Childcare.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details about how the extended exemption period will be implemented or if there are additional costs associated with it.

Childcare Reimbursement and Fee Exemptions

AB-1528 updates childcare reimbursement rules for medical and educational appointments, extends fee exemptions for families receiving child protective services from 12 to 24 months.

What This Bill Does

• Adds medical and educational appointments to the list of reasons that count as extended absences for childcare reimbursement purposes.
• Extends the period during which families receiving child protective services can be exempt from paying family fees from 12 months to 24 months.

Who It Names or Affects

• Childcare providers who receive reimbursement through state programs.
• Families receiving child protective services.

Terms To Know

attendance

The number of children present at a childcare facility, including days off for medical or educational appointments.

reimbursement

Money given back to providers based on the number of children in attendance and other factors.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how the extended exemption period for families receiving child protective services will be implemented.
• It is unclear if there are additional costs associated with extending the fee exemption period to 24 months.

Official Summary Text

AB 1528, as introduced, Committee on Human Services.
Childcare.
Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, requires the department to administer childcare and development programs that offer a full range of services to eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age, inclusive. Existing law requires childcare providers reimbursed through these programs to submit monthly attendance records for each child under specified circumstances. For purposes of the act, existing law defines “attendance” to mean the number of children present at a childcare and development facility, and includes extended absences due to specified reasons for purposes of reimbursement.
This bill would add medical and educational appointments to the list of reasons for extended absences that are included in attendance for purposes of reimbursement. For purposes of
reimbursement, the bill would also authorize a contractor to claim attendance for days that the contractor or provider is required to hold a space for a child during the period that a family is assumed to have abandoned care or is engaging in the appeal process based on disenrollment for abandoning care.
Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to establish a fee schedule for families who utilize the above-mentioned childcare and development programs and to be assessed in a single monthly flat fee that is based on income, certified family need for full-time or part-time care services, and enrollment. Existing law authorizes that a family may be exempt from being charged family fees for receiving child protective services for up to 12 months.
This bill would extend the exemption period to up to 24 months.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF