SB 380: California state preschool programs: age of eligibility.

Session Year: 2023-2024
House: Senate

Current Status:

Failed

(2024-08-07: August 7 hearing postponed by committee.)

Introduced

First Committee Review

First Chamber

Second Committee Review

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:

Existing law, the Early Education Act, among other things, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer all California state preschool programs, including, but not limited to, part-day and full-day age and developmentally appropriate programs for 3- and 4-year-old children. Existing law requires the State Department of Education, in collaboration with the State Department of Social Services, to implement a reimbursement system plan that establishes reasonable standards and assigned reimbursement rates, which vary with the length of the program year and the hours of service, for California state preschool program contractors, as provided. Existing law requires each applicant or contracting agency to give priority for part-day and full-day California state preschool programs according to a specified priority order. Existing law establishes adjustment factors applicable to the reimbursement a contractor receives in order to reflect the additional expense of serving full-day and part-day preschool children who meet certain criteria and requires the adjustment factor for children who are 47 months or younger to be 1.8, as provided.

This bill, until July 1, 2027, would authorize, but not require, a California state preschool contractor operating a part-day, full-day, or both part- and full-day California state preschool program to enroll interested eligible 2-year-old children, as defined, and would make conforming changes. The bill, on or after July 1, 2027, would prohibit a contractor from serving any 2-year-old children, unless the contractor was serving those 2-year-old children before July 1, 2027. The bill, until July 1, 2027, would instead require the adjustment factor for 2-year-old and 3-year-old children to be 1.8 and would require the State Department of Education to ensure that the rate that contractors receive for 2-year-old children in each county for each setting and time base type is no less than the rate provided for children of the same age served in general child care and development programs, as provided.

(1)Existing law, the Early Education Act, among other things, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer all California state preschool programs, including, but not limited to, part-day and full-day age and developmentally appropriate programs for 3- and 4-year-old children. Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of child care and development services for children up to 13 years of age. Existing law requires the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Education, to implement a reimbursement system plan that establishes reasonable standards and assigned reimbursement rates, as specified. Existing law requires the state and Child Care Providers United - California to establish a Joint Labor Management Committee to develop recommendations for a single reimbursement rate structure that has specified characteristics, and requires the Joint Labor Management Committee to present those recommendations to the Department of Finance no later than November 15, 2022. Existing law also requires the department, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to convene a working group to assess the existing quality standards for childcare and development and preschool programs and the methodology for establishing reimbursement rates for those programs, and requires the working group to provide recommendations relating to specified topics to a specified Joint Labor Management Committee, the Department of Finance, and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee no later than August 15, 2022.This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in collaboration with the State Department of Education, to develop an alternative methodology for calculating subsidy payment rates for child care and development services and California state preschool program services that build upon and align with the recommendations of the working group and Joint Labor Management Committee, and that uses a cost estimation model, as specified. The bill would require the department to develop an interim transition plan, if necessary, to implement the alternative methodology, and to seek preapproval from the United States Department of Health and Human Services to amend the states current Child Care and Development Fund State Plan to change its current methodology for determining childcare and development and preschool subsidy payment rates to the alternative methodology. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education to implement the alternative methodology upon notice, in writing, by the State Department of Social Services to the Legislature that it has adopted the alternative methodology, as specified.(2)Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to establish a fee schedule for families using preschool and child care and development services and requires families who utilize those services to be assessed a family fee that is based on income, certified family need for full-time or part-time care services, and enrollment. Existing law prohibits those family fees from exceeding 10% of the familys monthly income and prohibits family fees from being collected for the 202223 fiscal year.The bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to develop an equitable sliding scale for the payment of family fees, and would suspend the collection of family fees until the new equitable sliding scale is implemented.(3)The Early Education Act requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to adopt rules, regulations, and guidelines to facilitate the funding and reimbursement required by the act. Existing law requires, for the 202223 fiscal year only, contracting agencies operating a California state preschool to be reimbursed 100% of the contract maximum reimbursable amount or net reimbursable program costs, whichever is less, if they meet specified criteria.This bill would delete the requirement that the above-described reimbursement rate apply only during the 202223 fiscal year, thereby extending that reimbursement rate for contracting agencies operating a California state preschool indefinitely. The bill would also delete the requirement of meeting specified criteria in order to obtain that reimbursement rate.Existing law requires reimbursement for full-day and part-day California state preschool family childcare home education network providers for the 202223 fiscal year to be based on the maximum certified hours of care for all families, including families certified for a variable schedule, regardless of attendance.This bill would delete the requirement that the above-described reimbursement provision apply during the 202223 fiscal year, thereby extending that reimbursement provision for full-day and part-day California state preschool family childcare home education network providers indefinitely.(4)Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to contract with local contracting agencies for alternative payment programs for childcare services to be provided throughout the state. Existing law requires the alternative payment program to reimburse childcare providers based upon specified criteria, including the actual days and hours of attendance for those families with variable schedules. Existing law also requires the department to administer general childcare and development programs, as specified.This bill would instead require the alternative payment program to reimburse childcare providers based on the maximum certified hours of care, as specified. The bill would require contracting agencies operating those general childcare and development programs to be reimbursed the lesser of 100% of the contract maximum reimbursable amount or net reimbursable program costs.

Discussed in Hearing