Senate Bill S3977A

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S3977A

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the social services law, in relation
to parents and caretakers who work a late shift

 PURPOSE :

Parents who work nights often need childcare so that they can sleep
during the day if their children are young and not in school. This
bill will provide parents and caretakers who are otherwise eligible, a
childcare subsidy when care is necessary to enable them to get an
adequate night's rest.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Amends Section 410-W of the Social Services law to allow parents and
caretakers who are otherwise eligible for a child care subsidy to
receive a subsidy when care is necessary to enable them to sleep for
up to 8 hours because they work a late shift and have a child who is
under the age of six and not in school for a full day.

 JUSTIFICATION :

The need for subsidized childcare for parents working night shifts is
a statewide concern. Regulations currently permit, but do not require
social services districts to provide a childcare subsidy to
              

financially eligible parents and caretakers who work second or third
shifts and need childcare for their young children in order to sleep.
Forty seven social services districts provide this subsidized daytime
childcare.

The remaining eleven districts are located throughout the entire
state. This bill will assure that low income parents with young
children who work the night shift and need childcare to get adequate
sleep will be able to do so regardless of where they live.

Sleep is crucial for good physical and emotional health. It plays an
essential role in healing and repairing heart and blood vessels.
Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to an increased risk of heart
disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.
The sleep deprived are more susceptible to depression and impaired
decision making. Additionally, it's not only the total number of hours
of sleep that is important, but also the quality of sleep.

The American Psychological Association (APA) suggests, "If you are
among the 20 percent of employees in the United States who are shift
workers, sleep may be particularly elusive. Shift work forces you to
try to sleep when activities around you - and your own "biological
rhythms" - signal you to be awake." The APA also points out that shift
workers are nearly 2 - 5 times more likely fall asleep on the job than
employees who work regular daytime hours.

Working parents who do not get the proper amount of sleep is a very
dangerous reality. Parents who work long evening hours may not have
the physical or mental capability of taking care of their children
during the day. Daily activities such as preparing meals and getting
ready for school are interrupted. They may display a lack of necessary
patience or provide inadequate attention to their children.  Sleep
deprived parents may not be as attuned to their children or unable to
recognize early childhood health or social problems. Even more
frightening, sleep deprived parents may unintentionally resort to
using inappropriate measures to discipline their children.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :


Senate: Passed Children & Families and Reported to Finance 2016, 2013,
2012, 2011 Assembly: Passed Assembly 2016, 2015

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS :

Undetermined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
April 1, 2018