Existing law provides for various entities, programs, and services relating to early childhood care and learning, including the provision of childcare for recipients of the CalWORKs program and the Early Childhood Policy Council, among others under the State Department of Education and the Emergency Child Care Bridge for Foster Children under the State Department of Social Services. Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency, which includes the State Department of Social Services, among other state departments, and is charged with the administration of health, social, and other human services.
This bill would establish the Department of Early Child Development within the California Health and Human Services Agency, and would require the new department to consolidate leadership on programs and issues relating to the administration of early learning and care and to centralize and build a coherent and whole person early learning and care system to improve service delivery for children, families, and providers by maximizing federal, state, and local resources. The bill would transfer the duties, powers, functions, jurisdiction, and responsibilities of specified programs and entities relating to early childhood care and learning from various departments, including the State Department of Education and the State Department of Social Services, to the Department of Early Child Development.
The bill would require the Department of Early Child Development to establish an interagency workgroup that includes the Director of Early Childhood Development, the Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, and representatives from the State Department of Public Health, the State Department of Health Care Services, the State Department of Developmental Services, and the State Department of Social Services to, among other things, establish a memorandum of understanding between the departments that outlines the joint authority for the promulgation of regulations for the coordination of services relating to early childhood care and learning. The bill would state related findings, declarations, and intents of the Legislature.