Amended in Assembly June 1, 2016

Amended in Assembly May 27, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2150

Introduced by Assembly Members Santiago, Weber, and Gonzalez

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(Coauthor: Senator Hill)

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February 17, 2016

An act to amend Sections 8263, 8263.1, and 8273.1 of the Education Code, and to amend Section 11323.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to child care and development services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2150, as amended, Santiago. Subsidized child care and development services: eligibility periods.

Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer child care and development programs that offer a full range of services for eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age. Existing law requires the Superintendent to adopt rules and regulations on eligibility, enrollment, and priority of services needed to implement the act. The act, and regulations adopted pursuant to the act, set forth eligibility requirements for families to receive federal and state subsidized child development services and impose various time limits for receipt of services and recertification for continued services.

This bill would require that a family, upon establishing initial eligibility or ongoing eligibility for services under the act, be considered to meet all eligibility requirements for those services for not less than 12 months, receive those services for not less than 12 months before having their eligibility redetermined, and not be required to report changes to income or other changes for at least 12 months, except as provided. The bill would revise the definition of “income eligible” and provide that the definition applies for purposes of establishing initial income eligibility for services under the act, and would add a definition of “ongoing income eligible” for purposes of establishing ongoing income eligibility for services under the act. begin delete The end delete

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The bill would, except as provided, prohibit a payment made by a child development program for a child, during the period between a family’s most recent eligibility determination or redetermination and its next eligibility redetermination, from being considered an error or an improper payment due to a change in the family’s circumstances during that same period. The bill would, notwithstanding specified law, authorize the State Department of Education to implement this provision through management bulletins or similar letters of instruction until regulations are filed with the Secretary of State to implement the provision. The bill would require the department to initiate a rulemaking action to implement the provision on or before December 31, 2017. The bill would require the department, before initiating this rulemaking action, to convene a workgroup of parents, advocates, department staff, child development program representatives, and other stakeholders to develop recommendations regarding implementing the provision.

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begin insert The end insert bill would repeal certain provisions that impose time limits for services under the act and a provision that authorizes the Superintendent to grant an extension of services, as specified. The bill would make other conforming changes.

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 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, a local
educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths
designated pursuant to Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of Title 42 of
the United States Code, a Head Start program, or an emergency
or transitional shelter as (i) a recipient of protective services, (ii)
being neglected, abused, or exploited, or at risk of neglect, abuse,
or exploitation, or (iii) being homeless 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) 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.

(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 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. 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.

(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.

(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) (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) to (4), inclusive,
upon establishing initial eligibility or ongoing eligibility for
services under this chapter, a family shall be considered to meet
all eligibility requirements for those services for not less than 12
months, shall receive those services for not less than 12 months
before having their eligibility redetermined, and shall not be
required to report changes to income or other changes for at least
12 months.

(2) A family shall report increases in income that exceed the
threshold for ongoing income eligibility as described in subdivision
(b) of Section 8263.1, and the family’s ongoing eligibility for
services shall at that time be redetermined.

(3) A family that establishes initial eligibility or ongoing
eligibility on the basis of seeking employment shall receive services
under this chapter as follows:

(A) If seeking employment is the basis for initial eligibility, the
family shall receive services under this chapter for not less than
six months.

(B) If seeking employment is the only basis for ongoing
eligibility at the time of redetermination, the family shall receive
services under this chapter for six additional month unless the
family becomes eligible on another basis pursuant to paragraph
(2) of subdivision (a).

(4) A family may at any time voluntarily report income or other
changes. This information shall be used, as applicable, to reduce
a family’s fees, increase the family’s subsidy, or extend the period
of the family’s eligibility before redetermination.

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(i) (1)   Because a family that meets eligibility requirements at
its most recent eligibility determination or redetermination is
considered eligible until the next redetermination, as provided in
subdivision (h), a payment made by a child development program
for a child during this period shall not be considered an error or
an improper payment due to a change in the family’s circumstances
during that same period.

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(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the state or its designated
agent may seek to recover payments that are the result of fraud.

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(j) (1)   Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code) and Section 33308.5 of this code, until regulations are filed
with the Secretary of State to implement subdivision (h), the
department may implement this section through management
bulletins or similar letters of instruction.

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(2) The department shall initiate a rulemaking action to
implement subdivision (h) on or before December 31, 2017. Before
initiating a rulemaking action pursuant to this paragraph, the
department shall convene a workgroup of parents, advocates,
department staff, child development program representatives, and
other stakeholders to develop recommendations regarding
implementing subdivision (h).

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(i)

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begin insert (k) 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. 2.  

Section 8263.1 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

8263.1.  

(a) For purposes of establishing initial income
eligibility for services under this chapter, “income eligible” means
that a family’s adjusted monthly income is at or below 70 percent
of the state median income, based on the most recent data on state
median income published by the United States Census Bureau, for
a family of the same size.

(b) For purposes of establishing ongoing income eligibility
under this chapter, “ongoing income eligible” means that a family’s
adjusted monthly income is at or below 85 percent of the state
median income, based on the most recent data on state median
income published by the United States Census Bureau, for a family
of the same size.

(c) 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
and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12000) of Part 3 of
Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall not be
included as income for purposes of determining eligibility for child
care under this chapter.

SEC. 3.  

Section 8273.1 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

8273.1.  

(a) A family that receives services pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 8263 may be exempt
from family fees for up to 12 months.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a family receiving
CalWORKs cash aid shall not be charged a family fee.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law, commencing with the
2014-15 fiscal year, family fees shall not be assessed for the
part-day California preschool program to income eligible families
whose children are enrolled in that program pursuant to Article 7
(commencing with Section 8235).

SEC. 4.  

Section 11323.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
is amended to read:

11323.2.  

(a) Necessary supportive services shall be available
to every participant in order to participate in the program activity
to which he or she is assigned or to accept employment or the
participant shall have good cause for not participating under
subdivision (f) of Section 11320.3. As provided in the
welfare-to-work plan entered into between the county and
participant pursuant to this article, supportive services shall include
all of the following:

(1) Child care.

(A) Paid child care shall be available to every participant with
a dependent child in the assistance unit who needs paid child care
if the child is 10 years of age or under, or requires child care or
supervision due to a physical, mental, or developmental disability
or other similar condition as verified by the county welfare
department, or who is under court supervision.

(B) To the extent funds are available, paid child care shall be
available to a participant with a dependent child in the assistance
unit who needs paid child care if the child is 11 or 12 years of age.

(C) Necessary child care services shall be available to every
former recipient for up to two years, pursuant to Article 15.5
(commencing with Section 8350) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division
1 of Title 1 of the Education Code.

(D) A child in foster care receiving benefits under Title IV-E
of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 670 et seq.) or
a child who would become a dependent child except for the receipt
of federal Supplemental Security Income benefits pursuant to Title
XVI of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1381 et
seq.) shall be deemed to be a dependent child for the purposes of
this paragraph.

(E) The provision of care and payment rates under this paragraph
shall be governed by Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350)
of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education
Code. Parent fees shall be governed by Section 8263 of the
Education Code.

(2) Transportation costs, which shall be governed by regional
market rates as determined in accordance with regulations
established by the department.

(3) Ancillary expenses, which shall include the cost of books,
tools, clothing specifically required for the job, fees, and other
necessary costs.

(4) Personal counseling. A participant who has personal or
family problems that would affect the outcome of the
welfare-to-work plan entered into pursuant to this article shall, to
the extent available, receive necessary counseling or therapy to
help him or her and his or her family adjust to his or her job or
training assignment.

(b) If provided in a county plan, the county may continue to
provide case management and supportive services under this
section to former participants who become employed. The county
may provide these services for up to the first 12 months of
employment to the extent they are not available from other sources
and are needed for the individual to retain the employment.