Bill Text: NY A08342 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires social services districts to maintain a waiting list of certain families applying for child care assistance.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to children and families [A08342 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08342-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8342

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    December 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Children and Families

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring social
          services districts to maintain a  waiting  list  of  certain  families
          applying for child care assistance

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 410-z of the  social  services  law,  as  added  by
     2  section  52  of part B of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, is amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    § 410-z. Reporting requirements.  1.  Each  social  services  district
     5  shall  collect  and  submit  to  the [department] office of children and
     6  family services, in such form and at such times as    specified  by  the
     7  [department]  office  of  children  and  family  services, such data and
     8  information regarding child  care assistance provided  under  the  block
     9  grant  as  the  [department]  office of children and family services may
    10  need to comply with federal reporting requirements.
    11    2.  (a) Each social services district shall maintain a waiting list of
    12  eligible families who have applied for child care assistance pursuant to
    13  this title and who have not received such assistance. Such waiting  list
    14  shall contain information including, but not limited to:
    15    (i) the date the child care assistance was requested;
    16    (ii) the date the child care assistance was received;
    17    (iii) the age of the child or children the assistance was requested on
    18  behalf of; and
    19    (iv) the total number of families on such waiting list as of the first
    20  day of each month.
    21    (b)  Each  district shall issue a report to the office of children and
    22  family services by October  fifteenth,  two  thousand  twenty-four,  and
    23  annually thereafter detailing month-to-month information required pursu-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04177-01-3

        A. 8342                             2

     1  ant  to  this  subdivision  for  the  preceding  period of October first
     2  through September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
     3    (i) the average length of time for families on the waiting list;
     4    (ii)  the  number  of  families  on  the  waiting list for each of the
     5  following time periods:
     6    (A) less than two weeks,
     7    (B) two weeks to less than a month,
     8    (C) one month to less than three months,
     9    (D) three months to less than six months,
    10    (E) six months to less than a year, and
    11    (F) one year or more;
    12    (iii) the average age of children represented on the waiting list;
    13    (iv) the number of children represented on the waiting  list  eligible
    14  for each:
    15    (A) infant,
    16    (B) toddler,
    17    (C) pre-school, and
    18    (D) school-aged subsidized child care slots; and
    19    (v) the number of existing infant, toddler, pre-school and school-aged
    20  subsidized child care slots;
    21    (vi)  the  number  of families who would receive child care assistance
    22  except that they are waiting for available slots in a  particular  child
    23  care program; and
    24    (vii) other information as the district deems appropriate.
    25    (c)  For purposes of this subdivision, "eligible family" shall include
    26  all families with incomes at or below two hundred percent of the federal
    27  poverty level, as most recently reported by the  federal  department  of
    28  health  and human services, who are otherwise eligible, but who may have
    29  been denied assistance because the local social services  district  does
    30  not  have  enough  funds to serve all eligible families and has opted to
    31  apply its funds to lower income families as a priority population.
    32    3. (a) Each social services district shall collect data regarding  the
    33  income  of  families  who  applied for child care assistance pursuant to
    34  this title, specifying:
    35    (i) the number of families who were denied;
    36    (ii) the number of families who received such assistance; and
    37    (iii) a listing of the incomes  pursuant  to  paragraph  (b)  of  this
    38  subdivision of the families who applied for such assistance.
    39    (b)  Each  district shall issue a report to the office of children and
    40  family services by October  fifteenth,  two  thousand  twenty-four,  and
    41  annually  thereafter,  detailing  month-to-month  information  collected
    42  pursuant to this subdivision for the preceding period of  October  first
    43  through September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
    44    (i) the number of all families who applied for and received child care
    45  assistance pursuant to this title whose:
    46    (A)  incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
    47  level for their family size and were in receipt of cash  public  assist-
    48  ance;
    49    (B)  incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
    50  level for their family size and were  not  in  receipt  of  cash  public
    51  assistance;
    52    (C) incomes were between one hundred one percent and one hundred twen-
    53  ty-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
    54    (D)  incomes were between one hundred twenty-six and one hundred fifty
    55  percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;

        A. 8342                             3

     1    (E) incomes were between one hundred fifty-one percent and one hundred
     2  seventy-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
     3  and
     4    (F)  incomes  were  between  one  hundred  seventy-six and two hundred
     5  percent of the federal poverty level for their family size; and
     6    (ii) the number of all families who applied for and were denied  child
     7  care assistance pursuant to this title whose:
     8    (A)  incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
     9  level for their family size, and who were  in  receipt  of  cash  public
    10  assistance;
    11    (B)  incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
    12  level for their family size and who were not in receipt of  cash  public
    13  assistance;
    14    (C) incomes were between one hundred one percent and one hundred twen-
    15  ty-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
    16    (D)  incomes  were  between  one  hundred  twenty-six  percent and one
    17  hundred fifty percent of the federal  poverty  level  for  their  family
    18  size;
    19    (E) incomes were between one hundred fifty-one percent and one hundred
    20  seventy-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
    21  and
    22    (F)  incomes  were  between  one  hundred  seventy-six and two hundred
    23  percent of the federal poverty level for their family size; and
    24    (iii) any other information as  the  office  of  children  and  family
    25  services deems appropriate.
    26    4.  The  office  of  children  and  family services shall compile such
    27  reports pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision two, and paragraph  (b)
    28  of  subdivision  three  of  this  section, into one comprehensive report
    29  containing all required information on a county by  county  basis.  Such
    30  report  shall  be provided to the governor, the speaker of the assembly,
    31  the temporary president of the senate, the chairperson of  the  assembly
    32  committee  on  children  and  families,  the  chairperson  of the senate
    33  committee on children and families,  the  chairperson  of  the  assembly
    34  committee on social services, the chairperson of the senate committee on
    35  social  services, the chairperson of the assembly ways and means commit-
    36  tee and the chairperson of the senate finance committee  no  later  than
    37  December first, two thousand twenty-four, and annually thereafter.
    38    §  2.  Nothing  in this act shall be construed to require local social
    39  services districts to maintain waiting lists  for  dates  preceding  the
    40  effective date of this act, or to collect data pursuant to subdivision 3
    41  of  section 410-z of the social services law, as added by section one of
    42  this act, for persons who applied for subsidized child care prior to the
    43  effective date of this act.
    44    § 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2023.  Effective immediate-
    45  ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal  of  any  rule  or  regulation
    46  necessary  for  the implementation of this act on its effective date are
    47  authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
feedback