BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2150
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|Author: |Santiago |
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|Version: |June 1, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: June 22, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: | Yes |
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|Consultant:|Olgalilia Ramirez |
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Subject: Subsidized child care and development services:
eligibility periods
SUMMARY
This bill provides for changes to eligibility determination and
redetermination for subsidized child care for purposes of
promoting continuity of service for no less than 12 months,
except as specified.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1) Establishes the Child Care and Development Services Act
to provide child care and development services as part of a
coordinated, comprehensive, and cost-effective system
serving children from birth to 13 years old and their
parents, and including a full range of supervision, health,
and support services through full- and part-time programs.
(Education Code § 8200, et seq.)
2) Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
adopt rules and regulations on eligibility, enrollment, and
priority of services. Specifies that children are eligible
for child care and development services if the family
currently receives aid, meets specified income eligibility
requirements, is homeless, or if the child is the recipient
of protective services, or has been identified as
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neglected, abused or exploited (or at risk of such). (EC §
8263)
3) Defines income eligibility to mean that a family's
adjusted monthly income is at or below 70 percent of the
state median income, adjusted for family size, and adjusted
annually. For the 2015-16 fiscal year, the income
eligibility limits are set at 70 percent of the state
median income (SMI) that was in use for the 2007-08 fiscal
year, adjusted for family size. (EC § 8263.1(a) and §
8263.1(e))
4) Requires that families whose incomes exceed 70 percent
of SMI be disenrolled from subsidized child care services
in a specified order.
(EC § 8263.2 and § 8263.3)
5) Requires families to notify their child care contractor
within five calendar days of any changes in family income,
family size or the need for services.
(California Code of Regulations, Title 5, § 18102, § 18410
and § 18425)
6) Permits 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, to
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, as specified. (EC §
8263(c))
7) Establishes, through federal law, the Child Care and
Developmental Block Grant (CCDBG), reauthorized in 2014
with the following purposes:
a) To allow each state maximum flexibility in
developing child care programs and policies that best
suit the needs of children and parents within that
state;
b) To promote parental choice to empower working
parents to make their own decisions regarding the
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child care services that best suit their family's
needs;
c) To encourage states to provide consumer
education information to help parents make informed
choices about child care services and to promote
involvement by parents and family members in the
development of their children in child care settings;
d) To assist states in delivering high-quality,
coordinated early childhood care and education
services to maximize parents' options and support
parents trying to achieve independence from public
assistance;
e) To assist states in improving the overall
quality of child care services and programs by
implementing the health, safety, licensing, training,
and oversight standards;
f) To improve child care and development of
participating children; and
g) To increase the number and percentage of
low-income children in high-quality child care
settings." (USC Title 42, § 9801 and § 658A)
2) Requires, through federal law (CCDBG), that state plans
demonstrate that each child who receives assistance will be
considered to meet all eligibility requirements and will
receive assistance for not less than 12 months before the
state or designated local entity re-determines the
eligibility of the child, regardless of a temporary change
in the ongoing status of the child's parent as working or
attending a job training or educational program, or a
change in family income for the child's family, if that
family income does not exceed 85 percent of the state
median income for a family of the same size.
(USC, Title 42, § 9801 and § 658E(c)(2)(N)(i))
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ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Requires a family, upon establishing initial or ongoing
eligibility for subsidized child care services, to:
a) Be considered to meet all eligibility
requirements for a period of not less than 12 months,
unless the family established eligibility on the basis
of seeking employment, as specified;
b) Receive subsidized child care services for not
less than 12 months prior to having their eligibility
redetermined, unless the family established
eligibility on the basis of seeking employment or
exceeds the threshold for ongoing eligibility, as
specified; and
c) Not be required to report changes to income or
other changes for at least 12 months, unless the
family established eligibility on the basis of seeking
employment or exceeds the threshold for ongoing
eligibility, as specified, as specified.
1) Requires a family establishing eligibility solely on the
basis of seeking employment to receive services for not
less than six months and at the time of redetermination
receive services for six additional months unless the
family exceeds the threshold for ongoing eligibility.
2) Requires a family to report increases in income that exceed
the threshold for ongoing income eligibility, as specified,
and further requires the family's ongoing eligibility to be
redetermined at that time.
3) Specifies that a family may at any time voluntarily report
income or other changes for the purpose of reducing
family's fees, increasing the family's subsidy, or
extending the period of the family's eligibility before
redetermination.
4) Prohibits a payment made by a child development program for
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a child during the 12 month period, as specified from being
considered an error or an improper payment due to a change
in the family's circumstances during that same period.
5) Modifies the definition of "income eligible" to mean that a
family's adjusted gross income is at or below 70 percent of
the state median income (SMI) based on the most recent data
on SMI published by the United States Census Bureau, for a
family of the same size and provides that this definition
applies for purposes of establishing initial for services.
6) Defines "ongoing income eligibility," for purposes of
establishing ongoing income eligibility for services to
mean that a family's adjusted monthly income is at or below
85 percent of the SMI based on the most recent data on
state median income published by the United States Census
Bureau, for a family of the same size.
7) Authorizes, the California Department of Education (CDE) to
implement the bill's provisions through management
bulletins or similar letters of instruction until
regulations are filed with the Secretary of State.
8) Requires CDE to initiate a rulemaking action to implement
the provisions on or before December 31, 2017, as
specified.
9) Makes technical amendments, including removing provisions
that specify or refer to eligibility determination periods
that conflict with the provisions contained in this bill.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. In 2014, the federal Child Care
Development Block Grant Act of 2014 (CCDBG) was enacted.
The new law requires states to immediately implement a
number of policies to promote stable child care assistance.
According to the author, "in California, burdensome
reporting rules cause eligible families to churn between
child care programs and long waiting lists for the
programs. Churning disrupts children's school readiness and
development; makes it impossible for child care providers
to balance ledgers or plan for quality investments; and
burdens employers and education providers to sign off on
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endless paperwork. This bill seeks to provide stability to
families and ensure that California is in compliance with
the federal CCDBG Act which specifies the minimum period of
eligibility to be a 12-month period for each child who
receives assistance.
2) Child Care Eligibility. Under current law, children are
eligible for subsidized child care if the family currently
receives aid, meets specified income eligibility
requirements, is homeless, or if the child is the recipient
of protective services, or has been identified as
neglected, abused or exploited (or at risk of such). To be
income eligible for subsidized child care and services the
state requires a family's adjusted monthly income to be at
or below 70 percent of the state median income about
$42,000 per year for a family of three. Families are
required to report changes in circumstances including
changes in income and employment status throughout their
child's enrollment that could disqualify a child from the
program. Concern about families whose wages fluctuate or
who receive incremental increases that bump them above the
eligibility threshold have been persistent both in
California and nationwide. The effect of frequent changes
in child care arrangements on children and their
development has also raised concerns.
3) Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). The
federal Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990
was reauthorized in 2014. This reauthorization brought
about a number of changes aimed at addressing health and
safety requirements, quality of care, and consumer and
provider education. Among the changes adopted, the
reauthorization establishes a 12-month eligibility
redetermination period for families, regardless of changes
in income (provided income does not exceed 85% of State
median income), or temporary changes in participation in
work, training, or education activities. According to
California Department of Education, the provision of
12-month eligibility is one of the requirements where
California is not yet in compliance. The provisions in this
bill would ensure that California meets that requirement.
4) Related legislation.
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SB 567 (Liu, 2015) would have required a child who is enrolled
in a state or federally funded child care program to be deemed
eligible for that program for the remainder of the program year.
AB 567 died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 233 (Lopez, 2015) would have required 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. The bill
additionally would make substantial changes to the process used
by alternative payment providers in establishing and tracking
rates. AB 233 died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 1123 (Liu, 2014) would have permitted providers to have
choices that enable greater funding flexibility and allow
services to be tailored to fit community needs including the
remainder of program year eligibility. SB 1123 died in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 192 (Liu, 2014) would have recast existing child care and
development statute as the Early Learning and Educational
Support Act, and would require the Superintendent to develop
standards for the implementation of high-quality early learning
and educational support programs based on certain indicia of
quality, as defined. SB 192 died in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
SUPPORT
Advancement Project
Advancement Project
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
Alameda County Early Care and Education Planning Council
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
Butte County Child Abuse Prevention Council
California Alternative Payment Program Association
California Association for the Education of Young Children
California Child Care Resource & Referral Network
California Child Development Administrators Association
California Community College CalWORKS Association
California Work and Family Coalition
Center for Community Change Action
Center for Law and Social Policy
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Central Valley Children's Network
Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles
Child Care Law Center
Child Care Resource Center
Children Now
Children's Council of San Francisco
Choices for Children
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County
Crystal Stairs, Inc.,
Early Edge California
Equal Rights Advocates
First 5 California
First 5 LA
Frist 5 Association of California
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Marin Child Care Council
Marin County Child Care Commission
Marin Family Child Care Association
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of Working Women
National Council of Jewish Women
Our Family Coalition
Parent Voices
Professional Association for Childhood Education
San Francisco Office of Early Care and Education
Services Employees International Union (SEIU)
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson
Supervisor Katy Tang, City and County of San Francisco
The Stronger California Advocates Network
UDW/AFSCME Local 3930
United Way of San Diego County
W. Haywood Burns Institute
Women's Foundation of California
OPPOSITION
None received.
-- END --
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