Assembly Bill 233 (Lopez) Supporting working families SUMMARY The priority of this bill is to provide maximum parental choice, access and stable child care for eligible working families for up to 12 months. Additionally, this bill aims to create greater efficiencies and maximize the use of public funds to greater support working families. BACKGROUND In 1976, Governor Brown’s office set forth a pilot program to expand the growth of child development programs in the state. The outcome of that pilot program was legislation in 19801 to create Alternative Payment (AP) child care programs in each of California’s 58 counties. The purposes of Alternative Payment Programs (APPs) were to allow innovative community based public and private agencies to develop nontraditional regional approaches that best supports the needs of working families with parental choice of access for children from birth on to a variety of early care and education settings. Today, California’s working families are supported by a network of 68 APPs. APPs contract with the California Department of Education to support working families and those on the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) programs with access to a variety of early care and education settings inclusive of high quality Title 5 centers, Family Child Care Home Education Networks (FCCHENs), family child care providers, and small business early care and education providers. In 2014/15 APPs are supporting over 213,000 children and 142,000 families. Integral to the success of working families attaining self-sufficiency, is reliable and stable child care that supports both the needs of a working parent and supports the immediate and longer term outcomes of their children. Families that are eligible for a child care subsidy struggle with a multitude of poverty stressors; 1 AB 3059 (Sieroty); Chapter 798, Statutes of 1980 CCDBG Reauthorization of 2014 3 On Friday, October 8, 2010 Governor Schwarzenegger, in his completion of the 2010/11 Budget, eliminated $256 million 2 stressors exacerbated by the uncertainty of being able to support familial necessities such as housing, food, health care and education. November 17, 2014, with bipartisan support, President Barack Obama signed S.1086, the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 20142 into law. As part of this law is language to establish a 12 month redetermination period. Since 2007, a number of changes have occurred that have resulted in eligible families losing their child care slots and subsequently loss of employment for many. In October 2010 alone, 24 separate MBs were issued in response to the October 20103 elimination of CalWORKs Stage 3. The California Department of Education (CDE) issues Management Bulletin (MB) directives that required agencies to notify, terminate, rescind terminations, track requirements of those notified, identify and hold open child care slots, create a child care slot lottery process, create lottery reporting, re-enrollment notification, and reporting of re-enrollments. Each action was required to be followed to the over 54,000 children and their families. The above scenario alone also created considerable stress for employers of parents who rely on a child care subsidy to help pay for the cost of care while working. Stories have been shared wherein parents chose not to take a five cent an hour increase or $40 per month increase because the increase could jeopardize their child care subsidy. RATES The Budget Act of 2006 [Chapter 47, Statutes of 2006, Item 6110-196-0001, Provision 2 (b)] provides for payment of child care costs up to the 85th percentile of the market rates charged by providers who offer the same type of child care for the same age child in that region. It applies to California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) and other child care programs administered by the California Department of Education (CDE). Previous in child care services for low income working families in CalWORKs Stage 3. RMRs were based on a statewide survey of over 14,000 child care providers. The resulting reimbursement ceilings were calculated at the county level, using county data or regional replacements in cases where there was insufficientcounty data. 2005 RMR Ceilings The Budget Act of 2003 required CDE and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), in consultation with the Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst’s Office, to develop a new survey methodology to be employed in future market rate surveys. CDE contracted with an outside entity to recommend a new survey methodology, develop a sampling plan, conduct the survey, and submit the resulting 2005 RMR ceilings to CDE for review. The survey developed was based on a methodology of groupings of zip codes that have similar socioeconomic characteristics (e.g., similar housing costs, population density, and employment rates). This methodology created one set of profiles for licensed family child care homes and another for licensed child care centers. As a result, there would be several ceilings per provider-type in a county, and the ceiling in any one zip code would have been the same as that in other zip codes with the same market conditions. CalWORKs CHILD CARE PROGRAM4 4 The availability of quality child care is essential to the success of CalWORKs. To ensure an adequate supply of child care resources to recipients and those transitioning off welfare to work, AB 1542 (1988) eliminated seven former welfare related childcare programs and consolidated them into the three-stage CalWORKs childcare programs. The purpose of this program is to help a family transition smoothly from the immediate, short-term child care needed as the parent starts work or work activities to the stable, long-term child care necessary for the family to leave and remain off aid. The CalWORKs Child Care Program is administered in three stages. Stage One is administered by the county welfare departments. Stages Two and Three are administered by Alternative Payment Program (APP) agencies under contract with the California Department of Education (CDE). CDSS http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/PG78.htm The three stages of CalWORKs child care are defined as follows: o Stage One begins with a family's entry into the CalWORKs program. Clients leave Stage One after six months or when their situation is stable, and when there is a slot available in Stage Two or Three. o Stage Two begins after six months or after a recipient's work or work activity has stabilized, or when the family is transitioning off of aid. Clients may continue to receive child care in Stage Two up to two years after they are no longer eligible for aid. o Stage Three begins when a funded space is available and when the client has acquired the 24 months of child care, after transitioning off of aid (for former CalWORKs recipients). WHAT THIS BILL DOES This bill does the following: 1. Provides maximum parental choice, access and stable child care for eligible working families for up to 12 months. 2. Deletes requirements that justify rates paid to providers when California has current RMR market rate survey that cites rates, ceilings, provider types and age of child(ren). 3. Eliminates the Alternative Payment Monitoring Unit (APMU) with focus to merge into existing Contract Monitoring Review (CMR). 4. Eliminates requirement that every contracting agency recompete for continued funding no less frequently and every 5 years. SPONSOR California Alternative Payment Program Association OPPOSITION None CONTACTS Kristi Lopez (916) 319.2039 [email protected]
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