BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 233
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 233
(Lopez) - As Amended April 9, 2015
[Note: This bill was doubled referred to the Assembly Human
Services Committee and was heard by that Committee as it relates
to issues under its jurisdiction.]
SUBJECT: Child care and development services: alternative
payment programs: reimbursement rates
SUMMARY: Provides a 12-month eligibility determination process
for specified child care and development programs and makes
changes to the administration of various programs.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Adds "access" to the current designated purpose of alternative
payment programs (APPs) of allowing for maximum parental
choice.
2)Establishes an eligibility determination process of every 12
months for APPs.
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3)Deletes the requirement that alternative payment (AP) child
care providers maintain monthly attendance records or invoices
in the unaltered original format and instead simply requires
that these records or invoices be maintained.
4)Deletes the requirement that contractors track absences for
purpose of reimbursement to providers through an APP.
5)Authorizes an APP to implement an altered rate level once per
year.
6)Deletes the requirement that a licensed child care provider
post its rates and discounts or scholarship policies in a
prominent location adjacent to the provider's license at a
child care facility.
7)Deletes the requirement for an APP to verify provider rates no
less frequently than once a year by randomly selecting 10% of
licensed child care providers serving subsidized families.
8)Deletes the provision requiring the California Department of
Education (CDE) to develop regulations addressing
discrepancies in the provider rate levels identified through
the rate verification process.
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9)Changes the requirement that every agency operating both a
direct service program and an APP provide at least four
referrals to a family, as specified, to apply only to resource
and referral agencies.
10)Specifies that a family may receive child care services for
12 months, rather than up to 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.
11)Specifies that a family that transfers from one subsidized
child care program to another in order to maintain eligibility
shall be considered continuously eligible for services for 12
months from the time of initial, or subsequent, eligibility
determination.
12)States that it is the intent of the Legislature that an
extension of the 60-day working period improve services in
areas with high unemployment rates or areas with
disproportionately high numbers of seasonal agricultural jobs,
or both.
13)Deletes the requirement that families have a physical
examination and evaluation, including age-appropriate
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immunization, as a condition of enrollment in a child care and
development program. Deletes the requirement that 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. Deletes the requirement
that 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.
14)Specifies that the funding and reimbursement procedures the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) is currently
required to adopt rules, regulations, and guidelines for apply
to contractors operating centers, family child care homes, or
both.
15)Authorizes an APP contractor to develop a written policy
directing parents to pay family fees directly to the child
care provider. Establishes requirements related to this
process, as follows:
a) The contractor shall provide written notification of the
assessed fee to both the parent and the child care
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provider.
b) The contractor shall deduct the amount of the family fee
assessed to the parent when calculating the payment due to
the child care provider.
c) 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.
d) 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:
i) Requiring families to pay family fees in advance of
child care services.
ii) Requiring any record or proof that the family paid
any applicable family fees to the child care provider.
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iii) Notification of delinquent fees or termination for
delinquent fees.
e) 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.
16)Strikes obsolete provisions and makes technical,
non-substantive changes.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes eligibility for child care services and child
development programs administered by the CDE and requires the
SPI to adopt rules and regulations on eligibility, enrollment
and priority of services needed for implementation (Education
Code (EC) Section 8263).
2)Provides that CalWORKs recipients are eligible for three
stages of child care services. Stage one child care begins
when a recipient first receives CalWORKs aid and is limited to
six months. Stage two begins when a recipient's work or work
activity is stable and is available for up to two years after
a recipient is no longer eligible for CalWORKs aid. Families
can maintain child care benefits if it meets income
eligibility under stage 3 if there are slots available. (EC
Sections 8350-8359.1)
3)Specifies that in order to be eligible for federal and state
subsidized child development services, families must meet at
least one requirement in each of the following areas:
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a) 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; and,
b) A family needs the child care services (A) because the
child is identified by a legal, medical, 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. (EC Section 8263(a))
4)Defines "income eligible" as a family whose adjusted monthly
income is at or below 70% of the state median income (SMI),
adjusted for family size, and adjusted annually. For the
2014-15 fiscal year, the income eligibility shall be 70% of
the SMI that was in use for the 2007-08 fiscal year, adjusted
for family size. (EC Section 8263.1)
5)Authorizes child care and development funds to be used for
APPs to allow for maximum parental choice. (EC Section 8220)
6)Requires the SPI to establish a family fee schedule for
subsidized child care, as specified, contingent on income and
subject to a cap. (EC Section 8273)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Background on child care and development programs.
The CDE administers a child care and development system,
maintaining over 1,300 service contracts with approximately 750
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public and private agencies supporting and providing services to
children from birth through 12 years of age. Contractors include
school districts, county offices of education, cities, colleges,
other public entities, community-based organizations, and
private agencies. Programs administered by the CDE include
General Child Care, California State Preschool Program, Migrant
Child Care, and APPs. In fiscal year (FY) 2014-15, $2.4 billion
was provided for child care and development programs from state
and federal funds, offering 355,000 slots.
This bill is sponsored by the California Alternative Payment
Program Association (CAPPA). APPs, funded with state and
federal funds, offer a variety of child care arrangements for
parents, including licensed family child care homes and
center-based care, and arrange for payments to licensed-exempt
providers, who are relatives or friends of parents or guardians.
The APP helps families access child care services and makes
payment for those services directly to the child care provider
selected by the family. The APP is intended to increase
parental choice and accommodate the individual needs of the
family. APPs are reimbursed based on the number of children
served and funds are appropriated based on the fiscal reporting
process and budget estimations. In 2013-14, there were 76 APPs
throughout the state and they range from private, nonprofit
organizations to county offices of education. APPs began as
pilot programs in 1977 and became permanent in 1980.
The bill has the following major components:
1)12-month eligibility: This bill extends eligibility for child
care services to 12 months for APPs and for families
transferring from one subsidized child care program to
another. With the exception of families receiving care due to
social services placements, California already has a 12-month
eligibility determination practice. The issue addressed by
the bill is whether and to what extent families should be
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required to report changes during the 12 month period and
whether these changes should result in termination of
services. California requires families to report any changes
in income or need within five calendar days. This bill
negates this regulation and the requirement for contractors to
recertify families receiving services.
The 12-month eligibility provision is incorporated in the APP
section of the EC and in the section regarding families
transferring from one subsidized child care program to
another. Staff recommends striking the 12-month eligibility
language in the two sections in the bill and instead adding a
new subdivision in EC 8263 to apply the 12-month eligibility
determination to all child care and development programs.
A 12-month eligibility determination provides certainty to
families. It is also consistent with the changes in the
reauthorization of the federal Child Care and Development
Block Grant, from which California received $570 million in
2014-15.
2)Physical examination and evaluation. The bill deletes
requirements that a physical exam and evaluation, including
age-appropriate immunization, be required before, or within
six weeks of, enrollment. The bill also strikes the provision
offering an exemption from the requirement for religious
reasons, and the authority to remove a child temporarily if a
child is suffering from a recognized contagious or infectious
disease. According to the sponsor, this provision was removed
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because APPs do not directly work with children. This
provision is not specific to APPs and should not be deleted.
Staff recommends reinstating this provision and instead adding
language clarifying the provisions that apply to providers.
3)Elimination of requirement for APs to verify provider rates.
This bill eliminates a requirement for an APP to verify
provider rates at least once a year in order to ascertain the
rates charged to nonsubsidized families. The sponsor argues
that this is unnecessary because the rates is established by
the regional market rate established by the Legislature.
According to the CDE, this provision is necessary to verify
the amount being charged to non-subsidized families. Staff
recommends reinstating this provision.
4)Family fee. This bill authorizes an APP to develop a written
policy that directs parents to pay family fees directly to the
child care provider and exempts APs from the responsibility
for collecting fees. This provision reduces administrative
responsibilities for APs, but may put a burden and financial
risk on a provider to collect fees, as the bill authorizes the
AP contractor to deduct the family fee amount in the
reimbursement to a child care provider. It is also unclear
who will be responsible for conducting the administrative
functions currently required of APs, such as maintaining
records of payments and issuing a Notice of Action if a family
fails to pay a fee. According to the sponsor, many providers
have already assumed the responsibilities for collecting the
fees. Staff recommends adding an amendment to specify that an
AP may direct a parent to pay family fees directly to a
provider upon agreement by a child care provider to collect
the fee.
Arguments in support. According to the author, "The priority of
this bill is to provide maximum parental choice, access and
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stable child care for eligible working families up to 12 months.
Our working poor families dealing with a multitude of poverty
stressors, that are getting up, working and doing everything we
ask of them to move towards self-sufficiency, ought to have
peace of mind that their child care is stable. Additionally,
this bill aims to create greater efficiencies and maximize the
use of public funds to greater support working families."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
One individual
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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