Child care matters.

Extended the expiration of the employer child care expenditure tax credit from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2027

Added new requirements for child care centers to maintain staff-to-child ratios and maximum group sizes based on the highest standards among bordering states (Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio)

Required the secretary of family and social services to post staff-to-child ratios and group size requirements on the office website by December 1 each year

Required the secretary of family and social services to adopt emergency rules by July 1, 2025 to implement early learning advisory committee recommendations

Added a representative from an out-of-school-time program to the membership of the early learning advisory committee

Established a local child care assistance program allowing counties to receive matching grants for expanding child care availability

Extended the employer child care expenditure tax credit expiration date from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2027.

Modified caregiver age requirements to allow 15-17 year old students to volunteer as caregivers under supervision before completing full certification requirements.

Added two representatives of out-of-school-time programs to the membership of the early learning advisory committee.

Changed minimum age for unsupervised caregiver work from 15 to 18 years old, with 14-17 year olds requiring direct supervision by an adult caregiver.

Extended the expiration date for the child care expenditure tax credit from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2027.

Added a requirement that at least one adult with current CPR certification must be present at all times when children are in care.

Added requirements for child care employees and volunteers to maintain current first aid certification applicable to all age groups.

Changed the staff-to-child ratio and group size requirements to ensure Indiana's standards are not more stringent than the average of neighboring states (Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio).

Modified eligibility for the early learning advisory committee by adding two additional representatives from out-of-school-time programs.

The effective date for the chapter was changed from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2027, extending the employer child care expenditure tax credit.

Child care centers may now maintain staff-to-child ratios that are greater than or equal to the lowest ratio of bordering states, rather than being required to match the lowest ratio exactly.

The requirement for the secretary of family and social services to post staff ratios and group sizes was updated to reflect the new flexibility in setting these standards.

The rule for implementing Early Learning Advisory Committee recommendations was changed from 'emergency rules' to 'interim rules'.

The bill number was updated from SB 463 to SB 463.3 to reflect the engrossed version.