its amendments. The use of federal funds dictates that California programs adhere to the Federal Interagency Day Care Requirements, as a minimum, as well as applicable state and local statutes, regulations and ordinances. Each public or private agency under contract with the Department of Education for child development programs is required to implement various components within each program. The comprehensive components are designed to serve each child and his or her family registered in the program.

All child development programs are required to contain a minimum of eight required components. These components are designed to ensure that each family and child

are afforded the utmost opportunity to attain full development and access to

services.

The required components (see Chart 4) are educational development, which provides infant stimulation, preschool-age readiness activities, and before and after school educational supplemental activities for school-age children. Each educational development component must be specifically designed to meet the individual needs of children in the program. Small group activities may be

utilized for children with similar needs. The educational development component is required by California statute and it is of prime importance to the Department of Education. This sets California's child development program distinct and apart from other states which may not have such a component or a mandate for comprehensiveness.

The second component is special needs. If a program identifies children and/or families with special needs, then program activities must be designed and implemented to meet the needs. Bilingual instruction is the most pressing special need in California, and the two most prevalent languages are Spanish and Chinese. Multicultural programs are presented, as well as program adjustments to enroll special education children. There are not many special education (handicapped) children in child development because California's reimbursement rate to agencies is generally not sufficient to cover the increased costs of enrolling a special education child.

The third required component is health services. Mainly, health services are screening requirement activities for each child enrolled in the program. For all programs, there is a requirement that the health services and a health record for each child be maintained, and a daily health screening be given by the nurse in the program or a trained aide who checks for communicable diseases, etc.