Child care.

Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, provides a comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective system of child care and development services for children from infancy to 13 years of age and their parents, including an alternative payment program that requires the State Department of Social Services to contract with local government agencies or nonprofit organizations to provide alternative payments and to provide support services to parents and providers. This bill would include migrant alternative payment programs in the definition of "alternative payment programs" for this purpose. Existing law appropriates money from the Federal Trust Fund to support various programs that provide child care services, including the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children. This bill would, instead, require specified funding for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children to come from a prescribed General Fund appropriation and would make technical and other changes to the appropriations for that program. Existing law establishes reimbursement rates for child care and development services programs. As of January 1, 2022, under existing law, contractors who, as of December 31, 2021, received the standard reimbursement rate are required to receive the greater of the 75th percentile of the 2018 regional market rate survey or the contract per-child reimbursement amount as of December 31, 2021. This bill, until regulations are filed with the Secretary of State, would authorize the California Department of Education and the State Department of Social Services to implement the revised reimbursement rates by means of management bulletins or similar letters of instruction on or before December 31, 2021. The bill would require those departments to examine the time base and special criteria adjustment factors that impact center-based contractors receiving those reimbursement rates and would specify a process by which the time base and special criteria adjustment factors may be changed. The bill would require the departments to initiate rulemaking action on or before December 31, 2023. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.