BILL NUMBER: AB 2125 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ridley-Thomas
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
An act to amend Sections 8265, 8265.5, 8266, 8266.1, and 8357 of,
and to repeal Section 8265.7 of, the Education Code, relating to
child care.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2125, as amended, Ridley-Thomas. Child care: standard
reimbursement rates.
Existing law establishes a system of child care and development
services for children from infancy to 13 years of age and provides
certain requirements for the payment by the state for these child
care and development services. Existing law requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to implement a plan that
establishes reasonable standards and assigned reimbursement rates, as
provided, and requires the standard reimbursement rate to be $3,523
per unit of average daily enrollment for a 250-day year, increased by
the cost-of-living adjustment granted by the Legislature. Existing
law requires the plan to require agencies having an assigned
reimbursement rate above the current year standard reimbursement rate
to reduce costs on an incremental basis to achieve the standard rate
and requires the plan to provide for adjusting reimbursements on a
case-by-case basis, as provided.
This bill would delete these requirements relating to assigned
reimbursement rates and reimbursement adjustments. The bill would
delete references to the standard reimbursement rate and instead
would require , among other things, the reimbursement rate
to reflect the actual current cost of care
be based on the most recent regional market rate survey with the
ceiling established at the 100th percentile in each region per
unit of average daily enrollment for a 250-day year. The bill would
make conforming changes.
Existing law applies various adjustment factors to specified
programs , including programs for infants and
toddlers, for which reimbursement rates are at or below the
standard reimbursement rate, as provided.
This bill would delete the requirement that the adjustment factors
apply to those specified programs. The bill would also delete
the adjustment factors for infants and toddlers.
Existing law authorizes programs above the standard reimbursement
rate to be considered on a case-by-case basis for rate adjustments
due to documented increases in insurance costs.
This bill would delete this provision.
Existing law requires the cost of child care services provided to
CalWORKs recipients to be governed by regional market rates. Existing
law requires regional market rate ceilings to be established at the
85th percentile of the 2005 regional market rate survey for that
region.
This bill would instead establish the market rate ceiling at the
85th percentile of the current most recent
regional market rate survey for that region.
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 8265 of the Education Code is amended to read:
8265. (a) The Superintendent shall implement a plan that
establishes reasonable standards and assigned reimbursement rates,
through a single reimbursement system, which vary with the length of
the program year and the hours of service.
(1) Parent fees shall be used to pay reasonable and necessary
costs for providing additional services.
(2) When establishing standards and assigned reimbursement rates,
the Superintendent shall confer with applicant agencies.
(3) The reimbursement system, including standards and rates, shall
be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
(4) The Superintendent may establish any regulations he or she
deems advisable concerning conditions of service and hours of
enrollment for children in the programs.
(b) (1) The reimbursement rate shall
reflect the actual current cost of care be
based on the most recent regional market rate survey with the ceiling
established at the 100th percentile in each region per unit of
average daily enrollment for a 250-day year. The department may
divide the weekly regional market rate by five to obtain a daily
rate.
(2) Beginning with the year of the most recent market rate survey
established pursuant to paragraph (1), as amended by this act in the
2013-14 Regular Session of the Legislature, contractors that are
expected to receive less under the most recent regional market rate
survey than what they previously received shall instead receive the
reimbursement rate that was in effect on July 1, 2014, until the
reimbursement rate specified in paragraph (1) exceeds that rate.
(c) The plan shall provide for expansion of child development
programs at no more than the reimbursement rate for that fiscal year.
(d) The Superintendent may reduce the percentage of reduction for
a public agency that satisfies any of the following:
(1) Serves more than 400 children.
(2) Has in effect a collective bargaining agreement.
(3) Has other extenuating circumstances that apply, as determined
by the Superintendent.
SEC. 2. Section 8265.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
8265.5. (a) In order to reflect the additional expense of serving
children who meet any of the criteria outlined in paragraphs (1) to
(7), (4), inclusive, of subdivision (b)
the provider agency's reported child days of enrollment for these
children shall be multiplied by the adjustment factors listed below.
(b) Pursuant to subdivision (a), the following adjustment factors
shall apply:
(1) For infants who are 0 to 18 months of age and are served in a
child day care center, the adjustment factor shall be 1.7.
(2) For toddlers who are 18 to 36 months of age and are served in
a child day care center, the adjustment factor shall be 1.4.
(3) For infants and toddlers who are 0 to 36 months of age and are
served in a family child care home, the adjustment factor shall be
1.4.
(4)
(1) For children with exceptional needs who are 0 to 21
years of age, the adjustment factor shall be 1.2.
(5)
(2) For severely disabled children who are 0 to 21
years of age, the adjustment factor shall be 1.5.
(6)
(3) For a child at risk of neglect, abuse, or
exploitation who are 0 to 14 years of age, the adjustment factor
shall be 1.1.
(7)
(4) For limited-English-speaking and
non-English-speaking children who are 2 two
years of age through kindergarten age, the adjustment factor
shall be 1.1.
(c) Use of the adjustment factors shall not increase the provider
agency's total annual allocation.
(d) Days of enrollment for children having more than one of the
criteria outlined in paragraphs (1) to (7),
(4), inclusive, of subdivision (b) shall not be reported under
more than one of the above categories.
(e) The difference between the reimbursement resulting from the
use of the adjustment factors outlined in paragraphs (1) to
(7), (4), inclusive, of subdivision (b) and the
reimbursement that would otherwise be received by a provider in the
absence of the adjustment factors shall be used for special and
appropriate services for each child for whom an adjustment factor is
claimed.
SEC. 3. Section 8265.7 of the Education Code is repealed.
SEC. 4. Section 8266 of the Education Code is amended to read:
8266. (a) Notwithstanding Section 8265, the assigned
reimbursement rate of a center-based child care agency (1)
contracting with the department, (2) operating under licensing
standards for child care and development facilities specified by
Section 1500 et seq. of the Health and Safety Code and by Title 22 of
the California Code of Regulations, and (3) with less than a
majority of subsidized children enrolled in the facility, shall be
equivalent to the fee paid for the same service by families of
nonsubsidized children.
(b) (1) It is not the intent of the Legislature to preclude an
agency with a contract with the department from adjusting the fees
charged to nonsubsidized children during the contract year.
(2) These agencies shall provide documentation to the department
that subsidized children, as necessary and appropriate, shall receive
supportive services through county welfare departments, resource and
referral programs, or other existing community resources, or all of
them.
SEC. 5. Section 8266.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:
8266.1. Commencing with the 1995-96 fiscal year and each fiscal
year thereafter, for the purposes of this chapter, reimbursement
rates shall be adjusted by the following reimbursement factors for
child care and development programs but shall not apply to the
Resource and Referral Programs set forth in Article 2 (commencing
with Section 8210), the Alternative Payment Programs set forth in
Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220), the part-day California
state preschool programs set forth in Article 7 (commencing with
Section 8235), or to the schoolage parent and infant development
programs:
(a) For child care and development providers serving children for
less than four hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 55 percent
of the reimbursement rate.
(b) For child care and development program providers serving
children for not less than four hours per day, and less than six and
one-half hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 75 percent of the
reimbursement rate. For providers operating under the At Risk Child
Care Program set forth in Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350)
and serving children for not less than four hours per day, and less
than seven hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 75 percent of
the reimbursement rate.
(c) For child care and development program providers serving
children for not less than six and one-half hours per day, and less
than 10 and one-half hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 100
percent of the reimbursement rate. For providers operating under the
At Risk Child Care Program set forth in Article 15.5 (commencing with
Section 8350) and serving children for not less than seven hours per
day, and less than 10 hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 100
percent of the reimbursement rate.
(d) For child care and development program providers serving
children for 10 1/2 10 and
one-half hours or more per day, the reimbursement factor is
118 percent of the reimbursement rate.
SEC. 6. Section 8357 of the Education Code is amended to read:
8357. (a) The cost of child care services provided under this
article shall be governed by regional market rates. Recipients of
child care services provided pursuant to this article shall be
allowed to choose the child care services of licensed child care
providers or child care providers who are, by law, not required to be
licensed, and the cost of that child care shall be reimbursed by
counties or agencies that contract with the State Department of
Education if the cost is within the regional market rate. For
purposes of this section, "regional market rate" means care costing
no more than 1.5 market standard deviations above the mean cost of
care for that region. The regional market rate ceilings shall be
established at the 85th percentile of the current
most recent regional market rate survey for that region.
(b) Reimbursement to license-exempt child care providers shall not
exceed 60 percent of the family child care home rate established
pursuant to subdivision (a), effective July 1, 2011.
(c) Reimbursement to child care providers shall not exceed the fee
charged to private clients for the same service.
(d) Reimbursement shall not be made for child care services when
care is provided by parents, legal guardians, or members of the
assistance unit.
(e) A child care provider located on an Indian reservation or
rancheria and exempted from state licensing requirements shall meet
applicable tribal standards.
(f) For purposes of this section, "reimbursement" means a direct
payment to the provider of child care services, including
license-exempt providers. If care is provided in the home of the
recipient, payment may be made to the parent as the employer, and the
parent shall be informed of his or her concomitant legal and
financial reporting requirements. To allow time for the development
of the administrative systems necessary to issue direct payments to
providers, for a period not to exceed six months from the effective
date of this article, a county or an alternative payment agency
contracting with the State Department of Education may reimburse the
cost of child care services through a direct payment to a recipient
of aid rather than to the child care provider.
(g) Counties and alternative payment programs shall not be bound
by the rate limits described in subdivision (a) when there are, in
the region, no more than two child care providers of the type needed
by the recipient of child care services provided under this article.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, reimbursements to child care
providers based upon a daily rate shall only be authorized under
either of the following circumstances:
(1) A family has an unscheduled but documented need of six hours
or more per occurrence, such as the parent's need to work on a
regularly scheduled day off, that exceeds the certified need for
child care.
(2) A family has a documented need of six hours or more per day
that exceeds no more than 14 days per month. In no event shall
reimbursements to a provider based on the daily rate over one month's
time exceed the provider's equivalent full-time monthly rate or
applicable monthly ceiling.
(3) This subdivision shall not limit providers from being
reimbursed for services using a weekly or monthly rate, pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 8222.