Plain English Breakdown
The bill states the monthly cost-of-care plus rate is extended indefinitely, but future funding for specific trusts requires annual Budget Act approval.
Extending Childcare Payments and Funding Through 2028
This law extends higher payment rates for childcare providers until July 1, 2028, makes a monthly cost-of-care supplement permanent, approves an agreement with the provider union, and provides one-time stabilization payments.
What This Bill Does
- Extends the period where reimbursement is based on maximum authorized or certified hours of care for state-subsidized providers until July 1, 2028.
- Makes the monthly cost-of-care plus rate payment permanent instead of ending in June 2026.
- Provides a one-time catch-up payment to family daycare providers for missed increases between July and December 2025 if an agreement is ratified by September 30, 2025.
- Gives licensed family childcare providers $431 per child and license-exempt providers $300 per child as a one-time stabilization payment.
- Requires future annual budgets to allocate funds for training, health care, and retirement trusts through July 2028.
Who It Names or Affects
- State-subsidized childcare and development providers.
- License-exempt family daycare homes.
- California state preschool family childcare home education network providers.
- The State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education, which manage these funds.
- Child Care Providers United - California (CCPU), representing family childcare workers.
Terms To Know
- License-exempt providers
- Caregivers who provide child care without a standard state license, often in their own homes or small settings.
- Monthly cost of care plus rate
- A supplemental monthly payment given to childcare centers and family providers on top of the base reimbursement amount.
- Tentative agreement
- A proposed deal between the state government and a union that must be voted on by members before it becomes official.
Limits and Unknowns
- The one-time catch-up payment deadline of January 1, 2026, only applies if the provider agreement is fully ratified by September 30, 2025.
- Future funding for training and health care trusts depends on approval in each year's annual Budget Act starting July 1, 2028.