Amended in Assembly May 6, 2015

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, 8225, 8263, 8269, and 8273 of 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. Existing law authorizes funds appropriated for the act to be used for alternative payment programs to allow for maximum parental choice, as provided.

This bill would, to provide maximum parental choice and access, instead require alternative payment programs to include these certain begin delete things, and to also include an eligibility determination process of every 12 months. end delete begin insert things. end insert The bill would authorize funds appropriated for the act to also be used to allow for maximum parental access, as provided.

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.

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.

The act requires begin delete 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. The act requires end delete a child care provider to post the provider’s rates and discounts or scholarship policies, if any.

This bill would delete begin delete these requirements. end delete begin insert this requirement. 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.

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

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 also require that begin delete 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 end delete begin insert subsequent to enrollment, a child be deemed eligible for services for a period of 12 months end insert .

The act requires a physical examination and evaluation, including age-appropriate immunization, before, or within 6 weeks of, enrollment, as provided. begin insert Existing law requires a child to be temporarily excluded from the program if there is good cause to believe the child is suffering from a recognized contagious or infectious disease, as provided. end insert

This bill would begin delete delete this requirement. end delete begin insert instead specify that if the child care provider has good cause to believe that a child is suffering from a recognized contagious or infectious disease, the child would be temporarily excluded from the program, as provided. 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 both.

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

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.

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 and access. 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 shall include the following:

begin delete

(1) An eligibility determination process of every 12 months.

end delete begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert  A subsidy that follows the family from one provider to
another within a given alternative payment program.

begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  Choices, when possible, among hours of service including
before and after school, evenings, weekends, and split shifts.

begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  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 provider.

(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.
The alternative payment program shall reimburse child care
providers based upon the following criteria:

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

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

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

(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 reimbursed 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 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.

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

(e) 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.

(f) 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. An alternative payment program may implement an
altered rate level once per year.

begin insert

(g) An alternative payment program shall verify provider rates
no less frequently than once a year by randomly selecting 10
percent of licensed child care providers serving subsidized families.
The purpose of this verification process is to confirm that rates
reported to the alternative payment programs reasonably
correspond to those reported to the resource and referral agency
and the rates actually charged to nonsubsidized families for
equivalent levels of services. It is the intent of the Legislature that
the privacy of nonsubsidized families shall be protected in
implementing this subdivision.

end insert begin insert

(h) The department shall develop regulations for addressing
discrepancies in the provider rate levels identified through the
rate verification process in subdivision (g).

end insert

SEC. 4.  

Section 8225 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

8225.  

When making referrals, a resource and referral agency
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 begin delete license exempt end delete begin insert license-exempt end insert provider.

SEC. 5.  

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.

begin insert

(b) Subsequent to enrollment, a child shall be deemed eligible
for services for a period of 12 months.

end insert begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  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 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.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  Notwithstanding any other law, in order to promote
continuity of services, a family enrolled in a state or federally
funded child care and development program whose services would
otherwise be terminated because the family no longer meets the
program income, eligibility, or need criteria may continue to
receive child development services in another state or federally
funded child care and development program if the contractor is
able to transfer the family’s enrollment to another program for
which the family is eligible before the date of termination of
services or to exchange the family’s existing enrollment with the
enrollment of a family in another program, provided that both
families satisfy the eligibility requirements for the program in
which they are being enrolled. begin delete These families shall be considered
eligible for services for 12 months from time of initial, or annual,
eligibility determination. end delete 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)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  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.

begin insert

(f) 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 the child
care provider has 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 insert begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (g) end insert  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.

begin delete

(f)

end delete

begin insert (h) end insert  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.

begin delete

(g)

end delete

begin insert (i) end insert  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.

begin delete

(h)

end delete

begin insert (j) end insert  Public funds shall not be paid directly or indirectly to an
agency that does not pay at least the minimum wage to each of its
employees.

SEC. 6.  

Section 8269 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

8269.  

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

SEC. 7.  

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.

(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.

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

(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.

(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.

(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:

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

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

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

(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.

(e) 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.

(f) 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.

(g) 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.

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

(i) 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.