Early Learning and Care Division
Subject: Assembly Bill 290: Childhood Nutrition Training
Number: 13-11
Date: December 2013
Expires: Until Rescinded
Authority: Assembly Bill (AB) 290 (Chapter 734, Statutes of 2013)
Attention: Executive Directors and Program Administrators of All Child Care and Development Programs
Purpose
This Management Bulletin is to inform contractors of the passage of Assembly Bill 290.
Background
The Child Day Care Act requires that as condition of licensure, in addition to any other required training, at least one director or teacher at each center and family day care home have 15 hours of health and safety training, which includes a preventive health course, in accordance with California Health and Safety Code (HSC) Section 1596.866.
Authority
Assembly Bill 290 (Chapter 734, Statutes of 2013) amended HSC sections 1596.865, 1596.866, and 1596.8661.
For licenses issued on or after January 1, 2016, this bill requires that at least one director or teacher at each day care center, and each family day care home licensee who provides care, have at least one hour of childhood nutrition training as part of the preventive health practices course or courses.
Instruction in childhood nutrition must be at least one hour in length and must include content on age-appropriate meal patterns based on the most current Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In order to increase child care providers’ capacity to serve healthy foods at a lower cost, the training shall contain information about reimbursement rates for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) (7 Code of Federal Regulations 226.20), and shall direct child care providers to the CACFP Unit of the Nutrition Services Division of the California Department of Education for detailed information on CACFP eligibility and enrollment.
Furthermore, this bill allows the Emergency Medical Services Authority to establish standards for the childhood nutrition training through bulletin or similar instructions from the director until regulations are adopted.
Please visit the California Legislative Information Web site for a copy of Assembly Bill 290 at http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB290&search_keywords.
For CACFP information please contact Nancy Charpentier, Office Technician, CACFP Unit, by phone at 916-327-2991 or by e-mail at NCharpentier@cde.ca.gov [Note: The previous information is no longer valid. Please visit https://www.cdss.ca.gov/cacfp or call 1-833-559-2420 for more information].
This Management Bulletin is mandatory only to the extent that it cites a specific statutory and/or regulatory requirement. Pursuant to California Education Code Section 33308.5, any portion of this Management Bulletin that is not supported by a specific statutory and/or regulatory requirement is not prescriptive.