Capitol Notebook: Senate OKs changes in child care guidelines

Senate Republicans passed legislation that would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work unsupervised in child care facilities, and establish staff-to-child ratios.

Under the bill, child care centers could operate with one worker to every seven 2-year-olds, and one worker to every 10 3-year-olds.

Because Senate Republicans amended HF 2198, it goes back to the House for approval there once again.

Senate Republicans said the legislation is designed to help address a shortage of child care workers by giving child care centers the flexibility to employ younger workers. Democrats argued the legislation will not help address the child care workforce shortage, and that 16- and 17-year-olds should not be allowed to work unsupervised in a child care setting.

SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE: The deadline to apply for the 2022 Robert D. Blue Scholarship is May 10. To be eligible for this year’s award, applications must be completed in their entirety and submitted online at https://www.rdblue.org/.

The Iowa Centennial Memorial Foundation awards the scholarship. Graduates of any Iowa high school who plan to attend an Iowa college or university in the 2022-23 school year are eligible to apply, including high school and postsecondary students. Awards are based on financial need, an original essay, academic achievement and recommendations. The winners will be announced this summer.

COSTLY WEATHER: The state Executive Council consisting of the governor, secretaries of state and agriculture, treasurer, and auditor approved payments of $710,000 Monday, with about a quarter of that for repairing weather-related damage.

Among the items approved were payments for the Department of Public Safety — $53,000 for weather damage to the tower lighting system on the Waterloo Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System communication tower and about $45,000 for repair costs to various communication towers as a result of tornado/wind damage. The Board of Regents and University of Iowa received payments of $25,000 and $18,000 for repair costs to the maintenance building and roof repairs at Macbride Nature Recreation Area as a result of snow and ice damage, and about $33,000 for repair costs to the Pappajohn Business Building as a result of water damage.

The council also approved about $123,000 to Public Safety for repairs to a conference room at the Iowa State Patrol District 8 in Mason City as a result of a roof leak.

VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION: The 2022 Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame members will be inducted by Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the Capitol. He also will present the Excellence in Mentoring awards to two individuals.

Being selected for the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame is the most prestigious state-level honor volunteers can receive as recognition of extraordinary donations of service to their communities. The 2022 inductees are: Tabinda Cheema, Davenport; Greg Fier, Clinton; Herbert Hazewinkel Jr., Peosta; Steven Meyer, Sioux City; Pam Schoffner, Polk City; Edna Schrandt, Decorah; Tom Townsend, Dubuque; VaxDSM Project, Des Moines; Kathy Waychoff, Fairfax.

The Excellence in Mentoring Awards gives Iowa MENTOR certified programs the opportunity to recognize outstanding longtime youth mentors. The recipients of the 2022 Excellence in Mentoring Award are Matt Guess, West Des Moines; and Mike Leerar, Garner.

For comprehensive profiles of the award winners, visit www.volunteeriowa.org/hof and www.iowamentoring.org.