Bill Text: CA AB304 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Child Care and Development Services Act: alternative

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-02 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB304 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB304-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 304	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 16, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Price

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2009

   An act to amend  Sections 8223 and 8224  
Section 8222  of the Education Code, relating to child care and
development.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 304, as amended, Price. Child Care and Development Services
Act: alternative payment programs.
   The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the
State Department of Education, provides that children up to 13 years
of age are eligible, with certain requirements, for child care and
development services. The act requires the department to contract
with local contracting agencies to provide for alternative payment
programs and  requires the reimbursement for alternative
payment programs to include the cost of child care paid to child care
providers, and past administrative and support services. The act
further requires the audits for local contracting agencies for
alternative payment programs to include specified factors, including
a sampling of the evidence of specified fees  
authorizes alternative payments to be made for services provided in
licensed centers and family day care   homes, for care
provided in the child's home, and for other types of care that
conform to applicable law  . 
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those
provisions.  
   This bill would require an alternative payment program to
establish a program of direct deposit by electronic transfer for
payments made to family day care homes, and to implement that program
no later than 6 months after this act takes effect. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:  
   (a) The state has a responsibility to ensure accountability,
transparency, and efficiency regarding funds allocated for the
provision of subsidized child care for working families.  
   (b) The program operated by the state should be cost-effective,
streamlined, and simple to administer in order to ensure adequate
care for children placed in family day care homes, while not placing
undue burdens on the providers.  
   (c) The state has a compelling interest in retaining quality
family day care providers and promoting best practices, fiscal
accountability, and reducing fraud and waste in California's system
of subsidized child care. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 8222 of the   Education
Code   is amended to read: 
   8222.  (a) Payments made by alternative payment programs shall not
exceed the applicable market rate ceiling. Alternative payment
programs may expend more than the standard reimbursement rate for a
particular child. However, the aggregate payments for services
purchased by the agency during the contract year shall not exceed the
assigned reimbursable amount as established by the contract for the
year.  No   An  agency  may
  shall not  make payments in excess of the rate
charged to full-cost families. This section does not preclude
alternative payment programs from using the average daily enrollment
adjustment factor for children with exceptional needs as provided in
Section 8265.5.
   (b) Alternative payment programs shall reimburse licensed child
care providers in accordance with a biennial market rate survey
pursuant to Section 8447, at a rate not to exceed the ceilings
established pursuant to Section 8357.
   (c) An alternative payment program shall reimburse a licensed
provider for child care of a subsidized child based on the rate
charged by the provider to nonsubsidized families, if any, for the
same services, or the rates established by the provider for
prospective nonsubsidized families. A licensed child care provider
shall submit to the alternative payment program a copy of the
provider's rate sheet listing the rates charged, and the provider's
discount or scholarship policies, if any, along with a statement
signed by the provider confirming that the rates charged for a
subsidized child are equal to or less than the rates charged for a
nonsubsidized child.
   (d) An alternative payment program shall maintain a copy of the
rate sheet and the confirmation statement.
   (e) A licensed child care provider shall submit to the local
resource and referral agency a copy of the provider's rate sheet
listing rates charged, and the provider's discount or scholarship
policies, if any, and shall self-certify that the information is
correct.
   (f) Each licensed child care provider may alter rate levels for
subsidized children once per year and shall provide the alternative
payment program and resource and referral agency with the updated
information pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (e), to reflect any
changes.
   (g) A licensed child care provider shall post in a prominent
location adjacent to the provider's license at the child care
facility the provider's rates and discounts or scholarship policies,
if any.
   (h) An alternative payment program shall verify provider rates no
less  frequently  than once a year by randomly
selecting 10 percent of licensed child care providers serving
subsidized families. The purpose of this verification process is to
confirm that rates reported to the alternative payment programs
reasonably correspond to those reported to the resource and referral
agency and the rates actually charged to nonsubsidized families for
equivalent levels of services. It is the intent of the Legislature
that the privacy of nonsubsidized families shall be protected in
implementing this subdivision.
   (i) The department shall develop regulations for addressing
discrepancies in the provider rate levels identified through the rate
verification process in subdivision (h). 
   (j) (1) An alternative payment program shall establish a program
of direct deposit by electronic transfer for payments made to family
day care homes that have a contract with that alternative payment
program. A family day care home may choose to receive payments via
direct deposit at the family day care home provider's option. The
family day care home provider may authorize payment to be directly
deposited by electronic fund transfer into the family day care home
provider's account at the financial institution of his or her choice.
 
   (2) Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude an alternative
payment program that has a direct deposit program in place prior to
the effective date of this subdivision from continuing to require a
provider to accept direct deposit or another form of electronic
payment after the effective date of this subdivision.  
   (3) An alternative payment program shall implement a direct
deposit program pursuant to this subdivision no later than six months
from the effective date of this subdivision.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 8223 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
   8223.  The reimbursement for alternative payment programs shall
include the cost of child care paid to child care providers plus the
administrative and support services costs of the alternative payment
program. The total cost for administrative and support services shall
not exceed an amount equal to 19 percent of the total contract
amount. The administrative costs shall not exceed the costs allowable
for administration under federal requirements.  
  SEC. 2.    Section 8224 of the Education Code is
amended to read:
   8224.  The audits for local contracting agencies shall include,
but not be limited to, a sampling of the evidence of fees charged to,
and paid by, families of nonsubsidized children, the daily
enrollment of subsidized children, the number of days of service
provided to subsidized children, the assessment and collection of
parent fees, and the availability of support services to subsidized
children and their families as needed pursuant to the terms of the
contract.