Relating to state child care assistance eligibility requirements and child care provider reimbursement rates

This bill relates to state child care assistance (CCA) eligibility requirements and child care provider reimbursement rates. The bill defines “child needing special needs care” or “special needs child” as a child that has been diagnosed by a physician or by a person endorsed for service as a school psychologist by the department of education to have a developmental disability which substantially limits one or more major life activities, and requires professional treatment, assistance in self-care, or the purchase of special adaptive equipment; a child determined by a qualified intellectual disability professional to have a condition which impairs the child’s intellectual and social functioning; a child diagnosed by a mental health professional to have a behavioral or emotional disorder characterized by situationally inappropriate behavior which deviates substantially from behavior appropriate to the child’s age, or which significantly interferes with the child’s intellectual, social, or personal development; or a child with a combination of any of the foregoing conditions. The bill requires, for the purposes of CCA eligibility, that a child’s parent, guardian, or custodian who is employed must work a minimum of hours per week or an average of hours per week during the month if the child requires basic care, or hours per week or an average of hours per week during the month if the child is a special needs child. The bill provides that a family shall only be initially eligible for CCA if the family’s gross monthly income does not exceed the lesser of: (1) 155 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) applicable to the family size for children needing basic care, (2) 200 percent of the FPL applicable to the family size for children needing special needs care, or (3) percent of the state median gross monthly income. The bill prohibits the department of health and human services (HHS) and the director of HHS from modifying reimbursement rates for child care providers reimbursed under the CCA program or eligibility requirements for a family participating in the CCA program without prior enabling legislation in this state passed on or after January 1, 2023.13(8). The most prioritized and third most prioritized categories are: (1) families with income at or below 100 percent of the FPL whose members work at least hours in the aggregate, are employed or are participating at a satisfactory level in an approved training program or educational program, and parents with income at or below 100 percent of the FPL who are under years of age and are participating in an educational program leading to a high school diploma or the equivalent; and (3) families with an income of more than 100 percent but not more than 145 percent of the FPL whose members work for at least hours in the aggregate, and are employed or are participating at a satisfactory level in an approved training program. The bill changes the work requirements for the first and third categories of prioritization from hours to hours, and raises the income limit to qualify for the third category from 145 percent of the FPL to 155 percent of the FPL. The bill directs HHS to set half-day reimbursement rates for child care providers participating in the CCA program to at least the 65th percentile but not more than the 80th percentile of the 2020 market rate survey conducted by HHS to analyze and evaluate the market rate of child care services throughout the state.