Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0802 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3
4	4
5	5	2025 -- S 0802
6	6	========
7	7	LC002247
8	8	========
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, Murray, Valverde, Quezada, Ujifusa, Urso, Lauria,
17	17	and Lawson
18	18	Date Introduced: March 14, 2025
19	19	Referred To: Senate Judiciary
20	20
21	21
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. [Effective 3
26	26	January 1, 2025.] 4
27	27	(a) The department shall provide appropriate child care to every participant who is eligible 5
28	28	for cash assistance and who requires child care in order to meet the work requirements in 6
29	29	accordance with this chapter. 7
30	30	(b) Low-income child care. The department shall provide child care to all other working 8
31	31	families with incomes at or below two hundred sixty-one percent (261%) of the federal poverty 9
32	32	level if, and to the extent, these other families require child care in order to work at paid 10
33	33	employment as defined in the department’s rules and regulations. The department shall also provide 11
34	34	child care to families with incomes below two hundred sixty-one percent (261%) of the federal 12
35	35	poverty level if, and to the extent, these families require child care to participate on a short-term 13
36	36	basis, as defined in the department’s rules and regulations, in training, apprenticeship, internship, 14
37	37	on-the-job training, work experience, work immersion, or other job-readiness/job-attachment 15
38	38	program sponsored or funded by the human resource investment council (governor’s workforce 16
39	39	board) or state agencies that are part of the coordinated program system pursuant to § 42-102-11. 17
40	40	Effective from January 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, the department shall also provide childcare 18
41	41	assistance to families with incomes below one hundred eighty percent (180%) of the federal poverty 19
42	42
43	43
44	44	LC002247 - Page 2 of 5
45	45	level when such assistance is necessary for a member of these families to enroll or maintain 1
46	46	enrollment in a Rhode Island public institution of higher education provided that eligibility to 2
47	47	receive funding is capped when expenditures reach $200,000 for this provision. Effective July 1, 3
48	48	2022 through December 31, 2024, the department shall also provide childcare assistance to families 4
49	49	with incomes below two hundred percent (200%) of the federal poverty level when such assistance 5
50	50	is necessary for a member of these families to enroll or maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island 6
51	51	public institution of higher education. Effective January 1, 2025, the department shall also provide 7
52	52	childcare assistance to families with incomes below two hundred sixty-one percent (261%) of the 8
53	53	federal poverty level when such assistance is necessary for a member of these families to enroll or 9
54	54	maintain enrollment in a Rhode Island public institution of higher education. 10
55	55	(c) No family/assistance unit shall be eligible for childcare assistance under this chapter if 11
56	56	the combined value of its liquid resources exceeds one million dollars ($1,000,000), which 12
57	57	corresponds to the amount permitted by the federal government under the state plan and set forth 13
58	58	in the administrative rulemaking process by the department. Liquid resources are defined as any 14
59	59	interest(s) in property in the form of cash or other financial instruments or accounts that are readily 15
60	60	convertible to cash or cash equivalents. These include, but are not limited to: cash, bank, credit 16
61	61	union, or other financial institution savings, checking, and money market accounts; certificates of 17
62	62	deposit or other time deposits; stocks; bonds; mutual funds; and other similar financial instruments 18
63	63	or accounts. These do not include educational savings accounts, plans, or programs; retirement 19
64	64	accounts, plans, or programs; or accounts held jointly with another adult, not including a spouse. 20
65	65	The department is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to determine the ownership and 21
66	66	source of the funds in the joint account. 22
67	67	(d) As a condition of eligibility for childcare assistance under this chapter, the parent or 23
68	68	caretaker relative of the family must consent to, and must cooperate with, the department in 24
69	69	establishing paternity, and in establishing and/or enforcing child support and medical support 25
70	70	orders for any children in the family receiving appropriate child care under this section in 26
71	71	accordance with the applicable sections of title 15, as amended, unless the parent or caretaker 27
72	72	relative is found to have good cause for refusing to comply with the requirements of this subsection. 28
73	73	(e) For purposes of this section, “appropriate child care” means child care, including infant, 29
74	74	toddler, preschool, nursery school, and school-age, that is provided by a person or organization 30
75	75	qualified, approved, and authorized to provide the care by the state agency or agencies designated 31
76	76	to make the determinations in accordance with the provisions set forth herein. 32
77	77	(f)(1) Families with incomes below one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable federal 33
78	78	poverty level guidelines shall be provided with free child care. Families with incomes greater than 34
79	79
80	80
81	81	LC002247 - Page 3 of 5
82	82	one hundred percent (100%) and less than two hundred percent (200%) of the applicable federal 1
83	83	poverty guideline shall be required to pay for some portion of the child care they receive, according 2
84	84	to a sliding-fee scale adopted by the department in the department’s rules, not to exceed seven 3
85	85	percent (7%) of income as defined in subsection (h) of this section. 4
86	86	(2) Families who are receiving childcare assistance and who become ineligible for 5
87	87	childcare assistance as a result of their incomes exceeding two hundred sixty-one percent (261%) 6
88	88	of the applicable federal poverty guidelines shall continue to be eligible for childcare assistance 7
89	89	until their incomes exceed three hundred percent (300%) of the applicable federal poverty 8
90	90	guidelines. To be eligible, the families must continue to pay for some portion of the child care they 9
91	91	receive, as indicated in a sliding-fee scale adopted in the department’s rules, not to exceed seven 10
92	92	percent (7%) of income as defined in subsection (h) of this section, and in accordance with all other 11
93	93	eligibility standards. 12
94	94	(g) In determining the type of child care to be provided to a family, the department shall 13
95	95	take into account the cost of available childcare options; the suitability of the type of care available 14
96	96	for the child; and the parent’s preference as to the type of child care. 15
97	97	(h) For purposes of this section, “income” for families receiving cash assistance under § 16
98	98	40-5.2-11 means gross, earned income and unearned income, subject to the income exclusions in 17
99	99	§§ 40-5.2-10(g)(2) and 40-5.2-10(g)(3), and income for other families shall mean gross, earned and 18
100	100	unearned income as determined by departmental regulations. 19
101	101	(i) The caseload estimating conference established by chapter 17 of title 35 shall forecast 20
102	102	the expenditures for child care in accordance with the provisions of § 35-17-1. 21
103	103	(j) In determining eligibility for childcare assistance for children of members of reserve 22
104	104	components called to active duty during a time of conflict, the department shall freeze the family 23
105	105	composition and the family income of the reserve component member as it was in the month prior 24
106	106	to the month of leaving for active duty. This shall continue until the individual is officially 25
107	107	discharged from active duty. 26
108	108	(k) Effective from August 1, 2023, through July 31, 2025, the department shall provide 27
109	109	funding for child care for eligible childcare educators, and childcare staff, who work at least twenty 28
110	110	(20) hours a week in licensed childcare centers and licensed family childcare homes as defined in 29
111	111	the department’s rules and regulations. Eligibility is limited to qualifying childcare educators and 30
112	112	childcare staff with family incomes up to three hundred percent (300%) of the applicable federal 31
113	113	poverty guidelines and will have no copayments. Qualifying participants may select the childcare 32
114	114	center or family childcare home for their children. The department shall promulgate regulations 33
115	115	necessary to implement this section, and will collect applicant and participant data to report 34
116	116
117	117
118	118	LC002247 - Page 4 of 5
119	119	estimated demand for state-funded child care for eligible childcare educators and childcare staff. 1
120	120	The report shall be due to the governor and the general assembly by November 1, 2024. 2
121	121	(l) Protective services. The department shall also provide child care assistance to families 3
122	122	who meet the requirements of a protective services category as defined in 45 CFR §98.20 (a)(3)(ii) 4
123	123	to provide eligibility for vulnerable children, such as those receiving support through the 5
124	124	department of children, youth, and families. The department shall maintain the definition of the 6
125	125	protected services category in rules and regulations to align with federal requirements. 7
126	126	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 8
127	127	========
128	128	LC002247
129	129	========
130	130
131	131
132	132	LC002247 - Page 5 of 5
133	133	EXPLANATION
134	134	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
135	135	OF
136	136	A N A C T
137	137	RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM
138	138	***
139	139	This act would require the department of human services to provide childcare assistance to 1
140	140	families, including those served through DCYF, who meet the requirements of a protective services 2
141	141	category as defined in CFR 45 §98.20 (a)(3)(ii). 3
142	142	This act would take effect upon passage. 4
143	143	========
144	144	LC002247
145	145	========
146	146