Bill Text: NJ A4176 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Extends child care subsidies to families earning up to 300 percent of federal poverty level; appropriates funds.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-09 - Reported out of Asm. Comm. with Amendments, and Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee [A4176 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A4176-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ELLEN J. PARK
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblywoman SADAF F. JAFFER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblywoman ANGELICA M. JIMENEZ
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen McKnight, Jasey, Assemblyman Benson, Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson and Assemblyman Umba
SYNOPSIS
Extends child care subsidies to families earning up to 300 percent of federal poverty level; appropriates funds.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Women and Children Committee on June 9, 2022, with amendments.
An Act concerning child care services 1[and] ,1 supplementing P.L.1993, c.46 (C.30:5B-31) 1, and making an appropriation1.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Child care services" means those services provided to eligible children for which the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services receives and administers State and federal funding to provide subsidy payments to licensed child care providers.
"Child Care Tuition Assistance Program" means the program, established by the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services, which makes direct payments to a licensed child care provider for care provided to an enrolled child, ages birth through 13 years, from a qualifying family. The State provides tuition assistance payments on a sliding scale, based on annual income, for a child from a qualifying family.
"Full time child care" means child care services provided for a minimum of 6.25 hours of care per day, and a maximum of ten hours per day for a child enrolled with a licensed child care provider.
"Part time child care" means child care services provided for a maximum of six hours of care per day for a child enrolled with a licensed child care provider.
"School-aged child" means a child, ages five through 13 years, who is enrolled in public, private, or parochial school.
"Qualifying family" means a family, consisting of at least one child, aged 13 years or younger, and the child's parent or legal guardian, that earns an annual gross family income of up to $175,000, and meets all other eligibility criteria for the Child Care Tuition Assistance Program, as established by the Commissioner of Human Services pursuant to this act.
2. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services shall provide child care services through the State's subsidized child care assistance program for a family with a maximum annual gross family income, when adjusted for family size, that is at or below 300 percent of the 1[Federal Poverty Level] federal poverty level1 .
b. The Commissioner of Human Services shall establish and utilize no less than four tiers, with the highest income tier being 300 percent of the 1[Federal Poverty Level] federal poverty level1 , to determine initial income eligibility and subsequent redetermination, as well as placement on the division's co-payment schedule 1,1 regarding child care services provided under the State's subsidized child care assistance program.
c. The provisions of this section shall not preclude the 1[Commissioner] commissioner1 from establishing a tier that provides for a maximum income prior to exit from the State's subsidized child care assistance program in which a family's maximum annual gross family income, when adjusted for family size, is permitted to be higher than 300 percent of the 1[Federal Poverty Level] federal poverty level1 .
3. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, and in accordance with federal statute and regulations concerning state expenditure of federal funds, the Commissioner of Human Services shall establish the Child Care Tuition Assistance Program, under which the State shall provide tuition payments to a licensed child care provider for full-time or part-time care provided to the child, ages birth through 13 years, of a qualifying family.
b. The amount of tuition assistance payments issued to a child care provider, pursuant to subsection a. of this section, shall be determined on a sliding scale, based on the annual gross family income of the qualifying family.
c. Tuition assistance payments may be made for the school-aged child of a qualifying family for child care provided before the start of the school day, after the end of the school day, and for any week day during which the child's school is closed.
d. Under no circumstances shall the tuition assistance payment rates, provided under this program for full-time or part-time child care, be lower than the rates paid under the provisional program, operated under the Department of Human Services between September 2020 and June 2021, to provide tuition assistance for child care for a school-aged child during periods of school closure or remote instruction due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
4. There are hereby appropriated 1from the General Fund to the Department of Human Services1 such sums as may be necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this act, as determined by the Commissioner of Human Services 1subject to approval by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury1 .
5. The Commissioner of Human Services shall apply for such State plan amendments or waivers as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act and to continue to secure any available federal financial participation for the applicable child care programs.
6. The Commissioner of Human Services, pursuant to the "Administrative 1[Procedures] Procedure1 Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
7. This act shall take effect immediately.
