BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1326
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1326 (Simitian)
As Amended September 8, 2003
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 29, 2003) |SENATE: |29-7 |(September 9, |
| | | | | |2003) |
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Original Committee Reference: HUM. S.
SUMMARY : Creates a San Mateo County (County) child care subsidy
pilot project utilizing child care funds allocated to the County
from state and federal sources into a single countywide child
care delivery system.
The Senate amendments :
1)Replace the specification of five funding sources with a
general inclusion of all sources used by direct service
contractors.
2)Delete the requirement that the California Department of
Education (SDE) seek a waiver if the plan conflicts with
federal law.
3)Require that the plan follow the current family fee schedule
established in state law for income-eligible families, but
allows different fees and copayments for families whose income
exceeds current eligibility levels.
4)Require that the California Department of Social Services
(DSS) have an opportunity to review and comment upon the
proposed outcomes before they are submitted to the local child
care planning council.
5)Require that the Legislative Analyst and Senate Office of
Research review the evaluation design and data to be used
before the plan is submitted to the local child care planning
council.
6)Prevent new enrollment in the pilot program after the plan
terminates on January 1, 2009.
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7)Provide that the County shall increase the number of days of
enrollment in the first year by least two% for all contracts
where the contractors receive an increase in their
reimbursement rate.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes several programs providing subsidized child care
and development services administered by the SDE, and requires
the Superintendent of Public Instruction to adopt rules and
regulations on eligibility, enrollment, family fees, provider
rates and priority of services.
2)Creates the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to
Kids (CalWORKs) program and provides child care services for
adult recipients participating in welfare-to-work activities
in three stages, guaranteeing care for participants receiving
CalWORKs and for two years after leaving assistance, and
offering care in Stage III to the extent funding is available.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Authorized the County to develop and implement a county child
care subsidy program using funding from identified sources:
general child care and development programs, state preschool
programs, CalWORKs Stages II and III, campus child care and
development and migrant child care.
2)Required the County to develop an individualized child care
subsidy plan, consisting of several elements, including:
a) An assessment to identify the County's goal for its
child care system and an analysis of whether the current
structure of subsidized funding is consistent with that
goal;
b) Development of a local policy to eliminate state-imposed
regulatory barriers to the County's desired outcomes for
subsidized child care, including:
i) Priority to families with the lowest incomes; and,
ii) Authority of the local policy to supersede state law
regarding eligibility criteria, fees, reimbursement rates
and methods of maximizing the efficient use of subsidy
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funds. The policy may not deny or reduce eligibility for
CalWORKs Stage II care and must treat CalWORKs Stage III
families as to eligibility and fees the same as other
families receiving subsidized care.
c) Establishment of measurable outcomes to evaluate the
success of the program in achieving the county's goals.
3)Required approval of the plan by the local child care planning
council, the County Board of Supervisors, and the Child
Development Division (CDD) of SDE. SDE may disapprove only
those portions of the plan not conforming to the law creating
the pilot project.
4)Required application for a waiver to the appropriate federal
agency if any provision of the plan conflicts with federal
law, and required CDD to compel the County to revise its plan
if a waiver is unobtainable.
5)Required annual reports to the Legislature by CDD and the
County summarizing the success of the pilot project, with a
final report submitted by December 31, 2008.
6)Terminated the pilot project by January 1, 2009, followed by a
two-year phase-out of the program.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate and Assembly
Appropriations committees, first year costs of approximately
$25,000 and ongoing General Fund costs in the range of $100,000
for implementation and oversight by SDE.
COMMENTS : This bill originates from child care advocates and
providers in San Mateo County. It is intended to address the
concern that, according to the author, the division of child
care funding into several different programs and departments
using "statewide standards of eligibility, priority and
reimbursement ? do not reflect significant local differences in
living costs, unemployment rates, and child care demand,
shortages and costs".
The author contends that "[s]tate subsidized child care policies
fail to address subsidized child care needs in 'high-cost'
counties like San Mateo where the cost of living and doing
business is well beyond the state median." The statewide
eligibility limit is 75% of the State Median Income (SMI), or
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$2,925 per month, which is only 43% of median income in San
Mateo County. As a result, proponents contend that "[m]any
families truly need subsidized care, but according to the SMI
requirements, earn too much . . . and are therefore ineligible".
Additionally, proponents assert that state reimbursement rates
for center-based child care providers "are insufficient to cover
a reasonable amount of the actual cost of care in high-cost
counties".
This bill leaves much of the detail of local policy to implement
the pilot project to the development of an "individualized
county child care subsidy plan." The plan is to consider an
array of factors affecting the need for and delivery of child
care, such as demographics, income levels, local costs of care,
and current state policies. The local policy must give first
priority to the lowest-income families. It preserves existing
contracts between child care providers and SDE, but allows
contract amendments.
The bill requires the County to demonstrate a two% increase in
the number of days of enrollment in the first year compared to
enrollment in the final quarter of 2002-03 for all contracts
where the reimbursement rate was increased.
This bill provides that the adopted local policy may superseded
state law concerning child care subsidy programs with regard to
eligibility criteria, fees, reimbursement rates and methods of
maximizing efficient use of subsidy funds. It retains the
existing family fee schedule for income-eligible families but
allows different sliding scale fees and copayments for families
with incomes above the current eligibility levels.
Additionally, the bill protects families receiving Stage II
CalWORKs care and requires equal treatment of Stage III families
as to eligibility and fees compared to other families receiving
subsidized care.
Opponents argue that this bill too closely mirrors the
realignment of child care proposed by the Governor in his
2003-04 Budget. They also argue that the project would take
child care programs outside the purview of SDE.
Analysis Prepared by : Casey McKeever / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
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