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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6576
January Session, 2023
AN ACT STRENGTHENING SUPPORT FOR GRANDPARENTS AND
OTHER NONPARENT RELATIVES RAISING CHILDREN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 17b-112 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 2
1, 2023): 3
(a) (1) The Department of Social Services shall administer a 4
temporary family assistance program under which cash assistance 5
shall be provided to eligible families in accordance with the temporary 6
assistance for needy families program, established pursuant to the 7
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 8
1996. The Commissioner of Social Services may operate portions of the 9
temporary family assistance program as a solely state-funded 10
program, separate from the federal temporary assistance for needy 11
families program, if the commissioner determines that doing so will 12
enable the state to avoid fiscal penalties under the temporary 13
assistance for needy families program. Families receiving assistance 14
under the solely state-funded portion of the temporary family 15
assistance program shall be subject to the same conditions of eligibility 16
as those receiving assistance under the federal temporary assistance for 17
needy families program. Under the temporary family assistance 18
program, benefits shall be provided to a family for not longer than 19
twenty-one months, except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of 20 Substitute Bill No. 6576
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this section. For the purpose of calculating said twenty-one-month 21
time limit, months of assistance received on and after January 1, 1996, 22
pursuant to time limits under the aid to families with dependent 23
children program, shall be included. For purposes of this section, 24
"family" means one or more individuals who apply for or receive 25
assistance together under the temporary family assistance program. If 26
the commissioner determines that federal law allows individuals not 27
otherwise in an eligible covered group for the temporary family 28
assistance program to become covered, such family may also, at the 29
discretion of the commissioner, be composed of [(1)] (A) a pregnant 30
woman, or [(2)] (B) a parent, both parents or other caretaker relative 31
and at least one child who is under the age of eighteen, or who is 32
under the age of nineteen and a full-time student in a secondary school 33
or its equivalent. A caretaker relative shall be related to the child or 34
children by blood, marriage or adoption or shall be the legal guardian 35
of such a child or pursuing legal proceedings necessary to achieve 36
guardianship. If the commissioner elects to allow state eligibility 37
consistent with any change in federal law, the commissioner may 38
administratively transfer any qualifying family cases under the cash 39
assistance portion of the state-administered general assistance 40
program to the temporary family assistance program without regard 41
to usual eligibility and enrollment procedures. If such families become 42
an ineligible coverage group under the federal law, the commissioner 43
shall administratively transfer such families back to the cash assistance 44
portion of the state-administered general assistance program without 45
regard to usual eligibility and enrollment procedures to the degree that 46
such families are eligible for the state program. 47
(2) To the extent permissible under federal law, the payment 48
standard for a family that receives benefits under the temporary family 49
assistance program, and in which the head of the household is a 50
nonparent caretaker relative and the legal guardian of a child, shall be 51
equal to the prevailing monthly foster care rate per child, based on the 52
child's age and medical condition, paid by the Department of Children 53
and Families. 54 Substitute Bill No. 6576
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Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 10-4o of the general statutes is 55
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 56
October 1, 2023): 57
(a) The Department of Education, in conjunction with the 58
Department of Social Services, shall coordinate a family resource 59
center program to provide comprehensive child care services, remedial 60
educational and literacy services, families-in-training programs and 61
supportive services to parents who are recipients of temporary family 62
assistance and other parents, nonparent caretaker relatives and legal 63
guardians in need of such services. The family resource centers shall be 64
located in or associated with public schools, and any family resource 65
center established on or after July 1, 2000, shall be located in a public 66
elementary school unless the Commissioner of Education waives such 67
requirement. The commissioner shall determine the manner in which 68
the grant recipients of such program, such as municipalities, boards of 69
education and child care providers, shall be selected. The family 70
resource center shall provide: (1) Quality full-day child care and school 71
readiness programs for children age three and older who are not 72
enrolled in school and child care for children enrolled in school up to 73
the age of twelve for before and after regular school hours and on a 74
full-day basis during school holidays and school vacation, in 75
compliance with all state statutes and regulations governing child care 76
services, as described in section 19a-77, and, in the case of the school 77
readiness programs, in compliance with the standards set for such 78
programs pursuant to section 10-16p; (2) support services to parents, 79
nonparent caretaker relatives and legal guardians of newborn infants 80
to ascertain their needs and provide them with referrals to other 81
services and organizations and, if necessary, education in parenting 82
skills; (3) support and educational services to parents, nonparent 83
caretaker relatives and legal guardians whose children are participants 84
of the child care services of the program and who are interested in 85
obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent. Parents and their 86
preschool age children and nonparent caretaker relatives, legal 87
guardians and preschool age children in their care may attend classes 88 Substitute Bill No. 6576
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in parenting and child learning skills together so as to promote the 89
mutual pursuit of education and enhance parent-child interaction; (4) 90
training, technical assistance and other support by the staff of the 91
center to operators and staff of family child care homes, as described in 92
section 19a-77, in the community and serve as an information and 93
referral system for other child care needs in the community or 94
coordinate with such systems as may already exist in the community; 95
(5) a families-in-training program to provide, within available 96
appropriations, community support services to expectant parents and 97
parents, nonparent caretaker relatives and legal guardians of children 98
under the age of three. Such services shall include, but not be limited 99
to, providing information and advice to parents, nonparent caretaker 100
relatives and legal guardians on their children's language, cognitive, 101
social and motor development, visiting a participant's home on a 102
regular basis, organizing group meetings at the center for 103
neighborhood parents, nonparent caretaker relatives and legal 104
guardians of young children and providing a reference center for 105
parents, nonparent caretaker relatives and legal guardians who need 106
special assistance or services. The program shall provide for the 107
recruitment of parents, nonparent caretaker relatives and legal 108
guardians to participate in such program; [and] (6) a sliding scale of 109
payment, as developed in consultation with the Department of Social 110
Services, for child care services at the center; and (7) referrals of 111
parents, nonparent caretaker relatives and legal guardians to 112
community programs concerning childhood development and positive 113
parenting practices. The center shall also provide a teen pregnancy 114
prevention program for adolescents emphasizing responsible decision-115
making and communication skills. 116
Sec. 3. Section 17a-54 of the general statutes is repealed and the 117
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 118
The Department of Children and Families shall establish, within 119
available appropriations, community-based, multiservice parent 120
education and support centers. The goal of each center shall be to 121 Substitute Bill No. 6576
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improve parenting and enhance family functioning in order to provide 122
children and youths increased opportunities for positive development. 123
Each center shall provide: (1) Parent, nonparent caretaker relative and 124
legal guardian education and training services; (2) parent, nonparent 125
caretaker relative and legal guardian support services; (3) information 126
about and coordination of other community services; (4) consultation 127
services; [and] (5) coordination of child care and transportation 128
services to facilitate participation in the center's programs; and (6) 129
referrals of parents, nonparent caretaker relatives and legal guardians 130
to community programs concerning childhood development and 131
positive parenting practices. Each center shall conduct outreach 132
programs and shall be accessible with respect to schedule and location. 133
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2023 17b-112(a)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2023 10-4o(a)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2023 17a-54
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 3, ", and referrals of parents, nonparent caretaker relatives
and legal guardians to community programs concerning childhood
development and positive parenting practices." was changed to "; and
(6) referrals of parents, nonparent caretaker relatives and legal
guardians to community programs concerning childhood development
and positive parenting practices." for consistency.
AGE Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO