Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0100 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2025 -- S 0100
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7	7	LC000973
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM
16	16	Introduced By: Senators DiMario, Valverde, Patalano, Thompson, Lauria, Vargas, Mack,
17	17	Acosta, Murray, and Bell
18	18	Date Introduced: January 31, 2025
19	19	Referred To: Senate Finance
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22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Section 40-5.2-20 of the General Laws in Chapter 40-5.2 entitled "The Rhode 1
24	24	Island Works Program" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
25	25	40-5.2-20. Childcare assistance — Families or assistance units eligible. 3
26	26	(a) The department shall provide appropriate child care to every participant who is eligible 4
27	27	for cash assistance and who requires child care in order to meet the work requirements in 5
28	28	accordance with this chapter. 6
29	29	(b) Low-income child care. The department shall provide child care to all other working 7
30	30	families with incomes at or below two hundred sixty-one percent (261%) of the federal poverty 8
31	31	level if, and to the extent, these other families require child care in order to work at paid 9
32	32	employment as defined in the department’s rules and regulations. The department shall also provide 10
33	33	child care to families with incomes below two hundred sixty-one percent (261%) of the federal 11
34	34	poverty level if, and to the extent, these families require child care to participate on a short-term 12
35	35	basis, as defined in the department’s rules and regulations, in training, apprenticeship, internship, 13
36	36	on-the-job training, work experience, work immersion, or other job-readiness/job-attachment 14
37	37	program sponsored or funded by the human resource investment council (governor’s workforce 15
38	38	board) or state agencies that are part of the coordinated program system pursuant to § 42-102-11. 16
39	39	Effective from January 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, the department shall also provide childcare 17
40	40	assistance to families with incomes below one hundred eighty percent (180%) of the federal poverty 18
41	41	level when such assistance is necessary for a member of these families to enroll or maintain 19
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45	45	enrollment in a Rhode Island public institution of higher education provided that eligibility to 1
46	46	receive funding is capped when expenditures reach $200,000 for this provision. Effective July 1, 2
47	47	2022 through December 31, 2024, the department shall also provide childcare assistance to families 3
48	48	with incomes below two hundred percent (200%) of the federal poverty level when such assistance 4
49	49	is necessary for a member of these families to enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island 5
50	50	public institution of higher education. Effective January 1, 2025, the department shall also provide 6
51	51	childcare assistance to families with incomes below two hundred sixty-one percent (261%) of the 7
52	52	federal poverty level when such assistance is necessary for a member of these families to enroll or 8
53	53	maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island public institution of higher education. 9
54	54	(c) No family/assistance unit shall be eligible for childcare assistance under this chapter if 10
55	55	the combined value of its liquid resources exceeds one million dollars ($1,000,000), which 11
56	56	corresponds to the amount permitted by the federal government under the state plan and set forth 12
57	57	in the administrative rulemaking process by the department. Liquid resources are defined as any 13
58	58	interest(s) in property in the form of cash or other financial instruments or accounts that are readily 14
59	59	convertible to cash or cash equivalents. These include, but are not limited to: cash, bank, credit 15
60	60	union, or other financial institution savings, checking, and money market accounts; certificates of 16
61	61	deposit or other time deposits; stocks; bonds; mutual funds; and other similar financial instruments 17
62	62	or accounts. These do not include educational savings accounts, plans, or programs; retirement 18
63	63	accounts, plans, or programs; or accounts held jointly with another adult, not including a spouse. 19
64	64	The department is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to determine the ownership and 20
65	65	source of the funds in the joint account. 21
66	66	(d) As a condition of eligibility for childcare assistance under this chapter, the parent or 22
67	67	caretaker relative of the family must consent to, and must cooperate with, the department in 23
68	68	establishing paternity, and in establishing and/or enforcing child support and medical support 24
69	69	orders for any children in the family receiving appropriate child care under this section in 25
70	70	accordance with the applicable sections of title 15, as amended, unless the parent or caretaker 26
71	71	relative is found to have good cause for refusing to comply with the requirements of this subsection. 27
72	72	(e) For purposes of this section, “appropriate child care” means child care, including infant, 28
73	73	toddler, preschool, nursery school, and school-age, that is provided by a person or organization 29
74	74	qualified, approved, and authorized to provide the care by the state agency or agencies designated 30
75	75	to make the determinations in accordance with the provisions set forth herein. 31
76	76	(f)(1) Families with incomes below one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable federal 32
77	77	poverty level guidelines shall be provided with free child care. Families with incomes greater than 33
78	78	one hundred percent (100%) and less than two hundred percent (200%) of the applicable federal 34
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82	82	poverty guideline shall be required to pay for some portion of the child care they receive, according 1
83	83	to a sliding-fee scale adopted by the department in the department’s rules, not to exceed seven 2
84	84	percent (7%) of income as defined in subsection (h) of this section. 3
85	85	(2) Families who are receiving childcare assistance and who become ineligible for 4
86	86	childcare assistance as a result of their incomes exceeding two hundred sixty-one percent (261%) 5
87	87	of the applicable federal poverty guidelines shall continue to be eligible for childcare assistance 6
88	88	until their incomes exceed three hundred percent (300%) of the applicable federal poverty 7
89	89	guidelines. To be eligible, the families must continue to pay for some portion of the child care they 8
90	90	receive, as indicated in a sliding-fee scale adopted in the department’s rules, not to exceed seven 9
91	91	percent (7%) of income as defined in subsection (h) of this section, and in accordance with all other 10
92	92	eligibility standards. 11
93	93	(g) In determining the type of child care to be provided to a family, the department shall 12
94	94	take into account the cost of available childcare options; the suitability of the type of care available 13
95	95	for the child; and the parent’s preference as to the type of child care. 14
96	96	(h) For purposes of this section, “income” for families receiving cash assistance under § 15
97	97	40-5.2-11 means gross, earned income and unearned income, subject to the income exclusions in 16
98	98	§§ 40-5.2-10(g)(2) and 40-5.2-10(g)(3), and income for other families shall mean gross, earned and 17
99	99	unearned income as determined by departmental regulations. 18
100	100	(i) The caseload estimating conference established by chapter 17 of title 35 shall forecast 19
101	101	the expenditures for child care in accordance with the provisions of § 35-17-1. 20
102	102	(j) In determining eligibility for childcare assistance for children of members of reserve 21
103	103	components called to active duty during a time of conflict, the department shall freeze the family 22
104	104	composition and the family income of the reserve component member as it was in the month prior 23
105	105	to the month of leaving for active duty. This shall continue until the individual is officially 24
106	106	discharged from active duty. 25
107	107	(k) Effective from August 1, 2023, through July 31, 2025, the The department shall provide 26
108	108	funding for child care for eligible childcare educators, and childcare staff, who work at least twenty 27
109	109	(20) hours a week in licensed childcare centers and licensed family childcare homes as defined in 28
110	110	the department’s rules and regulations. Furthermore, the department shall provide funding for child 29
111	111	care for eligible staff providing early intervention services at least twenty (20) hours per week to 30
112	112	infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities under Part C of the Individuals with 31
113	113	Disabilities Education Act. Eligibility is limited to qualifying childcare educators and childcare 32
114	114	staff with family incomes up to three hundred percent (300%) of the applicable federal poverty 33
115	115	guidelines and for child care assistance for these children will fall under the federal Child Care 34
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119	119	Development Funds definition of a "protected population" and would be determined on a case-by-1
120	120	case basis by the department using federal affordability guidelines. Families determined eligible by 2
121	121	the department under this "protected population" category will have no copayments. Qualifying 3
122	122	participants may select the childcare center or family childcare home for their children. The 4
123	123	department shall promulgate regulations necessary to implement this section, and will collect 5
124	124	applicant and participant data to report estimated demand for state-funded child care for eligible 6
125	125	childcare educators, and childcare staff and early intervention staff. The report shall be due to the 7
126	126	governor and the general assembly annually by November 1, 2024. 8
127	127	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 9
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134	134	EXPLANATION
135	135	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
136	136	OF
137	137	A N A C T
138	138	RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM
139	139	***
140	140	This act would eliminate the sunset on the provision of funding for child care for eligible 1
141	141	child care educators and child care staffs, remove the family income limit, and would expand the 2
142	142	program to include staff providing early intervention services to infants and toddlers with 3
143	143	developmental delays and disabilities and would require an annual reporting of participant data to 4
144	144	the governor and general assembly by November 1. 5
145	145	This act would take effect upon passage. 6
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