California Assembly Bill AB2125 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2125AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ridley-Thomas FEBRUARY 20, 2014 An act to amend  Section   Sections  8265  , 8265.5, 8266, 8266.1, and 8357 of, and to repeal Section 8265.7  of  ,  the Education Code, relating to child care. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2125, as amended, Ridley-Thomas. Child care: standard reimbursement  rate: adjustment.   rates.  Existing law establishes a system of child care and development services for children from infancy to 13 years of age and provides certain requirements for the payment by the state for these child care and development services. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to implement a plan that establishes reasonable standards and assigned reimbursement rates, as provided, and requires the standard reimbursement rate to be $3,523 per unit of average daily enrollment for a 250-day year, increased by the cost-of-living adjustment granted by the Legislature.  Existing law requires the plan to require agencies having an assigned reimbursement rate above the current year standard reimbursement rate to reduce costs on an incremental basis to achieve the standard rate and requires the plan to   provide for adjusting reimbursements on a case-by-case basis, as provided.   This bill would add an authorization to adjust that standard reimbursement rate to provide adequate compensation for education and training.   This bill would delete these requirements relating to assigned reimbursement rates and reimbursement adjustments. The bill would delete references to the standard reimbursement rate and instead would require the reimbursement rate to reflect the actual current cost of care in each region per unit of average daily enrollment for a 250-day year. The bill would make conforming changes.   Existing law applies various adjustment factors to specified programs for which reimbursement rates are at or below the standard reimbursement rate, as provided.   This bill would delete the requirement that the adjustment factors apply to those specified programs.   Existing law authorizes programs above the standard reimbursement rate to be considered on a case-by-case basis for rate adjustments due to documented increases in insurance costs.   This bill would delete this provision.   Existing law requires the cost of child care services provided to CalWORKs recipients to be governed by regional market rates. Existing law requires regional market rate ceilings to be established at the 85th percentile of the 2005 regional market rate survey for that region.   This bill would instead establish the market rate ceiling at the 85th percentile of the current regional market rate survey for that region.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 8265 of the Education Code is amended to read: 8265. (a) The Superintendent shall implement a plan that establishes reasonable standards and assigned reimbursement rates,  through a single reimbursement system,  which vary with the length of the program year and the hours of service. (1) Parent fees shall be used to pay reasonable and necessary costs for providing additional services. (2) When establishing standards and assigned reimbursement rates, the Superintendent shall confer with applicant agencies. (3) The reimbursement system, including standards and rates, shall be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. (4) The Superintendent may establish any regulations he or she deems advisable concerning conditions of service and hours of enrollment for children in the programs. (b) The  standard  reimbursement rate shall  be three thousand five hundred twenty-three dollars ($3,523)   reflect the actual current cost of care in each region  per unit of average daily enrollment for a 250-day  year, increased by the cost-of-living adjustment granted by the Legislature beginning July 1, 1980, or as adjusted to provide adequate compensation for education and training.   year.   (c) The plan shall require agencies having an assigned reimbursement rate above the current year standard reimbursement rate to reduce costs on an incremental basis to achieve the standard reimbursement rate.   (d) (1) The plan shall provide for adjusting reimbursement on a case-by-case basis, in order to maintain service levels for agencies currently at a rate less than the standard reimbursement rate. Assigned reimbursement rates shall be increased only on the basis of one or more of the following:   (A) Loss of program resources from other sources.   (B) Need of an agency to pay the same child care rates as those prevailing in the local community.   (C) Increased costs directly attributable to new or different regulations.   (D) Documented increased costs necessary to maintain the prior year's level of service and ensure the continuation of threatened programs.   (2) Child care agencies funded at the lowest rates shall be given first priority for increases.   (e)   (c) The plan shall provide for expansion of child development programs at no more than the  standard  reimbursement rate for that fiscal year.  (f)   (d)  The Superintendent may reduce the percentage of reduction for a public agency that satisfies any of the following: (1) Serves more than 400 children. (2) Has in effect a collective bargaining agreement. (3) Has other extenuating circumstances that apply, as determined by the Superintendent.  SEC. 2.   Section 8265.5 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  8265.5. (a) In order to reflect the additional expense of serving children who meet any of the criteria outlined in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (b) the provider agency's reported child days of enrollment for these children shall be multiplied by the adjustment factors listed below. (b)  The   Pursuant to subdivision (a), the following  adjustment factors shall  apply to those programs for which assigned reimbursement rates are at or below the standard reimbursement rate. In addition, the adjustment factors shall apply to those programs for which assigned reimbursement rates are above the standard reimbursement rate, but the reimbursement rate, as adjusted, shall not exceed the adjusted standard reimbursement rate.   apply:  (1) For infants who are 0 to 18 months of age and are served in a child day care center, the adjustment factor shall be 1.7. (2) For toddlers who are 18 to 36 months of age and are served in a child day care center, the adjustment factor shall be 1.4. (3) For infants and toddlers who are 0 to 36 months of age and are served in a family child care home, the adjustment factor shall be 1.4. (4) For children with exceptional needs who are 0 to 21 years of age, the adjustment factor shall be 1.2. (5) For severely disabled children who are 0 to 21 years of age, the adjustment factor shall be 1.5. (6) For a child at risk of neglect, abuse, or exploitation who are 0 to 14 years of age, the adjustment factor shall be 1.1. (7) For limited-English-speaking and non-English-speaking children who are 2 years of age through kindergarten age, the adjustment factor shall be 1.1. (c) Use of the adjustment factors shall not increase the provider agency's total annual allocation. (d) Days of enrollment for children having more than one of the criteria outlined in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (b) shall not be reported under more than one of the above categories. (e) The difference between the reimbursement resulting from the use of the adjustment factors outlined in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (b) and the reimbursement that would otherwise be received by a provider in the absence of the adjustment factors shall be used for special and appropriate services for each child for whom an adjustment factor is claimed.  SEC. 3.   Section 8265.7 of the   Education Code   is repealed.   8265.7. Notwithstanding Section 8265, programs above the standard reimbursement rate may be considered on a case-by-case basis for rate adjustments due to documented increases in insurance costs.   SEC. 4.   Section 8266 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  8266.  (a)    Notwithstanding  the provisions of  Section 8265, the assigned reimbursement rate of a center-based child care agency  (a)   (1)  contracting with the  Department of Education, (b)   department, (2)  operating under licensing standards for child care and development facilities specified by Section 1500 et seq. of the Health and Safety Code and by Title 22 of the California  Administrative Code,   Code of Regulations,  and  (c)   (3)  with less than a majority of subsidized children enrolled in the facility, shall be equivalent to the fee paid for the same service by families of nonsubsidized children.  It   (b)     (1)     It  is not the intent of the Legislature to preclude an agency with a contract with the department from adjusting the fees charged to nonsubsidized children during the contract year.  In no event shall the assigned reimbursement rate exceed the standard reimbursement rate established pursuant to Section 8265.   These   (2)     These  agencies shall provide documentation to the department that subsidized children, as necessary and appropriate, shall receive supportive services through county welfare departments, resource and referral programs, or other existing community resources, or all of them.  SEC. 5.   Section 8266.1 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  8266.1. Commencing with the 1995-96 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, for the purposes of this chapter, reimbursement rates shall be adjusted by the following reimbursement factors for child care and development programs  with a standard reimbursement rate,  but shall not apply to the Resource and Referral Programs set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 8210), the Alternative Payment Programs set forth in Article 3 (commencing with Section 8220), the part-day California state preschool programs set forth in Article 7 (commencing with Section 8235),  the schoolage community child care services programs set forth in Article 22 (commencing with Section 8460),  or to the schoolage parent and infant development programs: (a) For child care and development providers serving children for less than four hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 55 percent of the  standard  reimbursement rate. (b) For child care and development program providers serving children for not less than four hours per day, and less than six and one-half hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 75 percent of the  standard  reimbursement rate. For providers operating under the At Risk Child Care Program set forth in Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) and serving children for not less than four hours per day, and less than seven hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 75 percent of the  standard  reimbursement rate. (c) For child care and development program providers serving children for not less than six and one-half hours per day, and less than 10 and one-half hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 100 percent of the  standard  reimbursement rate. For providers operating under the At Risk Child Care Program set forth in Article 15.5 (commencing with Section 8350) and serving children for not less than seven hours per day, and less than 10 hours per day, the reimbursement factor is 100 percent of the  standard  reimbursement rate. (d) For child care and development program providers serving children for 101/2 hours or more per day, the reimbursement factor is 118 percent of the  standard  reimbursement rate.  SEC. 6.   Section 8357 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  8357. (a) The cost of child care services provided under this article shall be governed by regional market rates. Recipients of child care services provided pursuant to this article shall be allowed to choose the child care services of licensed child care providers or child care providers who are, by law, not required to be licensed, and the cost of that child care shall be reimbursed by counties or agencies that contract with the State Department of Education if the cost is within the regional market rate. For purposes of this section, "regional market rate" means care costing no more than 1.5 market standard deviations above the mean cost of care for that region. The regional market rate ceilings shall be established at the 85th percentile of the  2005   current  regional market rate survey for that region. (b) Reimbursement to license-exempt child care providers shall not exceed 60 percent of the family child care home rate established pursuant to subdivision (a), effective July 1, 2011. (c) Reimbursement to child care providers shall not exceed the fee charged to private clients for the same service. (d) Reimbursement shall not be made for child care services when care is provided by parents, legal guardians, or members of the assistance unit. (e) A child care provider located on an Indian reservation or rancheria and exempted from state licensing requirements shall meet applicable tribal standards. (f) For purposes of this section, "reimbursement" means a direct payment to the provider of child care services, including license-exempt providers. If care is provided in the home of the recipient, payment may be made to the parent as the employer, and the parent shall be informed of his or her concomitant legal and financial reporting requirements. To allow time for the development of the administrative systems necessary to issue direct payments to providers, for a period not to exceed six months from the effective date of this article, a county or an alternative payment agency contracting with the State Department of Education may reimburse the cost of child care services through a direct payment to a recipient of aid rather than to the child care provider. (g) Counties and alternative payment programs shall not be bound by the rate limits described in subdivision (a) when there are, in the region, no more than two child care providers of the type needed by the recipient of child care services provided under this article. (h) Notwithstanding any other  provision of  law, reimbursements to child care providers based upon a daily rate  may   shall  only be authorized under either of the following circumstances: (1) A family has an unscheduled but documented need of six hours or more per occurrence, such as the parent's need to work on a regularly scheduled day off, that exceeds the certified need for child care. (2) A family has a documented need of six hours or more per day that exceeds no more than 14 days per month. In no event shall reimbursements to a provider based on the daily rate over one month's time exceed the provider's equivalent full-time monthly rate or applicable monthly ceiling. (3) This subdivision shall not limit providers from being reimbursed for services using a weekly or monthly rate, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 8222.