BILL NUMBER: SB 94 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 12, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review
JANUARY 9, 2015
An act relating to the Budget Act of 2015.
An act to amend Sections 8208, 8212, 8236, 8240, 8263, and 8499.5
of, a nd to add Section 8201.5 to, the Education Code,
relating to child care and development, and making an appropriation
therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 94, as amended, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review.
Budget Act of 2015. Child care and development:
priority enrollment: underserved areas.
(1) The Child Care and Development Services Act requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer child care and
development programs that provide a full range of services for
eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age. Existing law
requires a child care resource and referral program, as defined, to
publicize its services through all available media sources, agencies,
and other appropriate methods.
This bill would require a child care resource and referral program
to include in the publicity a statement regarding the state's
special interest in enrolling children placed by a child welfare
agency with a relative or foster parent, children served by a child
welfare agency who have an open dependency or voluntary child
protective services case, and children who are dependents of a parent
with an open dependency court case, in programs that are operated by
licensed child care providers or local educational agencies.
(2) Existing law requires an applicant or contracting agency, as
defined, of a California state preschool program to give priority to
children who meet certain criteria, including children who are
recipients of child protective services.
This bill would require an applicant or contracting agency to also
give priority enrollment to children placed by a child welfare
agency with a relative or foster parent, children served by a child
welfare agency who have an open dependency or voluntary child
protective services case, and children who are dependents of a parent
with an open dependency court case.
This bill would require general child care and development
programs to include priority enrollment, when slots become available
in programs operated by licensed child care providers or local
educational agencies, for children from birth to 5 years of age who
are supervised by the child welfare system, have an open dependency
or voluntary child protective services court case, or are dependents
of a parent with an open dependency case.
This bill would revise eligibility requirements for federal and
state subsidized child development services administered by the
Superintendent to include children placed by a child welfare agency
with a relative or foster parent, children served by a child welfare
agency who have an open dependency or voluntary child protective
services court case, and children who are dependents of a parent with
an open dependency court case.
(3) Existing law requires a local planning council to annually
submit local priorities that reflect child care needs in the county
to the State Department of Education, and requires a local planning
council to conduct an assessment of the child care needs that
includes specified factors.
This bill would include among those factors the child care needs
of children placed by a child welfare agency with a relative or
foster parent, children served by a child welfare agency who have an
open dependency or voluntary child protective services court case,
and children who are dependents of a parent with an open dependency
court case.
(4) This bill would also express the Legislature's intent that the
highest priority for enrollment in child care and development
programs be given to children with the greatest need to benefit from
those programs.
(5) Existing law defines certain terms for purposes of the Child
Care and Development Services Act, including the term "underserved
area," to mean specified areas where the ratio of publicly subsidized
child care and development program services to the need for these
services is low, as determined by the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
This bill would revise the term "underserved area" to also include
the specified areas where the overall number of eligible children
without access to publicly subsidized child care and development
program services is high, as determined by the Superintendent.
(6) This bill would appropriate $1,000 to the State Department of
Education for purposes of the above provisions.
(7) To the extent that the funds appropriated by this bill are
allocated to a school district or a community college district, those
funds would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for
school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8
of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
(8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2015.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no yes
. Fiscal committee: no yes .
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8201.5 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
8201.5. In recognition of the importance of early brain
development and the lifelong personal, social, and economic impacts
of unmet early childhood needs, it is the intent of the Legislature
that the highest priority for enrollment in child care and
development programs be given to children with the greatest need to
benefit from those programs. This priority extends to all children
who have been or are at risk of being abused, neglected, or
exploited, including children placed by a child welfare agency with a
relative or foster parent, children served by a child welfare agency
who have an open dependency or voluntary child protective services
court case, and children who are dependents of a parent with an open
dependency court case. Those children shall have the right to
continuous enrollment in those programs even if the residence in
which they are placed changes, if continued enrollment is considered
to be in the best interest of the child.
SEC. 2. Section 8208 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
8208. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Alternative payments" includes payments that are made by one
child care agency to another agency or child care provider for the
provision of child care and development services, and payments that
are made by an agency to a parent for the parent's purchase of child
care and development services.
(b) "Alternative payment program" means a local government agency
or nonprofit organization that has contracted with the department
pursuant to Section 8220.1 to provide alternative payments and to
provide support services to parents and providers.
(c) "Applicant or contracting agency" means a school district,
community college district, college or university, county
superintendent of schools, county, city, public agency, private
nontax-exempt agency, private tax-exempt agency, or other entity that
is authorized to establish, maintain, or operate services pursuant
to this chapter. Private agencies and parent cooperatives, duly
licensed by law, shall receive the same consideration as any other
authorized entity with no loss of parental decisionmaking
prerogatives as consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
(d) "Assigned reimbursement rate" is that rate established by the
contract with the agency and is derived by dividing the total dollar
amount of the contract by the minimum child day of average daily
enrollment level of service required.
(e) "Attendance" means the number of children present at a child
care and development facility. "Attendance," for purposes of
reimbursement, includes excused absences by children because of
illness, quarantine, illness or quarantine of their parent, family
emergency, or to spend time with a parent or other relative as
required by a court of law or that is clearly in the best interest of
the child.
(f) "Capital outlay" means the amount paid for the renovation and
repair of child care and development facilities to comply with state
and local health and safety standards, and the amount paid for the
state purchase of relocatable child care and development facilities
for lease to qualifying contracting agencies.
(g) "Caregiver" means a person who provides direct care,
supervision, and guidance to children in a child care and development
facility.
(h) "Child care and development facility" means a residence or
building or part thereof in which child care and development services
are provided.
(i) "Child care and development programs" means those programs
that offer a full range of services for children from infancy to 13
years of age, for any part of a day, by a public or private agency,
in centers and family child care homes. These programs include, but
are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) General child care and development.
(2) Migrant child care and development.
(3) Child care provided by the California School Age Families
Education Program (Article 7.1 (commencing with Section 54740) of
Chapter 9 of Part 29 of Division 4 of Title 2).
(4) California state preschool program.
(5) Resource and referral.
(6) Child care and development services for children with
exceptional needs.
(7) Family child care home education network.
(8) Alternative payment.
(9) Schoolage community child care.
(j) "Child care and development services" means those services
designed to meet a wide variety of needs of children and their
families, while their parents or guardians are working, in training,
seeking employment, incapacitated, or in need of respite. These
services may include direct care and supervision, instructional
activities, resource and referral programs, and alternative payment
arrangements.
(k) "Children at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation" means
children who are so identified in a written referral from a legal,
medical, or social service agency, or emergency shelter.
(l) "Children with exceptional needs" means either of the
following:
(1) Infants and toddlers under three years of age who have been
determined to be eligible for early intervention services pursuant to
the California Early Intervention Services Act (Title 14 (commencing
with Section 95000) of the Government Code) and its implementing
regulations. These children include an infant or toddler with a
developmental delay or established risk condition, or who is at high
risk of having a substantial developmental disability, as
defined described in subdivision (a) of Section
95014 of the Government Code. These children shall have active
individualized family service plans, shall be receiving early
intervention services, and shall be children who require the special
attention of adults in a child care setting.
(2) Children 3 to 21 years of age, inclusive, who have been
determined to be eligible for special education and related services
by an individualized education program team according to the special
education requirements contained in Part 30 (commencing with Section
56000) of Division 4 of Title 2, and who meet eligibility criteria
described in Section 56026 and, Article 2.5 (commencing with Section
56333) of Chapter 4 of Part 30 of Division 4 of Title 2, and Sections
3030 and 3031 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations.
These children shall have an active individualized education program,
shall be receiving early intervention services or appropriate
special education and related services, and shall be children who
require the special attention of adults in a child care setting.
These children include children with intellectual disabilities,
hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language
impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious
emotional disturbance (also referred to as emotional disturbance),
orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health
impairments, or specific learning disabilities, who need special
education and related services consistent with Section 1401(3)(A) of
Title 20 of the United States Code.
(m) "Closedown costs" means reimbursements for all approved
activities associated with the closing of operations at the end of
each growing season for migrant child development programs only.
(n) "Cost" includes, but is not limited to, expenditures that are
related to the operation of child care and development programs.
"Cost" may include a reasonable amount for state and local
contributions to employee benefits, including approved retirement
programs, agency administration, and any other reasonable program
operational costs. "Cost" may also include amounts for licensable
facilities in the community served by the program, including lease
payments or depreciation, downpayments, and payments of principal and
interest on loans incurred to acquire, rehabilitate, or construct
licensable facilities, but these costs shall not exceed fair market
rents existing in the community in which the facility is located.
"Reasonable and necessary costs" are costs that, in nature and
amount, do not exceed what an ordinary prudent person would incur in
the conduct of a competitive business.
(o) "Elementary school," as contained in former Section 425 of
Title 20 of the United States Code (the National Defense Education
Act of 1958, Public Law 85-864, as amended), includes early childhood
education programs and all child development programs, for the
purpose of the cancellation provisions of loans to students in
institutions of higher learning.
(p) "Family child care home education network" means an entity
organized under law that contracts with the department pursuant to
Section 8245 to make payments to licensed family child care home
providers and to provide educational and support services to those
providers and to children and families eligible for state-subsidized
child care and development services. A family child care home
education network may also be referred to as a family child care home
system.
(q) "Health services" include, but are not limited to, all of the
following:
(1) Referral, whenever possible, to appropriate health care
providers able to provide continuity of medical care.
(2) Health screening and health treatment, including a full range
of immunization recorded on the appropriate state immunization form
to the extent provided by the Medi-Cal Act (Chapter 7 (commencing
with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code) and the Child Health and Disability Prevention
Program (Article 6 (commencing with Section 124025) of Chapter 3 of
Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code), but only to
the extent that ongoing care cannot be obtained utilizing community
resources.
(3) Health education and training for children, parents, staff,
and providers.
(4) Followup treatment through referral to appropriate health care
agencies or individual health care professionals.
(r) "Higher educational institutions" means the Regents of the
University of California, the Trustees of the California State
University, the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges, and the governing bodies of any accredited private
nonprofit institution of postsecondary education.
(s) "Intergenerational staff" means persons of various
generations.
(t) "Limited-English-speaking-proficient and
non-English-speaking-proficient children" means children who are
unable to benefit fully from an English-only child care and
development program as a result of either of the following:
(1) Having used a language other than English when they first
began to speak.
(2) Having a language other than English predominantly or
exclusively spoken at home.
(u) "Parent" means a biological parent, stepparent, adoptive
parent, foster parent, caretaker relative, or any other adult living
with a child who has responsibility for the care and welfare of the
child.
(v) "Program director" means a person who, pursuant to Sections
8244 and 8360.1, is qualified to serve as a program director.
(w) "Proprietary child care agency" means an organization or
facility providing child care, which is operated for profit.
(x) "Resource and referral programs" means programs that provide
information to parents, including referrals and coordination of
community resources for parents and public or private providers of
care. Services frequently include, but are not limited to: technical
assistance for providers, toy-lending libraries, equipment-lending
libraries, toy- and equipment-lending libraries, staff development
programs, health and nutrition education, and referrals to social
services.
(y) "Severely disabled children" are children with exceptional
needs from birth to 21 years of age, inclusive, who require intensive
instruction and training in programs serving pupils with the
following profound disabilities: autism, blindness, deafness, severe
orthopedic impairments, serious emotional disturbances, or severe
intellectual disabilities. "Severely disabled children" also include
those individuals who would have been eligible for enrollment in a
developmental center for handicapped pupils under Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 56800) of Part 30 of Division 4 of Title
2 as it 2, as that chapter read on
January 1, 1980.
(z) "Short-term respite child care" means child care service to
assist families whose children have been identified through written
referral from a legal, medical, or social service agency, or
emergency shelter as being neglected, abused, exploited, or homeless,
or at risk of being neglected, abused, exploited, or homeless. Child
care is provided for less than 24 hours per day in child care
centers, treatment centers for abusive parents, family child care
homes, or in the child's own home.
(aa) (1) "Site supervisor" means a person who, regardless of his
or her title, has operational program responsibility for a child care
and development program at a single site. A site supervisor shall
hold a permit issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing that
authorizes supervision of a child care and development program
operating in a single site. The Superintendent may waive the
requirements of this subdivision if the Superintendent determines
that the existence of compelling need is appropriately documented.
(2) For California state preschool programs, a site supervisor may
qualify under any of the provisions in this subdivision, or may
qualify by holding an administrative credential or an administrative
services credential. A person who meets the qualifications of a
program director under both Sections 8244 and 8360.1 is also
qualified under this subdivision.
(ab) "Standard reimbursement rate" means that rate established by
the Superintendent pursuant to Section 8265.
(ac) "Startup costs" means those expenses an agency incurs in the
process of opening a new or additional facility before the full
enrollment of children.
(ad) "California state preschool program" means part-day and
full-day educational programs for low-income or otherwise
disadvantaged three- and four-year-old children.
(ae) "Support services" means those services that, when combined
with child care and development services, help promote the healthy
physical, mental, social, and emotional growth of children. Support
services include, but are not limited to: protective services, parent
training, provider and staff training, transportation, parent and
child counseling, child development resource and referral services,
and child placement counseling.
(af) "Teacher" means a person with the appropriate permit issued
by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing who provides program
supervision and instruction that includes supervision of a number of
aides, volunteers, and groups of children.
(ag) "Underserved area" means a county or subcounty area,
including, but not limited to, school districts, census tracts, or
ZIP Code areas, where the ratio of publicly subsidized child care and
development program services to the need for these services is low
or where the overall number of eligible children without access
to publicly subsidized child care and development program services is
high , as determined by the Superintendent.
(ah) "Workday" means the time that the parent requires temporary
care for a child for any of the following reasons:
(1) To undertake training in preparation for a job.
(2) To undertake or retain a job.
(3) To undertake other activities that are essential to
maintaining or improving the social and economic function of the
family, are beneficial to the community, or are required because of
health problems in the family.
(ai) "Three-year-old children" means children who will have their
third birthday on or before the date specified of the fiscal year in
which they are enrolled in a California state preschool program, as
follows:
(1) November 1 of the 2012-13 fiscal year.
(2) October 1 of the 2013-14 fiscal year.
(3) September 1 of the 2014-15 fiscal year and each fiscal year
thereafter.
(aj) "Four-year-old children" means children who will have their
fourth birthday on or before the date specified of the fiscal year in
which they are enrolled in a California state preschool program, as
follows:
(1) November 1 of the 2012-13 fiscal year.
(2) October 1 of the 2013-14 fiscal year.
(3) September 1 of the 2014-15 fiscal year and each fiscal year
thereafter.
(ak) "Local educational agency" means a school district, a county
office of education, a community college district, or a school
district on behalf of one or more schools within the school district.
SEC. 3. Section 8212 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
8212. (a) For purposes of this article,
child care resource and referral programs,
programs established to serve a defined geographic
area, area shall provide the following services:
(a)
(1) (A) Identification of the
full range of existing child care services through information
provided by all relevant public and private agencies in the areas of
service, and the development of a resource file of those services
which that shall be maintained and
updated at least quarterly. These services shall include, but
are not be limited to, family day care
homes, public and private day care programs, full-time and part-time
programs, and infant, preschool, and extended care programs.
(B) The resource file shall include, but
is not be limited to, the following
information:
(1)
(i) Type of program.
(2)
(ii) Hours of service.
(3)
(iii) Ages of children served.
(4)
(iv) Fees and eligibility for services.
(5)
(v) Significant program information.
(b) (1)
(2) (A) Establishment of a
referral process which that responds to
parental need for information and which that
is provided with full recognition of the confidentiality
rights of parents. Resource and referral programs shall make
referrals to licensed child day care facilities. Referrals shall be
made to unlicensed care facilities only if there is no requirement
that the facility be licensed. The referral process shall afford
parents maximum access to all referral information. This access shall
include, but is not limited to, telephone referrals to be made
available for at least 30 hours per week as part of a full week of
operation. Every effort shall be made to reach all parents within the
defined geographic area, including, but not limited to, any of the
following:
(A)
(i) Toll-free telephone lines.
(B)
(ii) Office space convenient to parents and providers.
(C)
(iii) Referrals in languages which
that are spoken in the community.
(B) Each child care resource and referral
program shall publicize its services through all available media
sources, agencies, and other appropriate methods. The publicity
shall include a statement regarding the state's special interest in
enrolling the following children in programs that are operated by
licensed child care providers or local educational agencies: children
placed by a child welfare agency with a relative or foster parent,
children served by a child welfare agency who have an open dependency
or voluntary child protective services court case, and
children who are dependents of a parent with an open dependency court
case.
(2)
(3) (A) Provision of information to any person who
requests a child care referral of his or her right to view the
licensing information of a licensed child day care facility required
to be maintained at the facility pursuant to Section 1596.859 of the
Health and Safety Code and to access any public files pertaining to
the facility that are maintained by the State Department of Social
Services Community Care Licensing Division.
(B) A written or oral advisement in substantially the following
form will comply with the requirements of subparagraph (A):
"State law requires licensed child day care facilities to make
accessible to the public a copy of any licensing report pertaining to
the facility that documents a facility visit or a substantiated
complaint investigation. In addition, a more complete file regarding
a child care licensee may be available at an office of the State
Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. You
have the right to access any public information in these files."
(c)
(4) Maintenance of ongoing documentation of requests
for service tabulated through the internal referral process. The
following documentation of requests for service shall be maintained
by all child care resource and referral programs:
(1)
(A) Number of calls and contacts to the child care
information and referral program or component.
(2)
(B) Ages of children served.
(3)
(C) Time category of child care request for each child.
(4)
(D) Special time category, such as nights, weekends,
and swing shift.
(5)
(E) Reason that the child care is needed.
This information shall be maintained in a manner that is easily
accessible for dissemination purposes.
(d)
(5) Provision of technical assistance to existing and
potential providers of all types of child care services. This
assistance shall include, but not be limited to:
(1)
(A) Information on all aspects of initiating new child
care services including, but not limited to, licensing, zoning,
program and budget development, and assistance in finding this
information from other sources.
(2)
(B) Information and resources that help existing child
care services providers to maximize their ability to serve the
children and parents of their community.
(3)
(C) Dissemination of information on current public
issues affecting the local and state delivery of child care services.
(4)
(D) Facilitation of communication between existing
child care and child-related services providers in the community
served.
Services
(b) Services prescribed by this
section shall be provided in order to maximize parental choice in the
selection of child care to facilitate the maintenance and
development of child care services and resources.
(e)
(c) (1) A program operating pursuant to this article
shall, within two business days of receiving notice, remove a
licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary
suspension order, or that is on probation from the program's referral
list.
(2) A program operating pursuant to this article shall, within two
business days of receiving notice, notify all entities, operating a
program under Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220) and Article
15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) in the program's jurisdiction, of
a licensed child day care facility with a revocation or a temporary
suspension order, or that is on probation.
SEC. 4. Section 8236 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
8236. (a) (1) Each applicant or contracting agency funded
pursuant to Section 8235 shall give first priority to three- or
four-year-old neglected or abused children who are recipients of
child protective services, or who are at risk of being neglected,
abused, or exploited upon written referral from a legal, medical, or
social service agency. agency, including
children placed by a child welfare agency with a relative or foster
parent, children served by a child welfare agency who have an open
dependency or voluntary child protective services court case, or
children who are dependents of a parent with an open dependency court
case. If an agency is unable to enroll a child in this first
priority category, the agency shall refer the child's parent or
guardian to local resources and referral services so that services
for the child can be located. Priority enrollment shall be
granted when slots become available, but shall not be used to
displace children who are currently receiving care.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 8263, after children in the first
priority category set forth in paragraph (1) are enrolled, each
agency funded pursuant to Section 8235 shall give priority to
eligible four-year-old children who are not enrolled in a
state-funded transitional kindergarten program before enrolling
eligible three-year-old children. Each agency shall certify to the
Superintendent that enrollment priority is being given to eligible
four-year-old children.
(b) For California state preschool programs operating with funding
that was initially allocated in a prior fiscal year, at least
one-half of the children enrolled at a preschool site shall be
four-year-old children. Any exception to this requirement shall be
approved by the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall inform the
Department of Finance of any exceptions that have been granted and
the reasons for granting the exceptions.
(c) (1) (A) Commencing June 15, 2015, and notwithstanding any
other law, in awarding new funding for the expansion of a California
state preschool program that is appropriated by the Legislature for
that purpose in any fiscal year, the Superintendent, after taking
into account the geographic criteria established pursuant to Section
8279.3 and the data described in subparagraph (B), shall give
priority to applicant agencies that, in expending the expansion
funds, will provide the greatest progress toward achieving access to
full-day, full-year services for all income-eligible four-year-old
children.
(B) In awarding funding pursuant to subparagraph (A) and in order
to promote access for all income-eligible four-year-old children to
at least a part-day California state preschool program, the
department shall take into account the needs assessments submitted to
the department pursuant to Section 8499.5 and any other high-quality
data resources available to the department.
(2) Expansion funding awarded pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
apportioned at the rate described in Section 8265 and as determined
in the annual Budget Act.
(3) A family child care home education network shall be eligible
to apply for expansion funding awarded pursuant to paragraph (1).
(d) This section does not preclude a local educational agency from
subcontracting with an appropriate public or private agency to
operate a California state preschool
program and to apply for funds made available for
purposes of this section. If a school district chooses not to operate
or subcontract for a California state preschool program, the
Superintendent shall work with the county office of education and
other eligible agencies to explore possible opportunities in
contracting or alternative subcontracting to provide a California
state preschool program.
(e) This section does not prevent eligible children who are
receiving services from continuing to receive those services in
future years pursuant to this chapter.
SEC. 5. Section 8240 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
8240. (a) The Superintendent of
Public Instruction, Superintendent, with funds
appropriated for this purpose, shall administer general child care
and development programs.
General
(b) General child care and
development programs shall include:
(a)
(1) Age and developmentally appropriate activities for
children.
(b)
(2) Supervision.
(c)
(3) Parenting education and parent involvement.
(d)
(4) Social services that include, but are not limited
to, identification of child and family needs and referral to
appropriate agencies.
(e)
(5) Health services.
(f)
(6) Nutrition.
(g)
(7) Training and career ladder opportunities,
documentation of which shall be provided to the Department
of Education. department.
(8) Priority enrollment, when slots become available in programs
operated by licensed child care providers or local educational
agencies, for children from birth to five years of age who meet any
of the following criteria:
(A) Are supervised by the child welfare system.
(B) Have an open dependency or voluntary child protective services
court case.
(C) Are dependents of a parent with an open dependency court case.
SEC. 6. 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) is a current aid
recipient, (B) is income eligible, (C) is
homeless, or (D) one whose children are recipients of
has physical custody of a child who is a recipient of
protective services, or whose children have
a child who has been identified as being abused,
neglected, or exploited, or at risk of being abused, neglected, or
exploited. exploited, including a child
placed by a child welfare agency with a rel ative or
foster parent, a child served by a child welfare agency who has an
open dependency or voluntary child protective services court case, or
a child who is a dependent of a parent with an open dependency court
case.
(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
services, including a child placed by a child welfare
agency with a relative or foster parent, a child served by a child
welfare agency who has an open dependency or voluntary
child protective services court case, or a
child who is a dependent of a parent with an open dependency court
case, 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.
agency, including children placed by a child welfare agency with
a relative or foster parent, children served by a child welfare
agency who have an open dependency or voluntary child protective
services court case, or children who are dependents of a parent with
an open dependency court case. 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. Priority enrollment shall be granted when slots
become available, but shall not be used to displace children who are
currently receiving care.
(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 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, 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 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) 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 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 and areas with
disproportionately high numbers of seasonal agricultural jobs.
(e) 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.
(f) 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.
(g) 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.
(h) 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.
(i) 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. 7. Section 8499.5 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
8499.5. (a) The department shall allocate child care funding
pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 8200) based on the
amount of state and federal funding that is available.
(b) By May 30 of each year, upon approval by the county board of
supervisors and the county superintendent of schools, a local
planning council shall submit to the department the local priorities
it has identified that reflect all child care needs in the county. To
accomplish this, a local planning council shall do all of the
following:
(1) Conduct an assessment of child care needs in the county no
less frequently than once every five years. The department shall
define and prescribe data elements to be included in the needs
assessment and shall specify the format for the data reporting. The
needs assessment shall also include all factors deemed appropriate by
the local planning council in order to obtain an accurate picture of
the comprehensive child care needs in the county. The factors
include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(A) The needs of families eligible for subsidized child care.
(B) The needs of families not eligible for subsidized child care.
(C) The waiting lists for programs funded by the department and
the State Department of Social Services.
(D) The need for child care for children determined by the child
protective services agency to be neglected, abused, or exploited, or
at risk of being neglected, abused, or exploited.
exploited, including children placed by a child welfare agency
with a relative or foster parent, children served by a child welfare
agency who have an open dependency or voluntary child protective
services court case, or children who are dependents of a parent with
an open dependency court case.
(E) The number of children in families receiving public
assistance, including CalFresh benefits, housing support, and
Medi-Cal, and assistance from the Healthy Families Program and the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
(F) Family income among families with preschool or schoolage
children.
(G) The number of children in migrant agricultural families who
move from place to place for work or who are currently dependent for
their income on agricultural employment in accordance with
subdivision (a) of, and paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b) of,
Section 8231.
(H) The number of children who have been determined by a regional
center to require services pursuant to an individualized family
service plan, or by a local educational agency to require services
pursuant to an individualized education program or an individualized
family service plan.
(I) The number of children in the county by primary language
spoken pursuant to the department's language survey.
(J) Special needs based on geographic considerations, including
rural areas.
(K) The number of children needing child care services by age
cohort.
(2) Document information gathered during the needs assessment
which that shall include, but need not
be limited to, data on supply, demand, cost, and market rates for
each category of child care in the county.
(3) Encourage public input in the development of the priorities.
Opportunities for public input shall include at least one public
hearing during which members of the public can comment on the
proposed priorities.
(4) Prepare a comprehensive countywide child care plan designed to
mobilize public and private resources to address identified needs.
(5) Conduct a periodic review of child care programs funded by the
department and the State Department of Social Services to determine
if identified priorities are being met.
(6) Collaborate with subsidized and nonsubsidized child care
providers, county welfare departments, human service agencies,
regional centers, job training programs, employers, integrated child
and family service councils, local and state children and families
commissions, parent organizations, early start family resource
centers, family empowerment centers on disability, local child care
resource and referral programs, and other interested parties to
foster partnerships designed to meet local child care needs.
(7) Design a system to consolidate local child care waiting lists,
if a centralized eligibility list is not already in existence.
(8) Coordinate part-day programs, including state preschool and
Head Start, with other child care and development services to provide
full-day child care.
(9) Submit the results of the needs assessment and the local
priorities identified by the local planning council to the board of
supervisors and the county superintendent of schools for approval
before submitting them to the department.
(10) Identify at least one, but not more than two, members to
serve as part of the department team that reviews and scores
proposals for the provision of services funded through contracts with
the department. Local planning council representatives may
shall not review and score proposals from the
geographic area covered by their own local planning council. The
department shall notify each local planning council whenever this
opportunity is available.
(c) The department shall, in conjunction with the State Department
of Social Services and all appropriate statewide agencies and
associations, develop guidelines for use by local planning councils
to assist them in conducting needs assessments that are reliable and
accurate. The guidelines shall include acceptable sources of
demographic and child care data, and methodologies for assessing
child care supply and demand.
(d) Except as otherwise required by subdivision (c) of Section
8236, the department shall allocate funding within each county in
accordance with the priorities identified by the local planning
council of that county and submitted to the department pursuant to
this section, unless the priorities do not meet the requirements of
state or federal law.
SEC. 8. The sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000)
is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department
of Education for allocation for purposes of this act.
SEC. 9. This act is a bill providing for
appropriations related to the Budget Bill within the meaning of
subdivision (e) of Section 12 of Article IV of the California
Constitution, has been identified as related to the budget in the
Budget Bill, and shall take effect immediately.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2015.