Bill Text: NJ S716 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Employer-Based Child Care Assistance Partnership Program in DCF.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S716 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S716-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator RENEE C. BURGESS
District 28 (Essex and Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Schepisi
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Employer-Based Child Care Assistance Partnership Program in DCF.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act establishing an employer-based child care assistance partnership program and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. One of the primary barriers for parents seeking to enter the workforce is lack of access to affordable child care.
b. According to McKinsey's American Opportunity Survey, an online survey which was released in May of 2021, only 39 percent of respondents who had incomes below $50,000 and children at home said they could afford child care.
c. Although the lack of affordable child care was a barrier for many working parents long before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting public health emergency, the pandemic required these parents to juggle jobs and caregiving responsibilities when child care centers closed or pandemic-related restrictions limited the number of children the centers were allowed to serve.
d. A 2020 survey conducted by Care@Work of 1,000 working parents with children under the age of 15 showed that 73 percent were considering making major changes at work, such as revising their schedules (44 percent), looking for a different job (21 percent), or leaving the workforce entirely (15 percent), so the parents could focus on providing child care.
e. Working women are most adversely affected by the lack of accessible child care. Although women make up less than half of the nation's workforce, they accounted for a majority of the decrease in the labor force during the first year of the pandemic. Data gathered by the Pew Research Center showed that between February 2020 and February 2021, 2.4 million women left the workforce, compared with 1.8 million men.
f. Businesses have a vested interest in ensuring that their employees can access and afford child care. When companies offer child care benefits, they see increased employee retention and loyalty, improved productivity, and a better workplace environment. Despite the clear advantages, in 2020, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated just 11 percent of all workers had access to employer-provided child care, and those with lower incomes were less likely to receive child care benefits.
g. Offering benefits such as the subsidization of child care for a company's employees or the establishment of employer-provided spending accounts designed to cover the cost, in part or in full, of child care-related expenses, can remove a major barrier to workforce participation and help attract and retain employees with children.
h. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the State to establish an employer-based child care assistance partnership program that incentivizes employers to contribute to an employee's child care costs, encourages the State to provide matching funds against such contributions to make child care more affordable for working parents, and ensures that the children of this State have access to high-quality child care services.
2. As used in this act:
"Child care provider" means a licensed child care center or a registered family child care provider which has achieved a Grow NJ Kids rating of at least three.
"Contribution" means a direct payment made by an employer or through a third-party vendor to a child care provider to subsidize an employee's eligible child care costs.
"Department" means the Department of Children and Families.
"Eligible child care costs" means any cost incurred by a person for services rendered by a child care provider.
"Employee" means a person engaged in service to an employer in the business of the employer for compensation.
"Employer" means any person, firm, business, educational institution, nonprofit agency, corporation, limited liability company, or other entity that employs employees in the State.
"Fund" means the Employer-Based Child Care Assistance Partnership Fund established pursuant to section 6 of this act.
"Grow NJ Kids" means New Jersey's quality rating improvement system designed to raise the quality of child care and early learning programs.
"Program" means the Employer-Based Child Care Assistance Partnership Program established pursuant to section 3 of this act.
"State match" means a direct payment made to a child care provider by the Department of Children and Families from the Employer-Based Child Care Assistance Partnership Program Fund pursuant to section 6 of this act.
"State median household income" means the most recent estimate available of real median house income for the State of New Jersey, as determined by the United States Census Bureau, and adjusted for family size.
3. a. There is established the Employer-Based Child Care Assistance Partnership Program in the Department of Children and Families. The purpose of the program shall be to incentivize employers to contribute to an employee's child care costs, for the State to provide matching funds against such contributions, and to ensure that working parents of this State and their children have access to affordable, high-quality child care services. Participation in the program shall be voluntary.
b. The department shall:
(1) regulate and oversee the activities associated with the program;
(2) prepare, make available, and process an application and standardized certification form to be used by an employer to enter into an agreement with an employee and the employee's child care provider to contribute to the employee's child care costs pursuant to section 4 of this act, which certification form shall include the:
(a) name, address, and size of the employer;
(b) name and telephone number of the person who will be the point of contact for the employer regarding compliance with the provisions of this act;
(c) name, address, and telephone number of the employee who will be receiving child care assistance from the employer pursuant to section 4 of this act;
(d) name and address of the employee's child care provider;
(e) name and telephone number of the person who will be the point of contact for the child care provider regarding compliance with the provisions of this act;
(f) total amount and frequency of the contribution to be paid by the employer to the employee's child care provider;
(g) total amount and frequency of a co-payment to be paid by an employee to the employee's child care provider, if applicable; and
(h) duration of the agreement entered into by the employer, employee, and the employee's child care provider;
(3) develop procedures for the notification of an employer, an employee, and an employee's child care provider of the employer's, employee's, and employee's child care provider's enrollment in the program;
(4) establish eligibility requirements that an employer, employee, and employee's child care provider shall meet in order for the department to enter into an agreement to match the contribution made by an employer to an employee's child care costs;
(5) establish security procedures to protect the confidentiality of the personal information of employers, employees, and child care providers participating in the program;
(6) enter into partnership agreements with employers participating in the program to provide State matching funds against the contributions made by the employer to employee child care costs pursuant to section 4 of this act;
(7) manage and administer the funds deposited in the Employer-Based Child Care Assistance Partnership Program Fund established pursuant to section 6 of this act, including, but not limited to, the development of an automated payment system for the disbursement of such funds;
(8) establish procedures for collecting and verifying household income information from an employee participating in the program, which information shall be used to determine the amount of State matching funds for which the employee is eligible;
(9) establish procedures for the termination of an agreement to contribute to an employee's child care costs entered between an employer, an employee, and the employee's child care provider, and the appropriate notification of such termination consistent with the requirements of section 5 of this act;
(10) develop and disseminate informational materials, including, but not limited to, pamphlets and posters, which identify the program's requirements and any other relevant program details to employers, employees, and child care providers participating in the program; and
(11) post information about the program and its requirements in a conspicuous place on the department's Internet website.
4. a. An employer seeking to provide child care assistance to an employee as a benefit of employment, and any child care provider which has achieved a Grow NJ Kids rating of at least three, may participate in the program established pursuant to section 3 of this act. An employer or child care provider seeking to participate in the program shall submit a one-time application to the department, in a manner and on a form as determined by the department.
b. (1) An application form for an employer to participate in the program shall contain the following:
(a) the name, location, and telephone number of the employer;
(b) documentation from the employer indicating the employer's intent to contribute to employee child care costs; and
(c) any other information required by the department.
(2) An application form for a child care provider to participate in the program shall contain the following:
(a) the name, location, and telephone number of the child care provider;
(b) documentation of the child care provider's current Grow NJ rating;
(c) information required for the child care provider's enrollment in the department's automatic payment system developed pursuant to paragraph (7) of subsection b. of section 3 of this act; and
(d) any other information required by the department.
c. Upon receipt of the application form submitted pursuant subsection b. of this section, the department shall review the application and, if the employer or child care provider meet the program's eligibility requirements, the department shall enroll the employer or the child care provider, as applicable, in the program and provide notice to the employer or child care provider of its enrollment in the program, and of the department's intent to match the employer's contribution to the employee's child care costs in accordance with the provisions of section 6 of this act.
d. (1) An employer enrolled in the program that seeks to provide child care assistance to an employee shall submit to the department a standardized certification form, for each employee, that includes, at a minimum:
(a) the details of the agreement between the employer, employee, and the employee's child care provider, including the amount and frequency of the contribution to be paid by the employer towards the employee's child care costs as agreed upon by the employer, employee, and the employee's child care provider;
(b) documentation that the employee's child care provider is enrolled in the program pursuant to subsection c. of this section or that the child care provider has submitted an application for enrollment pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection b. of this section and documentation from the provider indicating the provider's intent to provide child care services as agreed upon by the employer, employee, and the employee's child care provider and receive State matching funds pursuant to section 6 of this act; and
(c) any other information required by the department.
(2) The department shall make the standardized certification form available on the department's Internet website for the employer to access whenever an employee wishes to receive child care assistance from the employer as a benefit of employment.
e. The department shall review each certification form submitted pursuant to subsection d. of this section and shall enroll the employee in the program and commence direct payments to the employee's child care provider consistent with the agreement and in accordance with section 6 of this act, unless the department finds the agreement deficient, which deficiency may include, but is not limited to: the employer is not enrolled in the program; the child care provider is not enrolled in the program, has not submitted an application to enroll in the program pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection c. of this section, or has had the provider's application denied by the department; the child care provider does not have a Grow NJ rating of three or higher; or the parties to the agreement do not otherwise meet the requirements of this act. The department shall provide the employer, the employee, and the employee's child care provider notice of the employee's enrollment in the program and the amount of matching funds that shall be provided under the program, or the department's determination that the agreement documented by the certification form is deficient, along with the specific deficiency and the steps needed to cure the deficiency, if applicable.
f. An employee participating in the program shall be responsible for the balance of any child care costs that exceed the amount of the contribution made by the employee's employer under the agreement documented by the certification form submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection d. of this section and the State matching funds provided against such contribution by the department.
5. a. An agreement to contribute to an employee's child care costs entered between an employer, an employee, and the employee's child care provider pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection d. of section 4 of this act shall be terminated under the following circumstances:
(1) if an employee is terminated, laid off, furloughed, or otherwise separated from employment with the employer;
(2) if the employer fails to make direct payments to the employee's child care provider in accordance with the amount and frequency of the contribution agreed upon by the employer, employee, and the employee's child care provider as documented in the certification form submitted to the department pursuant to subsection d. of section 4 of this act;
(3) if an employee fails to pay the employee's child care provider for the balance of the costs not covered by the contribution made by the employer to the employee's child care costs and the State matching funds provided against the employer's contribution pursuant to subsection f. of section 4 of this act;
(4) if the employee's child care provider ceases its participation in, or if the department denies, suspends, revokes, or refuses to renew the provider's rating under the Grow New Jersey quality rating improvement system; or
(5) the employer or employee's child care provider disenrolls from the program.
b. (1) If an employer fails to make a direct payment to an employee's child care provider in accordance with the amount and frequency of the contribution agreed upon by the employer, employee, and the employee's child care provider as documented in the certification form submitted to the department pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection d. of section 4 of this act, the employee's child care provider shall notify the employer, employee, and the department within five days of the employer's failure to make the direct payments. Upon receipt of such notification, the department shall:
(a) temporarily cease the provision of matching State funds against the contribution made by the employer to the employee's child care costs; and
(b) notify the employer that the agreement entered into between the employer, employee, and the employee's child care provider as documented in the certification form submitted to the department pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection d. of section 4 of this act, shall be terminated unless the employer makes any delinquent payments and certifies that that the employer shall resume the direct payments within five days of receipt of the notification.
(2) A child care provider that provides notice to the department pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection and receives matching State funds from the department on behalf of the employee as a contribution towards the employee's child care costs shall be entitled to retain the matching funds made in connection with the delinquent payment. If the child care provider fails to provide notice to the department pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection b. of this section, within five days of the date the delinquent payment was due, and the provider receives matching funds from the department in connection with the delinquent payment, the provider shall reimburse the department for such matching funds.
(3) In the event that the employer is terminated from the program pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the department may, in its discretion, and at the request of the employee, continue to provide funds to the employee's child care provider in an amount equal to the matching funds that it would ordinarily provide to that provider under the program, for up to two months after the employer last made a direct payment to the child care provider, and may seek reimbursement from the employer for the full amount of the funds provided to the child care provider during that two month period.
c. (1) If an employee fails to pay the employee's child care provider for the balance of the costs not covered by the contribution made by the employer to the employee's child care costs and the State matching funds provided against the employer's contribution pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection a. of this section, the employee's child care provider:
(a) may voluntarily excuse the employee from paying the balance of the costs not covered by the contribution made by the employer to the employee's child care costs and the State matching funds provided against the employer's contribution, and shall notify the employer, the employee, and the department of the change to the agreement entered into between the employer, employee, and the provider pursuant to subsection d. of section 4 of this act; or
(b) shall notify the employee of the child care provider's intent to terminate the agreement entered into between the employer, employee, and employee's child care provider pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection d. of section 4 of this act if the employee fails to pay the balance the employee's child care costs owed to the provider within a reasonable period of time, as specified by the provider.
(2) If after receiving notice pursuant to subparagraph (b) of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the employee fails to pay the balance of the employee's child care costs owed to the provider within the time period specified by the provider, the provider shall notify the employer, the employee, and the department that the agreement entered into between the employer, employee, and the employee's child care provider pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection d. of section 4 of this act shall be terminated on the date that the notification is submitted to the department.
d. An agreement to contribute to an employee's child care costs entered into between an employer, an employee, and the employee's child care provider may be terminated by the employer or the employee at any time and for any reason. The employer or employee terminating the agreement shall notify all other parties to the agreement within two weeks from the date on which the agreement shall be terminated. The parties to the agreement shall be obligated to fulfill the terms of the agreement as documented in the certification form submitted to the department pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection d. of section 4 of this act through the termination date of the agreement.
6. a. There is created in the Department of the Treasury a dedicated, non-lapsing fund to be known as the Employer-Based Child Care Assistance Partnership Fund. The fund shall be the repository for monies:
(1) appropriated by the State for the purpose of providing matching funds against the contribution made by an employer to an employee's child care costs in accordance with the guidelines established pursuant to subsection b. of this section;
(2) as may be available to the fund from public or private donations, grants, or other forms of assistance established to support child care programs by federal or State agencies, offices, divisions, or departments; and
(3) otherwise appropriated or directed to be remitted to the fund.
b. The Department of the Treasury shall appropriate monies from the fund to the Department of Children and Families for the purpose of providing State matching funds against contributions made by employer to employee's child care costs pursuant to subsection e. of the section 4 of this act and in accordance with the following guidelines:
(1) for employees whose household income is equal to or less than 100 percent of the State median income, the State match against the contribution made by the employer to an employee's child care costs shall not exceed 100 percent of the employer's contribution;
(2) the State match against the contribution made by the employer to an employee's child care costs shall decrease by 10 percent for every 20 percent increase in an employee's household income over 100 percent of the State median income, up to 180 percent of the State median household income; and
(3) the State match shall equal 50 percent of the contribution made by the employer to an employee's child care costs for employees whose household income exceeds 180 percent of the State median income.
c. All monies expended for the purpose of providing State matching funds against the contribution made by an employer to an employee's child care costs under the program shall be paid from the fund.
d. All interest earned on the monies that have been deposited into the fund shall be retained in the fund and used for purposes consistent with the fund.
7. a. The Department of Children and Families shall issue a report about the program's efficacy within one year after the establishment of the program, and annually thereafter, to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1). The report shall be posted on the department's Internet website and be made available to the public upon request.
b. The report shall, at a minimum, provide information on the:
(1) number of application forms submitted by employers wishing to participate in the program;
(2) number of child care providers registering with the department to participate in the program;
(3) number of partnership agreements entered into by the department with employers to provide State matching funds against the contributions made by the employer to an employee's child care costs;
(4) size, geographical location, and industry type of employers participating in the program;
(5) number, license type, quality rating, and geographical location of child care providers participating in the program;
(6) average cost of child care services charged by child care providers participating in the program and how such costs increase or decrease as a result of the provider's participation in the program;
(7) demographic information of employees participating in the program;
(8) total amount of monies appropriated from the fund to provide State matching funds against contributions made by employers to an employee's child care costs under the program, by county; and
(9) effectiveness of the program in incentivizing employers to contribute to an employee's child care costs.
8. The Department of Children and Families shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this act.
9. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month following the date of enactment, but the Department of Children and Families shall take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Employer-Based Child Care Assistance Partnership Program in the Department of Children and Families (DCF). The purpose of the program is to incentivize employers to contribute to employee child care costs by providing State funds that match employer contributions in order to ensure that the working parents of this State and their children have access to affordable, high-quality child care services. Participation in the program will be voluntary, and the DCF is to regulate and oversee the activities associated with the program.
Under the bill, an employer who wishes to provide child care assistance to an employee under the program and a child care provider seeking to participate in the program will submit a one-time application to the DCF, which will enroll the employer or child care provider in the program. Upon enrollment, the employer may enroll employees by submitting a standardized certification form to the DCF that includes, among other things, the amount of the employer's contribution to the employee's child care provider. The amount of State matching funds will be based on the employee's household income.
If the total amount of the employer contribution and State matching funds do not cover the employee's total child care costs, the employee will be responsible for the remaining balance of the costs.
The bill sets forth certain circumstances under which participation in the program will be terminated, including the failure by the employer to make a contribution payment, the failure of the employee to pay the balance of child care costs not covered under the program, a child care provider ceasing to qualify for the program, or voluntary termination by the employer or employee.
The bill creates in the Department of the Treasury a dedicated, non-lapsing fund, to be known as the Employer-Based Child Care Assistance Partnership Fund. The fund will be the repository for monies made available to implement the provisions of the bill. All monies expended for the purpose of providing State matching funds against contributions made by employers to employee child care costs are to be paid from the fund.
The bill also requires the DCF to issue a report about the program's efficacy within one year after the program is established, and annually thereafter, to the Governor and Legislature. The report is to be posted on the DCF's website and made available to the public upon request.
