BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1099
AUTHOR: Correa
AMENDED: April 5, 2010
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 21, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : State child care funds: matching federal funds.
KEY POLICY ISSUE
Should state child care and development funds to be counted
as a match for federal child care dollars?
SUMMARY
This bill allows state child care funds to be counted as a
match for federal funds for subsidized child care for foster
children.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
Establishes eligibility criteria for subsidized child
care, including children who are recipients of
protective services or who have been or are at risk of
being abused, neglected or exploited.
Gives first priority for enrollment to neglected or
abused children who are recipients of child protective
services, or who are at risk of being neglected or
abused. (Education Code 8263)
The federal government provides funding to states:
For child welfare services, including services for
foster youth.
To partially cover the costs of subsidized child care
for low-income and neglected or abused children. The
federal Child Care and Development Block Grant includes
a maintenance of effort requirement.
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Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (42 USC 670) requires
states that accept federal funds to serve foster youth to
have a foster care state plan. California's state plan
allows counties to use federal matching funds to provide
subsidized child care to foster parents. Current law
requires counties to match the federal funds dollar for
dollar. (Welfare & Institutions Code 11410 & 15200.5)
ANALYSIS
This bill allows state child care and development funds to be
counted as a match for federal funds for subsidized child
care for foster children. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires the Department of Social Services to amend the
foster care state plan to allow state child care and
development funds as the non-federal match for Title
IV-E child care for children receiving protective
services, foster children, and children at risk of abuse
and neglect.
2) Prohibits the state funds from being used for any other
match for federal funds and clarifies that the source of
state child care funds are those administered by the
California Department of Education's (CDE) child
development division.
3) Requires the county to do all of the following if state
child care funds are to be used as the match for federal
funds:
a) Contract with a child care agency under
contract with CDE that is willing to participate.
b) Claim the full child care costs of federally
eligible Title IV-E children, at a rate that is
comparable with regional child care and development
costs.
c) Provide the full federal Title IV-E funding to
the local child care contractor, who must use these
funds as matching funds and enroll and serve
children identified by the county as children
receiving protective services, foster children, or
children at risk of abuse or neglect.
STAFF COMMENTS
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1) Need for the bill : According to the author, "30 percent
of the 80,000 children in foster care are five years of
age or younger, and an additional 15,000 are in the
primary grades. These young children and others who are
at risk of abuse or neglect are eligible to receive
child care and development services. Increasing the
federal funds that provide these services will increase
the number of California children who can be helped."
2) How would this work ? State and county child care funds
subsidize child care for low-income, foster, and other
at-risk children. County child care funds may be
counted toward a match of federal child care funds.
This bill would also allow state child care funds to
count toward the match. This bill does not shift funds;
the same state child care funds would continue to be
spent on a subsidized child care "slot" but could also
be counted toward the federal match if spent on a slot
for a child receiving child welfare services.
3) Draw more federal funds . This bill increases the pool
of funds (state, county, or a combination of both) that
may count toward the federal match. This
should attract additional federal funds, and should
therefore free up state child care funds.
4) Could we serve more children ? Any "freed up" state
child care funds must be spent on child care. The state
could use those funds to offset recent reductions to
child care funding, or serve additional slots and move
some families off of the waiting list.
5) Double-dipping ? This bill prohibits state funds from
being counted toward the federal match if those funds
are already being used as a match for other child care
funding. State child care funds are currently used to
meet the Maintenance of Effort for the federal Child
Care and Development Block Grant. State child care
funds appropriated above that required match, and used
to serve certain at-risk children, would be allowed to
count toward the match for federal child welfare funds.
SUPPORT
None received.
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OPPOSITION
None received.