Bill Text: CA AB2150 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Subsidized child care and development services: eligibility periods.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [AB2150 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2150-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2150 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Santiago, Weber, and Gonzalez
( Coauthor: Senator Hill
)
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
An act to amend Sections 8263, 8263.1, and 8273.1 of the Education
Code, and to amend Section 11323.2 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to child care and development services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2150, as amended, Santiago. Subsidized child care and
development services: eligibility periods.
Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act,
requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer child
care and development programs that offer a full range of services
for eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age. Existing law
requires the Superintendent to adopt rules and regulations on
eligibility, enrollment, and priority of services needed to implement
the act. The act, and regulations adopted pursuant to the act, set
forth eligibility requirements for families to receive federal and
state subsidized child development services and impose various time
limits for receipt of services and recertification for continued
services.
This bill would require that a family, upon establishing initial
eligibility or ongoing eligibility for services under the act, be
considered to meet all eligibility requirements for those services
for not less than 12 months, receive those services for not less than
12 months before having their eligibility redetermined, and not be
required to report changes to income or other changes for at least 12
months, except as provided. The bill would revise the definition of
"income eligible" and provide that the definition applies for
purposes of establishing initial income eligibility for services
under the act, and would add a definition of "ongoing income eligible"
for purposes of establishing ongoing income eligibility for services
under the act. The
The bill would, except as provided, prohibit a payment made by a
child development program for a child, during the period between a
family's most recent eligibility determination or redetermination and
its next eligibility redetermination, from being considered an error
or an improper payment due to a change in the family's circumstances
during that same period. The bill would, notwithstanding specified
law, authorize the State Department of Education to implement this
provision through management bulletins or similar letters of
instruction until regulations are filed with the Secretary of State
to implement the provision. The bill would require the department to
initiate a rulemaking action to implement the provision on or before
December 31, 2017. The bill would require the department, before
initiating this rulemaking action, to convene a workgroup of parents,
advocates, department staff, child development program
representatives, and other stakeholders to develop recommendations
regarding implementing the provision.
The bill would repeal certain provisions that impose
time limits for services under the act and a provision that
authorizes the Superintendent to grant an extension of services, as
specified. The bill would make other conforming changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8263 of the Education Code is amended to read:
8263. (a) The Superintendent shall adopt rules and regulations on
eligibility, enrollment, and priority of services needed to
implement this chapter. In order to be eligible for federal and state
subsidized child development services, families shall meet at least
one requirement in each of the following areas:
(1) A family is (A) a current aid recipient, (B) income eligible,
(C) homeless, or (D) one whose children are recipients of protective
services, or whose children have been identified as being abused,
neglected, or exploited, or at risk of being abused, neglected, or
exploited.
(2) A family needs the child care services (A) because the child
is identified by a legal, medical, or social services agency, a local
educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths
designated pursuant to Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of Title 42 of the
United States Code, a Head Start program, or an emergency or
transitional shelter as (i) a recipient of protective services, (ii)
being neglected, abused, or exploited, or at risk of neglect, abuse,
or exploitation, or (iii) being homeless or (B) because the parents
are (i) engaged in vocational training leading directly to a
recognized trade, paraprofession, or profession, (ii) employed or
seeking employment, (iii) seeking permanent housing for family
stability, or (iv) incapacitated.
(b) Except as provided in Article 15.5 (commencing with Section
8350), priority for federal and state subsidized child development
services is as follows:
(1) First priority shall be given to neglected or abused children
who are recipients of child protective services, or children who are
at risk of being neglected or abused, upon written referral from a
legal, medical, or social services agency. If an agency is unable to
enroll a child in the first priority category, the agency shall refer
the family to local resource and referral services to locate
services for the child.
(2) Second priority shall be given equally to eligible families,
regardless of the number of parents in the home, who are income
eligible. Within this priority, families with the lowest gross
monthly income in relation to family size, as determined by a
schedule adopted by the Superintendent, shall be admitted first. If
two or more families are in the same priority in relation to income,
the family that has a child with exceptional needs shall be admitted
first. If there is no family of the same priority with a child with
exceptional needs, the same priority family that has been on the
waiting list for the longest time shall be admitted first. For
purposes of determining order of admission, the grants of public
assistance recipients shall be counted as income.
(3) The Superintendent shall set criteria for, and may grant
specific waivers of, the priorities established in this subdivision
for agencies that wish to serve specific populations, including
children with exceptional needs or children of prisoners. These new
waivers shall not include proposals to avoid appropriate fee
schedules or admit ineligible families, but may include proposals to
accept members of special populations in other than strict income
order, as long as appropriate fees are paid.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, in order to promote continuity
of services, a family enrolled in a state or federally funded child
care and development program whose services would otherwise be
terminated because the family no longer meets the program income,
eligibility, or need criteria may continue to receive child
development services in another state or federally funded child care
and development program if the contractor is able to transfer the
family's enrollment to another program for which the family is
eligible before the date of termination of services or to exchange
the family's existing enrollment with the enrollment of a family in
another program, provided that both families satisfy the eligibility
requirements for the program in which they are being enrolled. The
transfer of enrollment may be to another program within the same
administrative agency or to another agency that administers state or
federally funded child care and development programs.
(d) A physical examination and evaluation, including
age-appropriate immunization, shall be required before, or within six
weeks of, enrollment. A standard, rule, or regulation shall not
require medical examination or immunization for admission to a child
care and development program of a child whose parent or guardian
files a letter with the governing board of the child care and
development program stating that the medical examination or
immunization is contrary to his or her religious beliefs, or provide
for the exclusion of a child from the program because of a parent or
guardian having filed the letter. However, if there is good cause to
believe that a child is suffering from a recognized contagious or
infectious disease, the child shall be temporarily excluded from the
program until the governing board of the child care and development
program is satisfied that the child is not suffering from that
contagious or infectious disease.
(e) Regulations formulated and promulgated pursuant to this
section shall include the recommendations of the State Department of
Health Care Services relative to health care screening and the
provision of health care services. The Superintendent shall seek the
advice and assistance of these health authorities in situations where
service under this chapter includes or requires care of children who
are ill or children with exceptional needs.
(f) The Superintendent shall establish guidelines for the
collection of employer-sponsored child care benefit payments from a
parent whose child receives subsidized child care and development
services. These guidelines shall provide for the collection of the
full amount of the benefit payment, but not to exceed the actual cost
of child care and development services provided, notwithstanding the
applicable fee based on the fee schedule.
(g) The Superintendent shall establish guidelines according to
which the director or a duly authorized representative of the child
care and development program will certify children as eligible for
state reimbursement pursuant to this section.
(h) (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) to (4), inclusive,
upon establishing initial eligibility or ongoing eligibility for
services under this chapter, a family shall be considered to meet all
eligibility requirements for those services for not less than 12
months, shall receive those services for not less than 12 months
before having their eligibility redetermined, and shall not be
required to report changes to income or other changes for at least 12
months.
(2) A family shall report increases in income that exceed the
threshold for ongoing income eligibility as described in subdivision
(b) of Section 8263.1, and the family's ongoing eligibility for
services shall at that time be redetermined.
(3) A family that establishes initial eligibility or ongoing
eligibility on the basis of seeking employment shall receive services
under this chapter as follows:
(A) If seeking employment is the basis for initial eligibility,
the family shall receive services under this chapter for not less
than six months.
(B) If seeking employment is the only basis for ongoing
eligibility at the time of redetermination, the family shall receive
services under this chapter for six additional month unless the
family becomes eligible on another basis pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a).
(4) A family may at any time voluntarily report income or other
changes. This information shall be used, as applicable, to reduce a
family's fees, increase the family's subsidy, or extend the period of
the family's eligibility before redetermination.
(i) (1) Because a family that meets eligibility requirements at
its most recent eligibility determination or redetermination is
considered eligible until the next redetermination, as provided in
subdivision (h), a payment made by a child development program for a
child during this period shall not be considered an error or an
improper payment due to a change in the family's circumstances during
that same period.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the state or its designated
agent may seek to recover payments that are the result of fraud.
(j) (1) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) and
Section 33308.5 of this code, until regulations are filed with the
Secretary of State to implement subdivision (h), the department may
implement this section through management bulletins or similar
letters of instruction.
(2) The department shall initiate a rulemaking action to implement
subdivision (h) on or before December 31, 2017. Before initiating a
rulemaking action pursuant to this paragraph, the department shall
convene a workgroup of parents, advocates, department staff, child
development program representatives, and other stakeholders to
develop recommendations regarding implementing subdivision (h).
(i)
(k) Public funds shall not be paid directly or
indirectly to an agency that does not pay at least the minimum wage
to each of its employees.
SEC. 2. Section 8263.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:
8263.1. (a) For purposes of establishing initial income
eligibility for services under this chapter, "income eligible" means
that a family's adjusted monthly income is at or below 70 percent of
the state median income, based on the most recent data on state
median income published by the United States Census Bureau, for a
family of the same size.
(b) For purposes of establishing ongoing income eligibility under
this chapter, "ongoing income eligible" means that a family's
adjusted monthly income is at or below 85 percent of the state median
income, based on the most recent data on state median income
published by the United States Census Bureau, for a family of the
same size.
(c) The income of a recipient of federal supplemental security
income benefits pursuant to Title XVI of the federal Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1381 et seq.) and state supplemental program
benefits pursuant to Title XVI of the federal Social Security Act and
Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code shall not be included as income
for purposes of determining eligibility for child care under this
chapter.
SEC. 3. Section 8273.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:
8273.1. (a) A family that receives services pursuant to paragraph
(1) of subdivision (b) of Section 8263 may be exempt from family
fees for up to 12 months.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a family receiving CalWORKs
cash aid shall not be charged a family fee.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, commencing with the 2014-15
fiscal year, family fees shall not be assessed for the part-day
California preschool program to income eligible families whose
children are enrolled in that program pursuant to Article 7
(commencing with Section 8235).
SEC. 4. Section 11323.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11323.2. (a) Necessary supportive services shall be available to
every participant in order to participate in the program activity to
which he or she is assigned or to accept employment or the
participant shall have good cause for not participating under
subdivision (f) of Section 11320.3. As provided in the
welfare-to-work plan entered into between the county and participant
pursuant to this article, supportive services shall include all of
the following:
(1) Child care.
(A) Paid child care shall be available to every participant with a
dependent child in the assistance unit who needs paid child care if
the child is 10 years of age or under, or requires child care or
supervision due to a physical, mental, or developmental disability or
other similar condition as verified by the county welfare
department, or who is under court supervision.
(B) To the extent funds are available, paid child care shall be
available to a participant with a dependent child in the assistance
unit who needs paid child care if the child is 11 or 12 years of age.
(C) Necessary child care services shall be available to every
former recipient for up to two years, pursuant to Article 15.5
(commencing with Section 8350) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1
of Title 1 of the Education Code.
(D) A child in foster care receiving benefits under Title IV-E of
the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 670 et seq.) or a
child who would become a dependent child except for the receipt of
federal Supplemental Security Income benefits pursuant to Title XVI
of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1381 et seq.)
shall be deemed to be a dependent child for the purposes of this
paragraph.
(E) The provision of care and payment rates under this paragraph
shall be governed by Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) of
Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code.
Parent fees shall be governed by Section 8263 of the Education Code.
(2) Transportation costs, which shall be governed by regional
market rates as determined in accordance with regulations established
by the department.
(3) Ancillary expenses, which shall include the cost of books,
tools, clothing specifically required for the job, fees, and other
necessary costs.
(4) Personal counseling. A participant who has personal or family
problems that would affect the outcome of the welfare-to-work plan
entered into pursuant to this article shall, to the extent available,
receive necessary counseling or therapy to help him or her and his
or her family adjust to his or her job or training assignment.
(b) If provided in a county plan, the county may continue to
provide case management and supportive services under this section to
former participants who become employed. The county may provide
these services for up to the first 12 months of employment to the
extent they are not available from other sources and are needed for
the individual to retain the employment.
