Bill Text: CA SB1359 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Child care services: CalWORKs: Stage 2.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-03 - April 11 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. [SB1359 Detail]
Download: California-2017-SB1359-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION
| Senate Bill | No. 1359 |
| Introduced by Senator McGuire |
February 16, 2018 |
An act to amend Section 8353 of the Education Code, relating to child care.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1359, as introduced, McGuire.
Child care services: CalWORKs: Stage 2.
The Child Care and Development Services Act has a purpose to provide a comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective system of child care and development services for children from infancy to 13 years of age and their parents, including a full range of supervision, health, and support services through full- and part-time programs. The act provides that it is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that recipients and former recipients of CalWORKs are connected as soon as possible to local child care resources, make stable child care arrangements, and continue to receive subsidized child care services after they no longer receive aid as long as they require those services and meet eligibility requirements.
The act establishes 3 stages of child care services through which a recipient of CalWORKs will pass. The act provides that the 2nd stage of
child care begins when a county determines that a recipient’s work or approved work activity is stable or when a recipient is transitioning off of aid and child care is available through a local stage 2 program. The act authorizes 2nd stage child care to be provided to a family who elects to receive a lump-sum diversion payment or diversion services, as provided, when a funded space is not immediately available for the family in 3rd stage.
This bill would instead authorize 2nd stage child care to be provided to a family who elects to receive a lump-sum diversion payment or diversion services, as provided.
The act requires the local stage 2 agency to assist moving families to stage 3 as quickly as feasible.
This bill would delete this provision.
The act provides that former CalWORKs recipients are eligible to receive child care services in
stage one and 2 for up to a total of no more than 24 months after they leave cash aid or until they are otherwise ineligible within that 24-month period.
This bill would instead provide that former CalWORKs recipients are eligible to receive child care services in stage one and 2 until they are otherwise income ineligible.
The act requires a family leaving cash aid under CalWORKs to receive up to 2 years of child care, if otherwise eligible, as provided.
This bill would instead require a family leaving cash aid under CalWORKs to receive child care, if otherwise eligible, as provided. The bill would provide that a family remains income eligible when the family’s adjusted monthly income is at or below 85% of the state median income, adjusted for family size.
The act requires the 2nd stage of child care to be administered by agencies
contracting with the State Department of Education, as provided.
This bill would delete these provisions. The bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature that families that are former recipients of aid, or are transitioning off aid, receive their child care assistance in the same fashion as other low-income working families and that it is the intent of the Legislature that families no longer rely on county welfare departments to obtain child care subsidies beyond the time they are receiving other services from the county welfare department. The bill would prohibit a county welfare department from administering stage 2 child care for CalWORKs recipients except to the extent to which it delivered those services to families receiving, or within one year of having received, Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits before to January 1, 2019.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 8353 of the Education Code is amended to read:8353.
(a) The second stage of child care begins when the county determines that the recipient’s work or approved work activity is stable or when a recipient is transitioning off of aid and child care is available through a local stage two program. Second stage child care may be provided to a family who elects to receive a lump-sum diversion payment or diversion services under Section 11266.5 of the Welfare and Institutions(b)The second stage shall be administered by agencies contracting with the State Department of Education. These contractors may be either agencies that have an alternative payment contract pursuant to Section 8220.1 or county welfare departments that choose to administer this stage in order to continue to provide child care services for recipients or former recipients of aid. If the county chooses to contract with the department to provide alternative payment services, this contract shall not displace, or result in the reduction of an existing contract of, a current alternative payment program.
(b) In order to move welfare recipients and former recipients from their relationship with county welfare departments to relationships with institutions providing services to working families, it is the intent of the Legislature that families that are former recipients of aid, or are transitioning off aid, receive their child care assistance in the same fashion as other low-income working families. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that families no longer rely on county welfare departments to obtain child care subsidies beyond the time they are receiving other services from the county welfare department.
(c) A county welfare department shall not administer stage two of child care for CalWORKs recipients except to the extent to which it delivered those services to families receiving, or within one year of having received, Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits
before to January 1, 2019.
(d) This section does not preclude county welfare departments from operating an alternative payment program under contract with the department to serve families referred by child protective services.
