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