The Committee on Children and Families and Workforce Development in the Senate will be holding a public hearing on the new waiver legislation (SB 642) this Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 10:10 am in Capitol room 411 South (updated room). Last week, the Assembly Committee on Children and Families heard testimony on the same bill. Providers from across the state joined WECA at this hearing to show their support for the bill. Do you have a response to this new legislation? You can make a statement at the hearing or send Senator Jauch, the chairperson of the Committee, a written statement either in favor of or in opposition to the bill.
Representative Tamara Grigsby and Senator Kathleen Vinehout created this new waiver legislation (AB 887 and SB 642) to change the caregiver background check law, or Act 76, in a variety of ways. According to Representative Grigsby, this bill will “address the most burdensome impact of Act 76, those individuals who have lost or surrendered their licenses due to a financial based crime or public assistance fraud. This bill would allow those individuals whose crimes were committed more than 5 years prior to go through the Department of Children and Families’ rehab/review process and request consideration for reinstatement of their license.”