Gluesenkamp Perez, Bipartisan Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Remove Regulatory Burdens on Childcare Providers, Support Kids’ Nutrition
Today, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), alongside Reps. Virginia Foxx (NC-05), Young Kim (CA-40), and Adam Gray (CA-13), introduced the Cutting Red Tape on Child Care Providers Act. The legislation will prohibit states that receive federal childcare funding from creating any barriers on the simple preparation of fresh fruits and vegetables for childcare facilities.
In some states, childcare providers face food preparation regulations that require cost-prohibitive kitchen renovations to do something as simple as cut up an apple or banana. These requirements raise the barrier of entry to opening a fully-functioning facility, disproportionately harming rural families who face a shortage of childcare options.
In daycares lacking these facilities, children may not receive fresh fruits and vegetables sent with them by their parents, it can be harder to serve an increased quantity or quality of fresh produce, and there may be additional costs associated with supplying pre-prepared snacks that lack the same nutritional value.
In one instance, local regulations in Texas required some childcare centers lacking commercial kitchens to only serve prepackaged foods that do not require slicing. As a result, childcare directors reported that less healthy foods were served, parents were limited in snacks they could provide for their child’s class, and the frequency of serving fresh fruits and vegetables was dramatically reduced.
Washington state regulations require childcare centers to have at least four to five sink basins for food preparation, which includes slicing fresh fruits and vegetables for small children. In practice, some local childcare providers have ended up installing an additional amount of sinks, as a result of varying licensor interpretations of state regulations, facility layouts, or wash configurations. Other providers who are unable to meet costly requirements have remained unable to slice fruits and vegetables.
This red tape undermines the ability of childcare providers to support and promote kids’ nutrition, local agriculture, and national health. These regulatory hurdles are especially challenging for small and rural childcare providers, which have been on a decline and are lifelines for parents working non-traditional hours and low-income families.
“Byzantine regulations are negatively impacting the quality of nutrition our kids receive – and the status quo makes it easier to open a bag of chips than to peel and slice a banana. It’s time to acknowledge that a childcare provider’s capacity to navigate a bureaucracy is not the arbiter of the quality of care they provide to our kids. This bipartisan legislation is a step toward giving them the regulatory clarity, agency, and respect they merit,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “I hear from my constituents all the time about how their childcare costs rival their mortgage or rent, and while I support subsidies for childcare programs, it’s also important we pursue the regulatory reform that brings down the cost of compliance for these small businesses – that way more of the dollars go directly to childcare providers themselves, not their insurance provider or compliance directors. Streamlining rules on childcare nutrition directly advances local agriculture, national health, and a level playing field for small, rural, and women-owned businesses.”
“Children thrive when they have access to nutritious meals, but it is not always available at every daycare. This bill cuts through the bureaucracy and gives parents the flexibility to bring foods from home that meet the nutrition needs of their child,” said Rep. Foxx. “This bill builds upon the Committee’s ongoing work recognizing that parents know best when it comes to their children. I thank Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez for her leadership on this issue and am pleased to join her in introducing the Cutting Red Tape on Child Care Providers Act, which puts children at the forefront.”
“Regulations should never stand in the way of kids accessing the nutritious meals they need to grow and thrive. The Cutting Red Tape on Child Care Providers Act will empower childcare providers to better provide for children without fear of unnecessary penalties,” said Rep. Kim. “This is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that will benefit children, families, and hardworking childcare providers who play a crucial role in our communities.”
“As the representative for the San Joaquin Valley, the largest agricultural region in the country, I know how important fresh fruits and vegetables are to our kids’ growth,” said Rep. Gray. “Childcare centers should encourage our kids to eat healthy foods, but red tape has scared providers out of doing so. I’m glad to join my colleagues to introduce this commonsense bipartisan bill to support childcare providers, empower families to meet the dietary needs of their students, and encourage healthy eating for kids.”
“All kids deserve access to fresh fruit and vegetables, and Congresswoman Gluesenkamp Perez understands that sometimes regulations inadvertently limit providers’ ability to prepare and serve these foods. No matter where a child lives, they should have access to fresh fruit and vegetables in their childcare environment,” said Claire Bruncke, Executive Director of the Dylan Jude Harrell Community Center in Long Beach. “When it is easier for providers to serve pre-packaged, processed foods than fresh fruit and vegetables, we know that change is needed. We’re grateful for the leadership of Congresswoman Gluesenkamp Perez in helping to ensure that all kids have access, no matter their location.”
“Our process of getting licensed was lengthy and confusing; starting with the 70-page pre-inspection checklist, all the way to our last attempt at getting a certified kitchen so we could prepare simple food and wash dishes (instead of using disposables). A huge part of a Montessori education is independence, and it was paramount for us to be able to model simple healthy food programs with fresh, whole foods instead of preservative-laden processed foods and irresponsible use of single-use plastic,” said Thandi Rosenbaum, owner of the Wave of the Future Preschool in Seaview. “In the end, in order to maintain codes from the state fire department, local county, and DCYF, we installed a total of 10 sinks. In almost kafkaesque procedures, after DCYF refused to allow us to use the triple sink the county had approved, we appealed for an alternative procedure and had our appeal rejected. We found out, after installing a second set of triple sinks, that it had been rejected because the way we were proposing functioning was ruled out within the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). The process was overwhelmingly bureaucratic and unclear.”
“At the time when we were licensed, we were the only licensed childcare center in Pacific County, other than Head Start; and I can understand why. The process itself was arduous and presents a huge challenge for any small provider, whether in home or a center. We had huge institutional support, without which we surely never would have been able to get our preschool up and running. Early childhood education is so important for learning outcomes, but also affects young parents’ ability to return to the workforce,” continued Rosenbaum. “For the first time since becoming licensed, we are now financially viable. Though we likely already qualify to be a nature-based preschool, the thought of entering another licensing process has intimidated us enough to dissuade us from considering it. We are likely missing important opportunities as a result of this.”
Full text of the bill is available here.
Reps. Gluesenkamp Perez and Foxx previously introduced the legislation in the 118th Congress.