Pennsylvania HB 781: An Act amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Human Services Code, in general powers and duties of the Department of Public Welfare, providing for infant and toddler care professionals salary supplement; and promulgating regulations.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 802
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 781
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY SHUSTERMAN, HARKINS, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, PROBST, HILL-
EVANS, CERRATO, HANBIDGE, BOROWSKI, KHAN, SANCHEZ, DONAHUE,
SCHLOSSBERG, D. WILLIAMS, CIRESI, GREEN, DEASY, MAYES,
HOHENSTEIN, KENYATTA, GIRAL, RIVERA, MADDEN, GUENST AND
ISAACSON, MARCH 3, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 3, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), entitled "An
act to consolidate, editorially revise, and codify the public
welfare laws of the Commonwealth," in general powers and
duties of the Department of Public Welfare, providing for
infant and toddler care professionals salary supplement; and
promulgating regulations.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known
as the Human Services Code, is amended by adding a section to
read:
Section 217. Infant and Toddler Care Professionals Salary
Supplement.--(a) The department shall establish, implement and
administer a pilot salary supplement program to provide salary
supplements to child-care center employes assigned to work
directly with children under four years of age, to which the
following shall apply:
(1) The purpose of the program shall be to create parity in
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pay across assigned age groups to prevent losing employes who
work with infants and toddlers due to changes in pre-
kindergarten employment salaries.
(2) The department shall establish standards for providing
salary supplements under the program, which may:
(i) include determining parity on a county level; and
(ii) be scaled by education and certification.
(3) The department shall issue salary supplements under the
program no later than September 30, 2026, for the 2026-2027
fiscal year and no later than September 30 for each subsequent
fiscal year.
(b) A child-care center that receives money under the
program shall only use the money to supplement wages and
salaries. Money received under the program may not supplant the
child-care center's money in a manner designed to intentionally
lower wages or payroll costs.
(c) To verify a child-care center's eligibility to
participate in the program, the department shall:
(1) Subject to subsection (d), review the personnel records
of each child-care center to confirm current salaries for each
pilot year.
(2) Monitor salary supplements, employe retention rates and
advancement of employe education or certification. The
department shall provide the information gathered under this
paragraph and recommendations on how the program may be
continued beyond the program's expiration under subsection (g),
to the General Assembly within one year of expiration of the
pilot program.
(d) The department may only review personnel records of a
child-care center to the extent necessary to fulfill the duties
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of this section, unless otherwise specified under this section.
(e) Prior to the first pilot year, and for each subsequent
year, the department shall provide the General Assembly with an
appropriation estimate necessary to cover the cost of all
reported salary supplements.
(f) No later than August 31, 2026, and each August 31
thereafter, an amount equal to or less than the estimate
provided to the General Assembly under subsection (e) shall be
appropriated on a continuing basis to the department for the
payment of salary supplements under the program.
(g) The program shall expire upon the expiration of the
third fiscal year for which the department provides salary
supplements under this section.
(h) The department shall adopt rules and promulgate
regulations necessary to implement this section.
(i) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Child-care center" means any premises that operates for
profit in which child care is provided simultaneously for seven
or more children who are not relatives of the operator. The term
does not include a center operating under social service
auspices or a center that is an approved provider under the
Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts Program established under section
1512-D of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as
the Public School Code of 1949.
"Program" means the pilot salary supplement program
established under subsection (a).
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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