Amended in Senate July 9, 2013

Amended in Assembly May 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 10, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 19, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 274

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonilla

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Buchanan and Ian Calderon)

February 11, 2013

An act to begin delete amend Section 8208 of, and to end delete add Sections 8221.5, 8227.3, begin insert 8262.1, end insert and 8262.3 begin delete to, end delete begin insert to end insert the Education Code, relating to child care and development services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 274, as amended, Bonilla. Child care and development services.

(1) The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Education, provides that children up to 13 years of age are eligible, with certain requirements, for child care and development services. The act requires the department to contract with local contracting agencies to provide for alternative payment programs, and authorizes alternative payment programs for services provided in licensed centers and family day care homes and for other types of programs that conform to applicable law.

This bill would require child care providers authorized to provide services pursuant to those provisions to submit to the alternative payment program a monthly attendance record or invoice for each child who received services that begin insert , at a minimum, end insert documents begin delete hours of care provided based on need certified by the alternative payment program. The bill would specify the meaning of “attendance” for purposes of reimbursement to providers through an alternative payment program end delete begin insert , the dates and actual times care was provided each day end insert . The bill would require the monthly attendance record or invoice to begin delete include the dates and times of attendance, and end delete begin insert , at a minimum, be signed by the parent or guardian of the child receiving services and the child care provider once per month to attest that the child’s attendance is accurately reflected. The bill end insert would require verification of attendance to be made by begin delete single signature, end delete begin insert signature at the end of each month of care and end insert under penalty of begin delete perjury, of end delete begin insert perjury by end insert both the parent or guardian of the child receiving services and the child care provider. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require begin insert an end insert alternative payment begin delete providers end delete begin insert program end insert to accept the monthly attendance record or invoice as documentation of the hours of care provided begin insert if the attendance record or invoice includes adequate information documented on a daily basis, as specified. The bill would specify the hours or days and hours that an alternative payment program is required to reimburse end insert .

The bill would also authorize alternative payment programs and providers begin insert and other contractors providing child care development services end insert to maintain records begin delete electronically end delete begin insert in electronic format if the original documents were created in electronic format end insert , including, but not limited to, child immunization records.

(2) Existing law authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to enter into and execute local contractual agreements with any public or private entity or agency for the delivery of child care and development services related to the delivery of child care and development services or the furnishing of property, facilities, personnel, supplies, equipment, and administrative services related to the delivery of child care development services.

This bill would require the department, on and after the date on which the Superintendent determines that the Financial Information System for California has been implemented within the department, at the request of a contractor, to request the Controller to make payments via direct deposit by electronic funds transfer, as specified.

(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 8208 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

8208.  

As used in this chapter:

(a) “Alternative payments” includes payments that are made by
one child care agency to another agency or child care provider for
the provision of child care and development services, and payments
that are made by an agency to a parent for the parent’s purchase
of child care and development services.

(b) “Alternative payment program” means a local government
agency or nonprofit organization that has contracted with the
department pursuant to Section 8220.1 to provide alternative
payments and to provide support services to parents and providers.

(c) “Applicant or contracting agency” means a school district,
community college district, college or university, county
superintendent of schools, county, city, public agency, private
nontax-exempt agency, private tax-exempt agency, or other entity
that is authorized to establish, maintain, or operate services
pursuant to this chapter. Private agencies and parent cooperatives,
duly licensed by law, shall receive the same consideration as any
other authorized entity with no loss of parental decisionmaking
prerogatives as consistent with the provisions of this chapter.

(d) “Assigned reimbursement rate” is that rate established by
the contract with the agency and is derived by dividing the total
dollar amount of the contract by the minimum child day of average
daily enrollment level of service required.

(e) (1) “Attendance” means the number of children present at
a child care and development facility where services are provided.

(2) For purposes of reimbursement, attendance includes excused
absences of children because of illness, quarantine, illness or
quarantine of their parent, family emergency, or to spend time with
a parent or other relative as required by a court of law or that is
clearly in the best interest of the child.

(3) For purposes of reimbursement to providers through an
alternative payment program, attendance includes any of the
following:

(A) The hours of service provided that are broadly consistent
with certified hours of need.

(B) For families with variable schedules, the actual days and
hours of attendance up to the maximum certified hours.

(C) In the case of license-exempt providers that provide
part-time services, the actual days and hours of attendance.

(4) For purposes of reimbursement to providers through an
alternative payment program, contractors shall not be required to
track absences.

(f) “Capital outlay” means the amount paid for the renovation
and repair of child care and development facilities to comply with
state and local health and safety standards, and the amount paid
for the state purchase of relocatable child care and development
facilities for lease to qualifying contracting agencies.

(g) “Caregiver” means a person who provides direct care,
supervision, and guidance to children in a child care and
development facility.

(h) “Child care and development facility” means a residence or
building or part of a residence or building in which child care and
development services are provided.

(i) “Child care and development programs” means those
programs that offer a full range of services for children from
infancy to 13 years of age, for any part of a day, by a public or
private agency, in centers and family child care homes. These
programs include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1) General child care and development.

(2) Migrant child care and development.

(3) Child care provided by the California School Age Families
Education Program (Article 7.1 (commencing with Section 54740)
of Chapter 9 of Part 29 of Division 4 of Title 2).

(4) California state preschool program.

(5) Resource and referral.

(6) Child care and development services for children with
exceptional needs.

(7) Family child care home education network.

(8) Alternative payment.

(9) Schoolage community child care.

(j) “Child care and development services” means those services
designed to meet a wide variety of needs of children and their
families, while their parents or guardians are working, in training,
seeking employment, incapacitated, or in need of respite. These
services may include direct care and supervision, instructional
activities, resource and referral programs, and alternative payment
arrangements.

(k) “Children at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation” means
children who are so identified in a written referral from a legal,
medical, or social service agency, or emergency shelter.

(l) “Children with exceptional needs” means either of the
following:

(1) Infants and toddlers under three years of age who have been
determined to be eligible for early intervention services pursuant
to the California Early Intervention Services Act (Title 14
(commencing with Section 95000) of the Government Code) and
its implementing regulations. These children include an infant or
toddler with a developmental delay or established risk condition,
or who is at high risk of having a substantial developmental
disability, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 95014 of the
Government Code. These children shall have active individualized
family service plans, shall be receiving early intervention services,
and shall be children who require the special attention of adults in
a child care setting.

(2) Children 3 to 21 years of age, inclusive, who have been
determined to be eligible for special education and related services
by an individualized education program team according to the
special education requirements contained in Part 30 (commencing
with Section 56000) of Division 4 of Title 2, and who meet
eligibility criteria described in Section 56026 and, Article 2.5
(commencing with Section 56333) of Chapter 4 of Part 30 of
Division 4 of Title 2, and Sections 3030 and 3031 of Title 5 of the
California Code of Regulations. These children shall have an active
individualized education program, shall be receiving early
intervention services or appropriate special education and related
services, and shall be children who require the special attention of
adults in a child care setting. These children include children with
intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments (including deafness),
speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including
blindness), serious emotional disturbance (also referred to as
emotional disturbance), orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic
brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning
disabilities, who need special education and related services
consistent with Section 1401(3)(A) of Title 20 of the United States
Code.

(m) “Closedown costs” means reimbursements for all approved
activities associated with the closing of operations at the end of
each growing season for migrant child development programs
only.

(n) “Cost” includes, but is not limited to, expenditures that are
related to the operation of child care and development programs.
“Cost” may include a reasonable amount for state and local
contributions to employee benefits, including approved retirement
programs, agency administration, and any other reasonable program
operational costs. “Cost” may also include amounts for licensable
facilities in the community served by the program, including lease
payments or depreciation, downpayments, and payments of
principal and interest on loans incurred to acquire, rehabilitate, or
construct licensable facilities, but these costs shall not exceed fair
market rents existing in the community in which the facility is
located. “Reasonable and necessary costs” are costs that, in nature
and amount, do not exceed what an ordinary prudent person would
incur in the conduct of a competitive business.

(o) “Elementary school,” as contained in former Section 425 of
Title 20 of the United States Code (the National Defense Education
Act of 1958, Public Law 85-864, as amended), includes early
childhood education programs and all child development programs,
for the purpose of the cancellation provisions of loans to students
in institutions of higher learning.

(p) “Family child care home education network” means an entity
organized under law that contracts with the department pursuant
to Section 8245 to make payments to licensed family child care
home providers and to provide educational and support services
to those providers and to children and families eligible for
state-subsidized child care and development services. A family
child care home education network may also be referred to as a
family child care home system.

(q) “Health services” include, but are not limited to, all of the
following:

(1) Referral, whenever possible, to appropriate health care
providers able to provide continuity of medical care.

(2) Health screening and health treatment, including a full range
of immunization recorded on the appropriate state immunization
form to the extent provided by the Medi-Cal Act (Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code) and the Child Health and Disability
Prevention Program (Article 6 (commencing with Section 124025)
of Chapter 3 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety
Code), but only to the extent that ongoing care cannot be obtained
utilizing community resources.

(3) Health education and training for children, parents, staff,
and providers.

(4) Followup treatment through referral to appropriate health
care agencies or individual health care professionals.

(r) “Higher educational institutions” means the Regents of the
University of California, the Trustees of the California State
University, the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges, and the governing bodies of any accredited private
nonprofit institution of postsecondary education.

(s) “Intergenerational staff” means persons of various
generations.

(t) “Limited-English-speaking-proficient and
non-English-speaking-proficient children” means children who
are unable to benefit fully from an English-only child care and
development program as a result of either of the following:

(1) Having used a language other than English when they first
began to speak.

(2) Having a language other than English predominantly or
exclusively spoken at home.

(u) “Parent” means a biological parent, stepparent, adoptive
parent, foster parent, caretaker relative, or any other adult living
with a child who has responsibility for the care and welfare of the
child.

(v) “Program director” means a person who, pursuant to Sections
8244 and 8360.1, is qualified to serve as a program director.

(w) “Proprietary child care agency” means an organization or
facility providing child care, which is operated for profit.

(x) “Resource and referral programs” means programs that
provide information to parents, including referrals and coordination
of community resources for parents and public or private providers
of care. Services frequently include, but are not limited to: technical
assistance for providers, toy-lending libraries, equipment-lending
libraries, toy- and equipment-lending libraries, staff development
programs, health and nutrition education, and referrals to social
services.

(y) “Severely disabled children” are children with exceptional
needs from birth to 21 years of age, inclusive, who require intensive
instruction and training in programs serving pupils with the
following profound disabilities: autism, blindness, deafness, severe
orthopedic impairments, serious emotional disturbances, or severe
intellectual disabilities. “Severely disabled children” also include
those individuals who would have been eligible for enrollment in
a developmental center for handicapped pupils under former
Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 56800) of Part 30 of Division
4 of Title 2 as it read on January 1, 1980.

(z) “Short-term respite child care” means child care service to
assist families whose children have been identified through written
referral from a legal, medical, or social service agency, or
emergency shelter as being neglected, abused, exploited, or
homeless, or at risk of being neglected, abused, exploited, or
homeless. Child care is provided for less than 24 hours per day in
child care centers, treatment centers for abusive parents, family
child care homes, or in the child’s own home.

(aa) (1) “Site supervisor” means a person who, regardless of
his or her title, has operational program responsibility for a child
care and development program at a single site. A site supervisor
shall hold a permit issued by the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing that authorizes supervision of a child care and
development program operating in a single site. The Superintendent
may waive the requirements of this subdivision if the
Superintendent determines that the existence of compelling need
is appropriately documented.

(2) For California state preschool programs, a site supervisor
may qualify under any of the provisions in this subdivision, or
may qualify by holding an administrative credential or an
administrative services credential. A person who meets the
qualifications of a program director under both Sections 8244 and
8360.1 is also qualified under this subdivision.

(ab) “Standard reimbursement rate” means that rate established
by the Superintendent pursuant to Section 8265.

(ac) “Startup costs” means those expenses an agency incurs in
the process of opening a new or additional facility before the full
enrollment of children.

(ad) “California state preschool program” means part-day and
full-day educational programs for low-income or otherwise
disadvantaged three- and four-year-old children.

(ae) “Support services” means those services that, when
combined with child care and development services, help promote
the healthy physical, mental, social, and emotional growth of
children. Support services include, but are not limited to: protective
services, parent training, provider and staff training, transportation,
parent and child counseling, child development resource and
referral services, and child placement counseling.

(af) “Teacher” means a person with the appropriate permit issued
by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing who provides
program supervision and instruction that includes supervision of
a number of aides, volunteers, and groups of children.

(ag) “Underserved area” means a county or subcounty area,
including, but not limited to, school districts, census tracts, or ZIP
Code areas, where the ratio of publicly subsidized child care and
development program services to the need for these services is
low, as determined by the Superintendent.

(ah) “Workday” means the time that the parent requires
temporary care for a child for any of the following reasons:

(1) To undertake training in preparation for a job.

(2) To undertake or retain a job.

(3) To undertake other activities that are essential to maintaining
or improving the social and economic function of the family, are
beneficial to the community, or are required because of health
problems in the family.

(ai) “Three-year-old children” means children who will have
their third birthday on or before the date specified of the fiscal
year in which they are enrolled in a California state preschool
program, as follows:

(1) November 1 of the 2012-13 fiscal year.

(2) October 1 of the 2013-14 fiscal year.

(3) September 1 of the 2014-15 fiscal year and each fiscal year
thereafter.

(aj) “Four-year-old children” means children who will have
their fourth birthday on or before the date specified of the fiscal
year in which they are enrolled in a California state preschool
program, as follows:

(1) November 1 of the 2012-13 fiscal year.

(2) October 1 of the 2013-14 fiscal year.

(3) September 1 of the 2014-15 fiscal year and each fiscal year
thereafter.

(ak) “Local educational agency” means a school district, a
county office of education, a community college district, or a
school district on behalf of one or more schools within the school
district.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

Section 8221.5 is added to the Education Code,
to read:

8221.5.  

(a) Child care providers authorized to provide services
pursuant to this article shall submit to the alternative payment
program a monthly attendance record or invoice for each child
who received services that begin insert , at a minimum, end insert documents begin delete hours of
care provided based on need certified by the alternative payment
program end delete begin insert the dates and actual times care was provided each day,
including the time the child entered and the time the child left care
each day. The information shall be documented on a daily basis end insert .

(b) The monthly attendance record or invoice begin delete shall include the
dates and times of attendance. Verification of attendance shall be
made at the end of each month by single signature, under penalty
of perjury, of both end delete begin insert shall, at a minimum, be signed by end insert the parent or
guardian of the child receiving services and the child care begin delete provider. end delete
begin insert provider once per month to attest that the child’s attendance is
accurately reflected. The verification of attendance shall be made
by signature at the end of each month of care and under penalty
of perjury by both the parent or guardian of the child receiving
services and the child care provider. end insert

(c) The monthly attendance record or invoice begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert be
maintained by the child care provider in begin insert the unaltered end insert original
format begin insert in which it was created, which may be in paper form end insert or
begin delete electronically end delete begin insert electronic format end insert .

(d) The alternative payment begin delete provider end delete begin insert program end insert shall accept the
monthly attendance record or invoice as documentation of the
hours of care begin delete provided. end delete begin insert provided if the attendance record or invoice
includes adequate information documented on a daily basis,
including, at a minimum, the dates and actual times care was
provided each day, including the time the child entered and the
time the child left care each day end insert begin insert . The alternative payment program
shall reimburse child care providers based upon the following
criteria: end insert

begin insert

(1) The hours of service provided that are broadly consistent
with certified hours of need.

end insert begin insert

(2) For families with variable schedules, the actual days and
hours of attendance, up to the maximum certified hours.

end insert begin insert

(3) For license-exempt providers that provide part-time services,
the actual days and hours of attendance, up to the maximum
certified hours.

end insert begin delete

(e) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section, to
simplify the attendance recording process. Therefore, the adoption
of regulations to implement this section shall not be necessary.

end delete begin insert

(e) For purposes of reimbursement to providers through an
alternative payment program, contractors shall not be required
to track absences.

end insert begin insert

(f) For purposes of this section, a monthly attendance record
or invoice is defined as documentation that includes, at a minimum,
the name of the child receiving services, the dates and actual times
care was provided each day, including the time the child entered
and the time the child left care each day, that is signed under
penalty of perjury by both the parent or guardian and the child
care provider, attesting that the information provided is accurate.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 8227.3 is added to the Education Code, to read:

8227.3.  

(a) Alternative payment programs and providers
operating or providing services pursuant to this article may
maintain records begin delete electronically, subject to compliance with
necessary state and federal auditing requirements end delete begin insert in electronic
format only if the original documents were created in electronic
format end insert . Records that may be begin insert created in electronic format and end insert
maintained electronically include, but are not limited to, the
following:

(1) Child immunization records.

(2) Parental job verification records.

(3) Parent income verification.

(4) Parent school or training verifications and attendance
records.

begin insert

(b) Pursuant to Section 33421, the original records shall be
retained by each contractor for at least five years, or, where an
audit has been requested by a state agency, until the date the audit
is resolved, whichever is longer.

end insert begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  Nothing in this section requires an alternative payment
program begin insert or provider end insert to begin delete maintain end delete begin insert create end insert records electronically.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 8262.1 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 8262.1. end insert   

(a) Contractors operating or providing services
pursuant to this chapter may maintain records in electronic format
only if the original documents were created in electronic format.
Records that may be created in electronic format and maintained
electronically include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Child immunization records.

(2) Parental job verification records.

(3) Parent income verification.

(4) Parent school or training verifications and attendance
records.

(b) Pursuant to Section 33421, the original records shall be
retained by each contractor for at least five years, or, where an
audit has been requested by a state agency, until the date the audit
is resolved, whichever is longer.

(c) Nothing in this section requires a contractor to create
records electronically.

end insert

SEC. 4.  

Section 8262.3 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

8262.3.  

On and after the date on which the Superintendent
determines that the Financial Information System for California
(Fi$Cal Project) has been implemented within the department, at
the request of a contractor, for a contract executed by the
department pursuant to Section 8262, the department shall request
the Controller to make a payment via direct deposit by electronic
funds transfer through the Fi$Cal Project into the contractor’s
account at the financial institution of the contractor’s choice.

SEC. 5.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.