Amended in Assembly April 9, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 233

Introduced by Assembly Member Lopez

February 4, 2015

An act to amend Sections 8220, 8221.5, 8222, begin delete 8227.3, 8261, 8263, 8265, 8269, 8273, and 8385 of, to amend the heading of Article 16.5 (commencing with Section 8385) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of, and to repeal Section 8225 of, end delete begin insert 8225, 8263, 8269, and 8273 of end insert the Education Code, relating to child care.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 233, as amended, Lopez. Child care and development services: alternative payment programs: reimbursement rates.

The Child Care and Development Services Act has a purpose of providing a comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective system of child care and development services for children from infancy to 13 years of age and their parents, including a full range of supervision, health, and support services through full- and part-time programs. The act requires the State Department of Education to contract with local contracting agencies for alternative payment programs that are intended to allow for maximum parental choice in child care. The act, to provide maximum parental choice, authorizes alternative payment programs to include certain things, including a subsidy that follows the family from one provider to another, as provided. begin insert Existing law authorizes funds appropriated for the act to be used for alternative payment programs to allow for maximum parental choice, as provided. end insert

This bill would, to provide maximum parental choice and access, begin delete authorize end delete begin insert instead require end insert alternative payment programs begin insert to include these certain things, and end insert to also include an eligibility determination process of begin delete not less than once end delete every 12 months. begin insert The bill would authorize funds appropriated for the act to also be used to allow for maximum parental access, as provided. end insert

The act requires certain child care providers to submit to the alternative payment program a monthly attendance record or invoice, as provided, and requires the record or invoice to be maintained by the child care provider in the unaltered original form in which it was created. begin delete The act requires the alternative payment program to reimburse child care providers based on specified criteria, including based on hours of service. The act prohibits contractors from being required to track absences. end delete

This bill would delete the requirement that the child care provider maintain the record or invoice in the unaltered original form in which it was created. begin delete The bill would delete the requirement that alternative payment programs reimburse child care providers based on the specified criteria. The bill would delete the prohibition on contractors from being required to track absences. end delete

begin delete

The act requires an alternative payment program to reimburse a licensed child care provider for child care of a subsidized child based on the rate charged by the provider to nonsubsidized families, if any, for the same services, or the rates established by the providers for prospective nonsubsidized families. The act requires a licensed child care provider to submit to the alternative payment program a copy of the provider’s rate sheet listing the rate charged, among other things.

end delete begin delete

This bill would instead require an alternative payment program to reimburse a licensed child care provider for child care of a subsidized child based on the rate charged by the provider to nonsubsidized families. The bill would delete the requirement for the licensed child care provider to submit to the alternative payment program a copy of the provider’s rate sheet, among other things.

end delete

The act requires an alternative payment program to verify provider rates no less frequently than once a year, as provided, and requires the department to develop regulations for addressing discrepancies in provider rate levels identified through this verification process. begin insert The act requires a child care provider to post the provider’s rates and discounts or scholarship policies, if any. end insert

This bill would delete these begin delete requirements and would require an alternative payment program to develop a rate verification process. end delete begin insert requirements. end insert

The act requires, when making referrals, every agency operating both a direct service program and an alternative payment program to provide at least 4 referrals, as provided, to a family.

begin delete

This bill would delete this requirement.

end delete begin delete

The act authorizes alternative payment programs and providers operating or providing services to maintain records in electronic format only if the original documents were created in electronic format.

end delete begin delete

This bill would authorize alternative payment programs and providers to maintain records in electronic format regardless of whether they were created in electronic format. The bill would require alternative payment programs to create and maintain specified records, including parental job verification records.

end delete begin delete

The act requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to adopt rules and regulations that do certain things, including provide for a contract monitoring system, specify adequate standards of agency performance, set forth standards for department site visits to contracting agencies, and authorize the department to develop a process that requires every contracting agency to recompete for continued funding no less frequently than every 5 years.

end delete begin delete

This bill would delete the requirement that the Superintendent adopt rules and regulations relating to the above provisions.

end delete begin insert

This bill would instead require a resource and referral agency to provide at least 4 referrals to a family, as provided.

end insert

The act provides that a family enrolled in a state or federally funded child care and development program whose services would otherwise be terminated, as provided, may continue to receive child development services, as provided.

This bill would begin delete instead end delete begin insert also end insert require that a family enrolled in a state or federally funded child care and development program to be considered eligible for services for 12 months from time of initial, or annual, eligibility determination.

begin delete

Existing law provides that, if the basis of need as stated on the application for services is seeking employment, the parent’s period of eligibility for child care and development services is limited to 60 working days during the contract period. The act authorizes the Superintendent to extend this period for an additional 60 working days, as provided.

end delete begin delete

This bill would delete the Superintendent’s authority to make this extension.

end delete begin delete

The act requires the Superintendent to implement a plan that, among other things, establishes reasonable standards and assigned reimbursement rates, as provided, and requires the Superintendent to confer with applicant agencies when establishing the standards and rates.

end delete begin delete

This bill would require the applicant agencies to establish, as applicable, full-time, part-time, and hourly rates and to establish reimbursement rates that best meet the needs of the community, as provided.

end delete begin delete

The act authorizes the Superintendent to establish regulations concerning conditions of service and hours of enrollment for children in the programs.

end delete begin delete

This bill would delete this authorization, among other changes.

end delete begin insert

The act requires a physical examination and evaluation, including age-appropriate immunization, before, or within 6 weeks of, enrollment, as provided.

end insert begin insert

This bill would delete this requirement.

end insert

The act requires the Superintendent to adopt rules, regulations, and guidelines to facilitate the funding and reimbursement procedures.

This bill would require the Superintendent to adopt these rules, regulations, and guidelines to facilitate the funding and reimbursement procedures for contractors operating centers, family child care homes, or begin delete both, as well as for contractors who do not operate a center, family child care home, or both. The bill would require the contractors who do not operate a center, family child care home, or both to establish a specified rate reimbursement structure to meet a certified need for child care, as provided. end delete begin insert both. end insert

The act requires the Superintendent to establish a fee schedule for families using preschool and child care and development services.

begin delete

This bill would require the amount of the family fee to be deducted from the reimbursement to a provider.

end delete begin delete

The act requires the department, in consultation with the State Department of Social Services and with fraud investigation experts, as provided, to perform an error rate study to estimate the percentage of errors relating to child care and development services. The act requires the department to develop recommendations for the prevention and elimination of child care fraud and programmatic errors and the identification and collection of child care overpayments. The act requires the department to report its recommendations to the respective policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by April 1, 2005.

end delete begin delete

This bill would delete these requirements.

end delete begin delete

This bill would also make conforming and nonsubtantive changes.

end delete begin insert

This bill would authorize the contractor to require a child care provider to collect the family fee, as deducted from the child care provider reimbursement, or to collect the family fee amount directly from the parent. The bill would authorize specified contractors to develop a written policy that directs parents to pay family fees directly to the child care provider, as provided.

end insert

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 8220 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

8220.  

(a) Upon the approval of the State Department of
Education, funds appropriated for the purposes of this chapter may
be used for alternative payment programs to allow for maximum
parental choice begin insert and access end insert . Various methods of reimbursement
for parental costs for child care may be utilized. All payment
arrangements shall conform to the eligibility criteria and the parent
fee schedule established pursuant to Sections 8263 and 8265.

(b) To provide for maximum parental choice and access,
alternative payment programs begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert include the following:

(1) An eligibility determination process of begin delete not less than once end delete
every 12 months.

(2) A subsidy that follows the family from one provider to
another within a given alternative payment program.

(3) Choices, when possible, among hours of service including
before and after school, evenings, weekends, and split shifts.

(4) Child care and development services according to parental
choice, including use of family day care homes, general center
based programs, and other state-funded programs to the extent that
those programs exist in the general service area and are in
conformity with the purposes and applicable laws for which those
programs were established, but excluding state preschool programs.

SEC. 2.  

Section 8221.5 of the Education Code is amended 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, at a minimum, documents 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.

(b) The monthly attendance record or invoice shall, 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 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.

(c) The monthly attendance record or invoice shall be maintained
by the child care begin delete provider . end delete begin insert provider. end insert

(d) The alternative payment program shall accept the monthly
attendance record or invoice as documentation of the hours of care
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.
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

(e) 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.

SEC. 3.  

Section 8222 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

8222.  

(a) Payments made by alternative payment programs
shall not exceed the applicable market rate ceiling. Alternative
payment programs may expend more than the standard
reimbursement rate for a particular child. However, the aggregate
payments for services begin delete purchased end delete begin insert reimbursed end insert by the agency during
the contract year shall not exceed the assigned reimbursable amount
as established by the contract for the year. An agency shall not
make payments in excess of the rate charged to full-cost families.
This section does not preclude alternative payment programs from
using the average daily enrollment adjustment factor for children
with exceptional needs as provided in Section 8265.5.

(b) Alternative payment programs shall reimburse licensed child
care providers in accordance with a biennial market rate survey
pursuant to Section 8447, at a rate not to exceed the ceilings
established pursuant to Section 8357.

(c) An alternative payment program shall reimburse a licensed
provider for child care of a subsidized child based on the rate
charged by the provider to nonsubsidized begin delete families. end delete begin insert families, if any,
for the same services, or the rates established by the provider for
prospective nonsubsidized families. A licensed child care provider
shall submit to the alternative payment program a copy of the
provider’s rate sheet listing the rates charged, and the provider’s
discount or scholarship policies, if any, along with a statement
signed by the provider confirming that the rates charged for a
subsidized child are equal to or less than the rates charged for a
nonsubsidized child. end insert

begin insert

(d) An alternative payment program shall maintain a copy of
the rate sheet and the confirmation statement.

end insert begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  A licensed child care provider shall submit to the local
resource and referral agency a copy of the provider’s rate sheet
listing rates charged, and the provider’s discount or scholarship
policies, if any, and shall self-certify that the information is correct.

begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (f) end insert  A licensed child care provider may alter rate levels for
subsidized children once per year and shall provide the alternative
payment program and resource and referral agency with the updated
information pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (e), to reflect any
changes. begin insert An alternative payment program may implement an
altered rate level once per year. end insert

begin delete

(f) A licensed child care provider shall post in a prominent
location adjacent to the provider’s license at the child care facility
the provider’s rates and discounts or scholarship policies, if any.

(g) An alternative payment program shall develop a rate
verification process.

end delete

begin delete

SEC. 4.  

Section 8225 of the Education Code is repealed.

SEC. 5.  

Section 8227.3 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

8227.3.  

(a) Alternative payment programs and providers
operating or providing services pursuant to this article may
maintain records in electronic format.

(b) Alternative payment programs shall create and maintain the
following records:

(1) Parental job verification records.

(2) Parent income verification.

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

(c) 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.

(d) This section does not require an alternative payment program
or provider to create records electronically.

SEC. 6.  

Section 8261 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

8261.  

(a) The Superintendent shall adopt rules and regulations
pursuant to this chapter. The rules and regulations shall include,
but not be limited to, provisions that do all of the following:

(1) Provide clear guidelines for the selection of agencies when
child development contracts are let, including, but not limited to,
specification that an agency headquartered in the proposed service
area on January 1, 1985, will be given priority for a new contract
in that area, unless the department makes a written determination
that (A) the agency is not able to deliver the level of services
specified in the request for proposal, or (B) the department has
notified the agency that it is not in compliance with the terms of
its contract.

(2) Establish reporting requirements for service reports,
including provisions for varying the frequency with which these
reports are to be submitted on the basis of agency performance.

(3) Specify standards for withholding payments to agencies that
fail to submit required fiscal reports.

(b) The Superintendent shall consult with the State Department
of Social Services with respect to rules and regulations adopted
relative to the disbursal of federal funds under Title XX of the
federal Social Security Act.

(c) For purposes of expediting the implementation of state or
federal legislation to expand child care services, the Superintendent
may waive (1) the regulations regarding the point qualifications
for, and the process and scoring of, interviews of contract
applicants pursuant to Section 18002 of Title 5 of the California
Code of Regulations, or (2) the time limitations for scheduling and
notification of appeal hearings and their results pursuant to Section
18003 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. The
Superintendent shall ensure that the appeal hearings provided for
in Section 18003 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations
are conducted in a timely manner.

(d) (1) Child care and development programs operated under
contract from funds made available pursuant to the federal Child
Care and Development Fund, shall be administered according to
Division 19 (commencing with Section 17906) of Chapter 1 of
Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, unless provisions
of these regulations conflict with federal regulations. If state and
federal regulations conflict, the federal regulations shall apply
unless a waiver of federal regulations is authorized.

(2) For purposes of this section, “Child Care and Development
Fund” has the same meaning as in Section 98.2 of Title 45 of the
Code of Federal Regulations.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 8225 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

8225.  

When making referrals, begin delete every agency operating both a
direct service program and an alternative payment program end delete begin insert a
resource and referral agency end insert shall provide at least four referrals,
at least one of which shall be a provider over which the agency
has no fiscal or operational control, as well as information to a
family on the family’s ability to choose a license exempt provider.

begin delete SEC. 7. end delete
begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

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, or
emergency shelter as (i) a recipient of protective services or (ii)
being neglected, abused, or exploited, or at risk of neglect, abuse,
or exploitation, 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) (A) 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.

(B) A family who is receiving child care on the basis of being
a child at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, as defined in
subdivision (k) of Section 8208, is eligible to receive services
pursuant to subparagraph (A) for up to three months, unless the
family becomes eligible pursuant to subparagraph (C).

(C) A family may receive child care services for begin delete up to end delete 12 months
on the basis of a certification by the county child welfare agency
that child care services continue to be necessary or, if the child is
receiving child protective services during that period of time, and
the family requires child care and remains otherwise eligible. This
time limit does not apply if the family’s child care referral is
recertified by the county child welfare agency.

(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 begin insert 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. These families end insert shall be considered
eligible for services for 12 months from time of initial, or annual,
eligibility determination. 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.

begin delete

(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.

end delete begin insert

(d) In order to promote continuity of services, the Superintendent
may extend the 60-working-day period specified in subdivision (a)
of Section 18086.5 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations
for an additional 60 working days if he or she determines that
opportunities for employment have diminished to the degree that
one or both parents cannot reasonably be expected to find
employment within 60 working days and granting the extension is
in the public interest. The scope of extensions granted to all
contractors pursuant to this subdivision shall be limited to the
necessary geographic areas and affected persons, which shall be
described in the Superintendent’s order granting the extension. It
is the intent of the Legislature that extensions granted pursuant
to this subdivision improve services in areas with high
unemployment rates or areas with disproportionately high numbers
of seasonal agricultural jobs, or both.

end insert

(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) 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.

begin delete

SEC. 8.  

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,
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.
Applicant agencies shall comply with both of the following:

(A) Applicant agencies shall establish, as applicable, full-time,
part-time, and hourly rates.

(B) Applicant agencies shall establish reimbursement rates that
best meet the needs of the community, that are consistent with
certified hour of care, and that do not exceed market rate ceilings.

(3) The reimbursement system, including standards and rates,
shall be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

(b) The standard reimbursement rate shall be nine thousand
twenty-four dollars and seventy-five cents ($9,024.75) per unit of
average daily enrollment for a 250-day year, and commencing
with the 2015-16 fiscal year, shall be increased by the
cost-of-living adjustment granted by the Legislature annually
pursuant to Section 42238.15.

(c) The plan shall provide for adjusting reimbursement on a
case-by-case basis, in order to maintain service levels for agencies
currently at a rate less than the standard reimbursement rate.
Assigned reimbursement rates shall be increased only on the basis
of one or more of the following:

(1) Loss of program resources from other sources.

(2) Need of an agency to pay the same child care rates as those
prevailing in the local community.

(3) Increased costs directly attributable to new or different
regulations.

(4) (A) Documented increased costs necessary to maintain the
prior year’s level of service and ensure the continuation of
threatened programs.

(B) Child care agencies funded at the lowest rates shall be given
first priority for increases.

(d) The plan shall provide for expansion of child development
programs at no more than the standard reimbursement rate for that
fiscal year.

(e) 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.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 9. end delete
begin insert SEC. 6. end insert   

Section 8269 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

8269.  

begin delete (a) end delete begin delete   end delete The Superintendent shall adopt rules, regulations,
and guidelines to facilitate the funding and reimbursement
begin delete procedures, end delete begin insert procedures end insert for contractors operating centers, family
child care homes, or both, required by this chapter.

begin delete

(b) (1) The Superintendent shall adopt rules, regulations, and
guidelines to facilitate the funding and reimbursement procedures
for contractors that do not operate a center, a family child care
home, or both.

(2) Contractors not operating a center, a family child care home,
or both, shall establish, as applicable, a full-time, part-time, and
hourly rate reimbursement structure to meet a certified need for
child care.

(3) Reimbursement to the provider shall be the amount the
provider charges unsubsidized families for the same hours of child
care, or the maximum subsidy amount.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 10. end delete
begin insert SEC. 7. end insert   

Section 8273 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

8273.  

(a) The Superintendent shall establish a fee schedule
for families using preschool and child care and development
services pursuant to this chapter, including families receiving
services pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section
8263. It is the intent of the Legislature that the new fee schedule
shall be simple and easy to implement.

(b) The family fee schedule shall retain a flat monthly fee per
family. The schedule shall differentiate between fees for part-time
care and full-time care.

begin delete

(c) The amount of a family fee shall be deducted from the
reimbursement to a provider.

end delete begin insert

(c) A contractor operating pursuant to Section 8220 may develop
a written policy that directs parents to pay family fees directly to
the child care provider.

end insert begin insert

(1) The contractor shall provide written notification of the
assessed fee to both the parent and the child care provider.

end insert begin insert

(2) The contractor shall deduct the amount of the family fee
assessed to the parent when calculating the payment due to the
child care provider.

end insert begin insert

(3) The contractor shall report its payment to the child care
provider plus the assessed family fees as an expense on the
attendance and expenditure reports as required by regulation.

end insert begin insert

(4) A contractor with a written policy directing parents to pay
family fees directly to the child care provider are exempt from all
of the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) Requiring families to pay family fees in advance of child
care services.

end insert begin insert

(B) Requiring any record or proof that the family paid any
applicable family fees to the child care provider.

end insert begin insert

(C) Notification of delinquent fees or termination for delinquent
fees.

end insert begin insert

(d) The contractor is authorized to require child care providers
to collect the family fee, which shall be deducted from the
reimbursement to the child care provider, or to collect the family
fee amount directly from the parent.

end insert begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  Using the most recently approved family fee schedule
pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 8447, families shall be
assessed a flat monthly fee based on income, certified family need
for full-time or part-time care services, and enrollment, and shall
not be based on actual attendance. A recalculation of a family fee
shall not occur if attendance varies from enrollment unless a change
in need for care is assessed.

begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (f) end insert  The Superintendent shall design the new family fee schedule
based on the state median income data that was in use for the
2007−08 fiscal year, adjusted for family size. The revised family
fee schedule shall begin at income levels at which families
currently begin paying fees. The revised fees shall not exceed 10
percent of the family’s monthly income. The Superintendent shall
first submit the adjusted fee schedule to the Department of Finance
for approval.

begin delete

(f)

end delete

begin insert (g) end insert  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
(42 U.S.C. Sec. 1381 et seq.) and Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 12000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code shall not be included in total countable income
for purposes of determining the amount of the family fee.

begin delete

(g)

end delete

begin insert (h) end insert  Family fees shall be assessed at initial enrollment and
reassessed at update of certification or recertification.

begin delete

(h)

end delete

begin insert (i) end insert  It is the intent of the Legislature that the new family fees
shall be cost neutral to the state and generate roughly the same
amount of revenue as was generated under the previous family fee
schedule.

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SEC. 11.  

The heading of Article 16.5 (commencing with
Section 8385) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code is amended to read:

 

Article 16.5.  Best Practices

 

end delete

begin delete

SEC. 12.  

Section 8385 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

8385.  

On or after July 1, 2005, all child care contracts entered
into by the department for means-tested child care programs,
including, but not limited to, the programs described in Article 3
(commencing with Section 8220), Article 8 (commencing with
Section 8240), and Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350),
shall require implementation of best practices.

end delete