Workers' Compensation - Evaluation of Permanent Impairments - Licensed Social Worker-Clinical
Summary
HB1325 establishes the Substitute Child Care Provider Pool Pilot Program within the State Department of Education. The program is intended to help child care facilities stay open by creating a pool of qualified substitute child care providers who can fill short-term staffing gaps on a temporary basis. The bill defines key terms such as child care facility, child care provider, and substitute child care provider pool, and sets the program to begin on July 1, 2026, with a sunset date after a limited pilot period.
Under the bill, the Department must select a nonprofit organization to administer the program. That nonprofit must be a statewide public benefit corporation with experience working with child care facilities and helping individuals meet legal requirements to work in child care. The selected organization would receive a grant to recruit credentialed providers, help them meet background check, training, and qualification requirements, organize participating facilities by region, and potentially create a digital matching platform. The bill also requires the Governor to include annual funding in the budget and directs the Department to set goals and report to the General Assembly on the program’s status and effectiveness.
Impact
The bill adds a new section to the Education Article, creating a temporary state pilot program and associated administrative duties for the State Department of Education. It authorizes state grant funding for a nonprofit administrator, requires annual budget appropriations, and establishes reporting and evaluation requirements. The bill does not directly change licensing standards for child care providers, but it supports compliance with existing criminal history, training, and credentialing requirements by helping substitute providers meet them.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests broad support for the bill, as it passed the House on third reading by a wide margin, 131 to 6. No committee transcript is available, but the favorable committee report and strong floor vote indicate the measure was generally viewed positively as a workforce and child care access initiative. The bill’s pilot structure and sunset provision also suggest it was framed as a limited, testable approach rather than a permanent expansion.
Contention
The main points of potential contention appear to be program scope, funding level, and implementation details. The bill text shows amendments that reduced the pilot’s duration, funding, and geographic reach from the introduced version, which suggests lawmakers narrowed the proposal during consideration. Possible concerns likely centered on the cost of the grant and budget appropriation, whether a nonprofit should administer a state child care staffing program, and how quickly a substitute provider pool could be built and sustained across regions.
To Recodify Title 19 Of The Arkansas Code Concerning Public Finance; And To Amend Laws Resulting From Initiated Acts 2000, No. 1; And To Make Conforming Changes To The Arkansas Code.