Bill Text: NJ A3569 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "New Jersey COVID-19 Working Families Childcare Access Act"; temporarily revises criteria to determine applicant income eligibility regarding child care subsidies.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Human Services Committee [A3569 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A3569-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AURA K. DUNN
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
"New Jersey COVID-19 Working Families Childcare Access Act"; temporarily revises criteria to determine applicant income eligibility regarding child care subsidies.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning income eligibility requirements for the subsidized child care assistance program.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New Jersey COVID-19 Working Families Childcare Access Act."
2. As used in this act, "child care services" means those services provided to eligible children for which the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services receives and administers State and federal funding to provide subsidy payments to licensed child care providers.
3. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary and commencing upon the effective date of this act and expiring 60 days following the termination of the Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency declared by the Governor in Executive Order 103 of 2020 concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services shall utilize the following tiers to determine an applicant's initial income eligibility and subsequent placement on the department's co-payment schedule regarding child care services:
(1) Tier A: annual gross family income, when adjusted for the family size, is at or below 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL);
(2) Tier B: annual gross family income, when adjusted for the family size, is between 251 percent and 275 percent of FPL; and
(3) Tier C: annual gross family income, when adjusted for the family size, is between 276 percent and 300 percent of FPL. An applicant shall be initially determined to be income ineligible for child care services if the applicant's annual gross family income, when adjusted for the family size, is above 300 percent of FPL.
b. An applicant who has been initially determined as eligible to receive subsidized child care services pursuant to subsection a. of this section, or a tier structure imposed by the division prior to the effective date of this act, shall remain income eligible and be allowed to continue to receive such services, under Tier D, until the annual gross family income, when adjusted for family size, exceeds 375 percent of FPL.
4. There are hereby appropriated such sums as necessary for the implementation of this act, as determined by the Commissioner of Human Services. The amounts appropriated shall be funded from assistance provided from the federal government for response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, to the extent not prohibited by federal law.
5. The Commissioner of Human Services shall apply for such State plan amendments or waivers as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this section and to continue to secure any available federal financial participation for the applicable child care programs.
6. This act shall take effect immediately and expire 60 days following the termination of the Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency declared by the Governor in Executive Order 103 of 2020 concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
STATEMENT
This bill temporarily revises the criteria to determine applicant income eligibility regarding child care services. In doing so, the bill allows more low-income families to qualify for childcare subsidies, from the bill's effective date until 6 months after the termination of the of the Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency declared by the Governor in Executive Order 103 of 2020 concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As defined under the bill, "child care services" means those services provided to eligible children for which the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services receives and administers State and federal funding to provide subsidy payments to licensed child care providers.
Financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have threatened the health and well-being of low-income families across the State. Parents reported coping with the pandemic's economic impacts by cutting back spending on food, reducing savings, and going into debt. Furthermore, low-income parents are less likely to be able to work from home and more likely to have difficulty arranging child care than higher-income parents.
Even absent the pandemic, according to the most recent ALICE Report by the United Ways of New Jersey, the average ALICE - Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed - Household Survival Budget in New Jersey was $88,224 for a family of four in 2018 -- significantly more than the Federal Poverty Level of $25,100 for a family of four. In the same year, 37 percent of New Jersey's 3,248,970 households still struggled to make ends meet, with 27 percent being ALICE households.
As such, the current criteria to determine applicant income eligibility for child care services does not reflect the needs of New Jersey's families, particularly with the added impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the sponsor's intent to temporarily adjust these standards to provide much needed support to this population through the remainder of the public health crisis.
Specifically, the bill directs the division to utilize the following tiers, which mirrors the current structure used by the division, to determine an applicant's initial income eligibility and subsequent placement on the department's co-payment schedule regarding child care services:
1) Tier A: annual gross family income, when adjusted for the family size, is at or below 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL);
2) Tier B: annual gross family income, when adjusted for the family size, is between 251 percent and 275 percent of FPL; and
3) Tier C: annual gross family income, when adjusted for the family size, is between 276 percent and 300 percent of FPL. An applicant is to be initially determined to be income ineligible for child care services if the applicant's annual gross family income, when adjusted for the family size, is above 300 percent of FPL.
Under the bill, a child who has been initially determined as eligible to receive subsidized child care services is to remain income eligible and be allowed to continue to receive such services, under Tier D, until the annual gross family income, when adjusted for family size, exceeds 375 percent of FPL.
In doing so, this bill increases the FPL thresholds for each existing Tier of income eligibility; thereby providing more low-income families with access to subsided child care. For example, a family of four would currently qualify for the subsidized child care program in Tier A, which offers the lowest co-payment amounts for families, with an annual gross income of $39,300 or less. Under the bill, this amount would increase to $65,500. Tier C, the highest tier for initial eligibility into the program, would increase from $52,500 to $78,600 for a family of four.
The bill also appropriates such amounts as are necessary for the implementation of the bill, as determined by the Commissioner of Human Services. The amounts appropriated are to be funded from assistance provided from the federal government to the extent not prohibited by federal law, such as those funds provided to the State via the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021."
