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Legislation Document
SPONSOR:
Sen. Paradee & Rep. Harris
Sens. Brown, Buckson, Cruce, Hansen, Hocker, Hoffner, Huxtable, Lawson, Lockman, Mantzavinos, Pettyjohn, Pinkney, Poore, Richardson, Seigfried, Sokola, Sturgeon, Townsend, Walsh, Wilson; Reps. Chukwuocha, Heffernan, K. Johnson, Lambert, Morrison, Osienski, Romer, Kamela Smith
DELAWARE STATE SENATE
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SENATE SUBSTITUTE NO. 1
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 278
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend § 502, Title 31 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and redesignating accordingly:
§ 502. Definitions.
As used in
For purposes of
this chapter:
(9) “Purchase of Care” or “POC” means child care assistance provided under this chapter.
Section 2. Amend § 503, Title 31 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and redesignating accordingly:
§ 503. Eligibility for assistance; amount; method of payment.
(e)
Child care assistance. —
Persons seeking employment who are in need of child care services in order to obtain employment, to retain employment, or to obtain training leading to employment are
(1)a. An individual is
eligible to apply for child care assistance under
the Child Care Subsidy Program. Such persons
Purchase of Care if the individual needs child care services in order to do any of the following:
1. Obtain employment.
2. Retain employment.
3. Obtain training leading to employment.
b. An individual
seeking employment
are
is
eligible to apply for child care assistance
under paragraph (e)(1)a. of this section
for a period not to exceed 90 consecutive days over the course of 1 year.
(2)
Eligibility for and the amount of assistance granted
to persons under Delaware’s Child Care Subsidy Program
under POC
shall be determined in accordance with the rules and regulations
made
established
by the Department of Health and Social
Services, Division of Social
Services
(DHSS)
and Chapter 3 of this
title
.
title, and must include all of the following:
a. Copayments for families receiving POC assistance must be determined based on all of the following:
1. The family’s household size and income.
2. If the child is receiving assistance for a full day of child care or a half day of child care.
b.
If a child is eligible for POC assistance, DHSS must authorize a summer child care provider at any time after January 1 if authorization is necessary for enrollment. If a child care provider is authorized under this paragraph (e)(2)b, all of the following apply:
1. The authorization provided in advance of attendance may be for purposes of enrollment only and is subject to meeting eligibility requirements for POC at the time the child attends the summer child care provider.
2. The total number of hours of child care authorized for a child may not exceed 10 hours a day.
3. This authorization must be provided in addition to all provider authorizations for the child’s care during the school year.
SYNOPSIS
Like Senate Bill No. 278, Senate Substitute No. 1 for SB 278 requires that the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) regulations for Purchase of Care (POC), this State's child care assistance program, provide authorization for a child care provider that a child will attend during the summer at any time after January 1 because current regulations do not provide authorization for summer care early enough for families to enroll children in summer camps before camps are full.
SS 1 for SB 278 differs from SB 278 as follows:
• Does not codify the POC eligibility for children in the custody of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families.
• Revises the requirement that a summer child care provider must be authorized after January 1 so it clearly applies to all children receiving POC assistance.
• Clarifies that an authorization for a summer child care provider must be provided in addition to all provider authorizations for the child’s care during the school year.
Like SB 278, SS 1 for SB 278 does all of the following:
• Adds the name of this State's child care assistance program, "Purchase of Care" or "POC" to Chapter 5 of Title 31.
• Codifies the current policy that parent copayments are determined based on household size and income.
• Requires that parent copayments also be based on whether the child receives assistance for a full or half day of child care.
• Provides that the authorization for a summer child care provider provided in advance of attendance may be for purposes of enrollment only and is subject to meeting eligibility requirements at the time the child attends.
• Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act is effective immediately because under § 10113 of Title 29, amendments that make existing regulations consistent with changes in basic law are exempt from the procedural requirements under the Administrative Procedures Act.
Author: Senator Paradee