BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1673
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Date of Hearing: March 21, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 1673 (Mitchell) - As Introduced: February 14, 2012
SUBJECT : Child care: eligibility
SUMMARY : Specifies that a child deemed eligible for specified
child care and development programs is eligible for services for
12 months. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that notwithstanding any other law, subsequent to
certification of eligibility, a child shall be deemed eligible
for federal and state subsidized child care and development
services provided under the Child Care and Development
Services Act for a period of 12 months, unless the child no
longer resides in the state or the child is deceased.
2)Makes conforming changes specifying eligibility for services
for a period of 12 months in the provisions governing the
migrant child care and development program and the California
state preschool program (CSPP) for full-day and part-day
services.
3)Specifies that subsequent to enrollment, a child of a student
at a campus operating a child development program shall be
deemed eligible for child development program services for a
period of one academic year unless the child no longer resides
in the state, or the child is deceased.
4)Makes nonsubstantive, technical corrections.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes eligibility for child care services and child
development programs administered by the California Department
of Education (CDE) and requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to adopt rules and regulations on
eligibility, enrollment and priority of services needed for
implementation (Education Code (EC) Section 8263).
2)Provides that California Work Opportunity and Responsibility
to Kids (CalWORKs) recipients are eligible for three stages of
child care services. Stage one child care begins when a
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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:
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. (EC Section
8263.1)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background . Federal and state-funded child care
services are administered by both the Department of Social
Services (DSS) and the CDE. In fiscal year (FY) 2011-12, $2.017
billion was provided for child care and development programs
from state and federal funds, enrolling an estimated 345,000
children from birth through age 12. This is down from $2.669
billion initially provided in the FY 2010-11 budget (prior to
midyear trigger cuts) with almost 416,000 slots.
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Eligibility . State and federal subsidized child care is
provided through two ways: 1) eligibility for CalWORKs, or 2)
based on income and need for child care services. CalWORKs is a
temporary cash aid program for families with children. The
child care program is administered in three stages to help a
family transition from immediate, short-term child care needs to
stable, long-term child care as a family becomes stable and is
no longer reliant on CalWORKs aid. Subsidized child care
services are intended to assist recipients in engaging in work
or education/training required for receiving aid.
Non-CalWORKs families and former CalWORKs recipients can also
receive subsidized child care if they meet income eligibility of
70% of SMI ($46,896 for a family of four) or if they are
recipients of child protective services, and if they can show
need for child care services. EC Section 8263 defines "need"
for child care as any of the following: Parents are (a)
participating in vocational training leading directly to a
recognized trade, paraprofession or profession, (b) employed or
seeking employment, (c) seeking permanent housing for family
stability, or (d) incapacitated. According to the Legislative
Analyst's Office, over 90% of recipients receive care because
they are engaged in work, vocational training, or pursuing an
education. Approximately six percent of parents received child
care services because they are medically incapacitated, seeking
a job or seeking permanent housing. The remaining recipients
are children under the care of child protective services or are
at risk of abuse or neglect.
Eligibility certifications . Regulations under Title 5 of the
California Code of Regulations adopted by the CDE specify the
following timelines by which contractors of child care services
must recertify eligibility and need: six months for families
receiving services because of actual or risk of abuse, neglect
or exploitation; and 12 months for all other families. The
regulations limit services to 60 days for families needing child
care because a parent is seeking a job or seeking permanent
housing but allow the SPI to suspend the 60 days limit if
opportunities for employment have diminished to such a degree
that parents cannot be reasonably expected to find employment
within 60 days, and allow contractors to provide extensions for
no more than 20 days for a parent seeking permanent housing.
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Contractors are authorized to request a parent to provide
description of activities that have been undertaken to seek
employment or housing. Regulations also require contractors to
inform families of their responsibility to report any changes in
family income, family size or need for services within five
calendar days. Changes in income or need, or failure to report
changes, can lead to termination of services.
This bill extends eligibility for child care services to 12
months once initial eligibility is determined for all child care
and development programs administered by the CDE under the Child
Care and Development Services Act, unless the child no longer
resides in the state, or the child is deceased. This includes
the CSPP, General Child Care and Development programs,
Alternative Payment programs, Migrant Child Care and Development
programs, and Severely Handicapped program. The bill also
affects the Campus Child Care and Development program.
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 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 because the child is a recipient of protective services
or due to actual or risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation every
six months. This bill's proposal, which will result in no
reporting requirements unless the child moves out of state or is
deceased, is similar to policies in Delaware, where families are
eligible for 12 months of assistance unless the child moves or
is removed from the parent/caretaker's home, the child is
deceased, or the parent/caretaker does not cooperate with child
support requirements.
Benefits of 12-month eligibility policy . The author states,
"Presently, we certify once yearly, but have overly cumbersome
reporting rules for minor changes. Parents receiving child care
subsidies are required to report a long list of small changes
within 5 days. If they fail to report they can be terminated."
The author argues that adopting a12-month subsidy eligibility
can promote sustained access to subsidies and continuous care
arrangements for children, while also benefiting child care
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providers and agencies through simplified administration of
subsidies.
According to the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), an
advocacy organization for low-income families, stability in
child care arrangements promotes secure and trusting
relationships between children and their caregivers, which is
important for the healthy development of children. CLASP states
that federal regulations provide states with flexibility in
designing child care programs using federal Child Care and
Development Funds (CCDF). CLASP argues that adoption of a
12-month eligibility policy with no or limited reporting
requirements benefits families attempting to stabilize their
home life and will reduce administrative costs.
A September 2011 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
administrative guidance to states on policies and practices that
promote continuity of child care services indicates that half of
the states receiving federal funds utilize a 6-month eligibility
period while the other half utilize a 12-month period. The
guidance suggests that increasing the amount of time between
eligibility reviews to 12 months will limit burden on families.
Concerns with 12-month eligibility . It can be argued that while
it would be beneficial for families that are eligible for and
receive services multi-year, eliminating the requirement for
families to report any changes for 12 months may result in some
families receiving more services than what they are eligible
for. There are an estimated 200,000 children waiting for
services, providing a family that no longer meets eligibility
(e.g., a family's income increases beyond the 70% SMI) with
services prevents other families from receiving needed care.
The CDE does not have data on the number of families that report
changes annually or the number of families that lose services
prior to the 12-month recertification. It is difficult to
assess the true impact of this proposal without this
information.
Issues to consider . California receives $533 million in federal
CCDF and it is unclear whether there are federal rules that
limit a 12-month continuous eligibility. The author may wish to
work with the CDE to investigate any possible limitations. The
Committee may wish to consider whether all categories of "need"
warrant 12 months of benefits. For example, as raised
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previously in the analysis, families seeking employment or
permanent housing are limited to 60 days of benefits.
Committee amendment . Staff recommends an amendment to clarify
that the 12-month eligibility does not include CalWORKs stage 1
child care, which is administered by the DSS instead of CDE and
is intended to be short term.
Governor's FY 2012-13 budget proposal . The Governor's proposed
FY 2012-13 budget contains substantial reductions to child care
and development programs and proposes major restructuring of how
child care and development programs are administered and
delivered. If adopted, the budget would reduce child care
funding by $391 million, resulting in 63,000 fewer slots, with
an additional $58 million reduction in the CSPP, resulting in a
loss of approximately 7,300 slots. The budget proposes to
reduce provider payments, lower the income eligibility from 70%
of SMI to 200% of federal poverty level, equivalent to 62% of
the SMI, and over two years, consolidate child care programs
into one fund and transfer administration of almost all programs
from the CDE to the DSS for allocation to and administration by
county welfare departments. This bill is moot if the Governor's
proposals are adopted.
Arguments in Support . The County Welfare Directors Association
(CWDA) and the California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
support the bill and believe that the bill will streamline
eligibility and provide stable and consistent child care
services. CWDA and CSAC also state that the bill is consistent
with federal guidelines and will reduce administrative burdens,
similar to the experiences in Michigan, which adopted a 12-month
redetermination period in response to staff shortages.
Related legislation . AB 2104 (Gordon), pending in this
Committee, restructures provisions in the Child Care and
Development Services Act.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Advancement Project
California State Association of Counties
Child Action, Inc.
Child Care Law Center
AB 1673
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Child Care Links
Children Now
Contra Costa Child Care Council
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Parent Voices
Parent Voices Butte County
Parent Voices Contra Costa County
Parent Voices Hayward
Pathways
San Francisco Child Care Planning and Advisory Council
Solano Family & Children's Services
Sierra Nevada Children's Services
The Resource Connection
Valley Oak Children's Services
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087